Happy Endings
Compared to our understanding of a short story, Happy Endings is quite contrary to our expectations. The story is divided in different scenarios
from A to F and does each presents a different ending. In the end of the story,
we are told that all the endings are fake and that they will turn out to be the
same no matter what. Therefor the endings all together become an evident that
no matter how good the beginning can be, the ending will be the same and the
characters will always die.
Marie:
SvarSletI think the scenarios in the stories become clichés, we have heard a million times before. When it is all good, our characters have “stimulating and challenging job”, which is repeated several times in the text, a charming house with all the trimmings, two children and worthwhile friends. On the other hand, we hear about scenarios where one of them is in love with the other - but the love is not reciprocated. We also hear about two people in a marriage where one of them loves another person.
So all together it becomes very bourgeois. The only difference in the stories is that either they end up living apart from each other or end up living together before death anyway separates them.
Marie:
SvarSletNot only are the stories clichés and bourgeois, they are also very superficial. For example in text A, where the ending is “Happy”, we hear about that everything is working out just fine – which we are told based on how they appear from the outside, their house, jobs and friends (social standard). We do not get to know them from the inside, who they are, how they feel and why they are in love: “(…) they have two children, to whom they are devoted. The children turn out well”. In this quotation, it is described how they are “devoted” to their children, and how they turned out “well”, but we cannot see if there are feelings involved. The words “devoted” and “well” are strangely formal I think. Not words you would normally use to describe human beings and their relationship with their children. In this way it becomes very superficial.