Topic > Literary Analysis of the Happy Ending, by Margaret Atwood

It does not have the fixed exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution that most short stories are characterized by. It is set up as a multiple choice scenario, from A to F, allowing the reader to choose their own ending, based on complexity preference. From the beginning Atwood invited the audience to “try A” (Atwood 1). Later in the passage, Atwood uses a variation of sentence structure. In some cases, there are long and extended sentences like in plot B, where a sentence is made up of almost 120 words. In other cases, the sentences can be very explicit and short. Atwood wrote, “Mary falls in love with John but John does not fall in love with Mary” (Atwood 1). The length of the sentence can mean a lot. The little sentence is short because it is empty of meaning. Unrequited love is a complex concept but Atwood states it simply and with a matter-of-fact tone. For example, he states the fact that Mary loves John as simply as he says that they eat and sleep together. In doing so, Atwood implies that love and eating dinner have the same meaning in the general scope of life. The way these concise sentences are constructed speeds up the characters' lives. Additionally, the longer sentence enumerates small actions that encompass a larger input