Difference in Writing Styles of “happy Endings” and “the Looking Glass” and Their Respective Impact

Muhammad KHATTAK                                                                            Compare/Contrast Essay
Dr Becky Hsu

English VY100

Section 08

18 November, 2014

Difference in writing styles of “Happy Endings” and “The Looking Glass” and their respective impact.

“Happy Endings” is a short story written by Margaret Atwood. The story revolves around the life of a couple: John and Mary, and has several plots but one similar ending as a whole. It was first published in a 1983 Canadian collection, Murder in the Dark. Anton Chekhov, on the other hand, has written a short story titled “The Looking Glass”. The Looking Glass is a story based on the dream of a young and pretty girl, Nellie. This story was published in 1885. The writing style of the story “Happy Endings” is more colloquial; its plot is set in such a way the that the reader has to build a story of his own choice; thus making the reader not just merely a passive reader, but making the reader to play an active role in order to understand the story deeply. While on the other hand, the story “The Looking Glass” is written with a set linear plot; in this story the reader is just a passive reader, thus urging the reader to blend within the emotions and structure of the story.

Analyzing the story “Happy Endings” first, we can clearly see that Atwood has split her story’s plot in six different sections, section-A to section-F. She adopted this method to allow the readers to build their own story; according to their own choice. Allowing the readers to build their own version of the story, depending on the plot they select, she gives her audience a feeling of freedom, freedom of choice. Atwood writes “If you want a happy ending, Try A”(1). Here the “if” is the evidence of how she allows her readers a free hand; if the readers wants a happy ending the reader can go with part A or else it is the readers own free choice to select any part. This method adopted to write the story, and the freedom the story offers to its audience, combined has a massive impact on the audience of “Happy Endings” as compared to the audience of other simple stories. The freedom of choosing any plot and building a story of the readers own choice never allows the reader to camouflage with the story, rather keeps the reader hovering above the story’s plot and theme.

“Happy Endings” keeps its audience as an active audience. The active role that the reader is suppose to play while reading this story, by selecting a plot of the readers own choice, makes the reader an active reader and not just merely a passive consumer of words and ideas. This active role of the reader allows the reader to take control of the story as a whole. Playing an active role as a reader, keeps the reader at a distant place from getting carried away by the emotions of any character in the story, keeping the reader up to his own emotions and thinking. In-fact by creating a story of the readers own choice, it is the reader who has all of the control over the story, and it is the reader who is to decide the tone and emotions of the story; thus making the reader an active reader.

By carefully interpreting the story “Happy Endings”, it is quite evident that Atwood approaches the reader in a direct, conversational, informal and slang tone. In the beginning of the story Atwood writes “If you want a happy ending, try A”(1). The use of the word “you” is the evidence of how she addresses her audience directly and conversationally. One other evidence of this colloquial language is when she writes, “If you think this is all too bourgeois, make John a revolutionary and Mary a counterespionage agent and see how far that gets you”(3). On another occasion shae has written “You'll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it”(3). The phrase used here “however you slice it” is not academically correct, thus depicting the slang tone Atwood has used.    

The overall tone of the story “Happy Endings” is neither too gloomy nor too exciting. Atwood has addressed the readers directly. Her direct approach towards the readers is axiomatic by her words selection; she writes “You can see what kind of a woman she is by the fact that it's not even whiskey”(2), this clearly depicts her direct approach towards her audience. Moreover, it is interesting to note here the affect of this direct approach. This direct approach of Atwood has wide impact on the understanding of the story by the readers. The direct approach most of the time hinders the understanding of the readers at the first glance; the readers are more indulged in building the story rather than understanding the main theme behind Atwood’s writing.