Happy Ending by Margaret Atwood

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Sharma Kartik

Professor Junshan Nie

English 100

13 Nov 2016

How and Why

    Real stories do not lie in the question what. What can only describe that which has happened and does not contribute to the richness of storytelling. In “Happy Ending” by Margaret Atwood which is a fiction set of six different versions of stories about Mary and John that are alphabetized from A to F on who they could be and what could happen to them.Mary and John inevitably reaching their end which is their first story alphabetized as A but as the story progress the more the reader is able to learn about the characters in the stories as they reach their demise. In depicting the theme that motivations play a central role in a real story, the author uses the questions how and why to illustrate the desire and thoughts that drive human beings.

Without the motivation, thoughts and desires of characters there is no real story. For example if only what had happened was told there would be no richness of a true story it would only be a report. In version A the story is “John and Mary fall in love and get married. They both have worthwhile and remunerative jobs which they find stimulating and challenging. They buy a charming house. Real estate values go up. Eventually, when they can afford live-in help, they have two children, to whom they are devoted”.(pg. 18) In this quote it can be seen that only what had been happend has been described there are no examples of motivation of characters and none of their

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desires or thoughts have been mentioned.This version is also the end of all the other versions. This is because no matter the details of all the other versions it will only lead to this version of the story. Version A serves as the ending or final results of each versions of the story it is not the actually story. Its merely the “Happy Ending”.its emphasized in the quote “lf vou think this is all too bourgeois, make John a revolutionary and Mary a counterespionage agent and see how far that gets you Remember' this is canada You will still end up with A, though in between you may get a lustful brawling saga Of passionate involvement, a chronicle of our times, sort of.” (pg. 20)that this version of the story is the official ending of all the other stories.The author shows how motivation plays a central role by showing that if only what had happened was displayed then there would be no richness to the story or have any meaning.  Which is exactly that which is communicated in the first version of the story.

It's in the how and why that make a real story. By asking the hows and whys the reader is able to understand who these characters are and what they are after. Version B starts of with“Mary falls in love with John but John doesn't fall in love with Mary. He mercly uses her body for selfish pleasure and ego gratification of a tepid kind.”(pg. 18) this is a quote from the second version of the first version of the story in A. The author shows how motivation plays a central role in a story by showing what the motives of the characters are and how they treat each other. For example the reader knows more about Mary and John in this version than in version A because in this version it's indicated that Mary loves John and is mistreated by him. Also that John has no affections for Mary and does not appreciate her. In the beginning of version C ”John,

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who is an older man, falls in love with Mary, and Mary, who is only twenty-two, feels sorry for him because he's worried about his hair falling out. She sleeps with him even though she's not in love with him.”(pg. 19) This version is mostly an opposite of the second version of the story where john is in love with Mary and it's John who is chasing Mary’s affections this time. In this version more about the characters is revealed about who they are and what the want versus in the first version of the story. Which gives the reader an attachment to the characters. The reader gets to know more about the characters in this version because of their motives than in version A. In these versions of the story there is more depth in the characters and a better understanding of who they are because of their motives and how they treat each other.

The hows and whys of a story make the story authentic and real. In order to get a story that feels real the story has to flow in a way that feels rational. That things happen for a reason which creates that realness of a story. In version B “ Mary collects all the sleeping pills and aspirins she can find, and takes them and a half a bottle of sherry. You can see what kind of a woman she is by the fact that it's not even whiskey”(pg. 19) this quote is from version B and shows that Mary is weary of John’s treatment towards her such as cheating on her and never taking her to a restaurant. Wishes to take pills instead of calming herself with alcohol. She plans on John finding her and taking her to the hospital in time so John and Mary can repent and get married. The authenticity of the characters are displayed by how Mary reacts to John's mistreatment of her for example mary instead of drinking takes pills and plots a way to get married to John. She also does not react to him cheating on her but is more agitated that John never took her