Pure Love in Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood

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Pure Love in Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood

Margaret Atwood, through a series of different situations, depicts the

lives of typical people facing various obstacles in her short story

“Happy Endings”. Despite their individual differences, the stories of

each of the characters ultimately end in the same way. In her writing

she clearly makes a point of commenting on how everybody dies in the

same manner, regardless of their life experiences. Behind the obvious

meaning of these seemingly pointless stories lies a deeper and more

profound meaning. Love plays a central role in each story, and thus it

seems that love is the ultimate goal in life. Love, however, is not

the only factor that creates and maintains a relationship. Love has

the power to bring people together, but can also break them apart. In

addition, it can lead to irrational decisions with terrible

consequences. In this short story Margaret Atwood shows the powerful

effect that love has on people’s lives.

At first glance, the short stories in "Happy Endings" have a common

connection: all the characters die. After a more detailed examination

of the stories, however, it becomes evident that each individual is

striving to find love. Though love is a universal goal, each person's

criteria for a meaningful, fulfilling and loving relationship varies.

This is clearly demonstrated by the different situations in which the

characters find themselves. The conventional, stereotypical, and

almost cliché demonstration of love can be seen in stories A & D,

where the characters simply "fall in love and get married". Love is

portrayed as effortless, and is a natural, rewarding, and mutual

...

... middle of paper ...

...uld not have been so profoundly shaken by Mary's

relationship with James. John was so upset by their relationship that

selfishness consumed him: he did not consider his family when

murdering and committing suicide. His own needs became his priority.

Love caused his logic and sensibility to fail him, and provoked him to

commit monstrous acts that destroyed many lives.

Through analysis of “Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood, it can be

concluded that one of her many intended lessons was to show the value

and the powerful effects of love. Atwood successfully proved this

lesson by using powerful examples of both successful and disastrous

relationships to illustrate the positive and negative effects of love.

Atwood truly demonstrated what it is like to follow your heart.

Works Cited:

Atwood, Margaret. Happy Endings.

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