Professor Corrigan quoted in class, “Fine art takes us back into reality.” We all grew up reading fairy tales and watching movies that classically ended with “And they all lived happily ever after...” Of course we enjoyed these kinds of stories because they made us feel optimistic and positive about the world and our life situations. No one wants to anticipate that things actually are never resolved, the antagonist/antoganists wins, and the protagonist/protagonists do not end up prevailing and triumph over “evil.” It is not wrong to hope, wish, and pray for this fairy tale like life. However, it is important to be aware that the world is not on our side. Do the stories that portray perfection or the stories that throw you into a realistic situation where things end imperfectly impact you and teach you more? To be exposed to situations that may seem shocking or make you feel uncomfortable stretches you to be aware of the situations that real people in the world are experiencing.
In the story “Happy Endings”, we probably all read it and felt a little dissatisfied that the endings were all, “And John and Mary died.” Why could they not just have had the story begin and proceed as in story A and then say “and they all lived happily ever after?” Wouldn’t that have made the story more pleasant? But if it had just said that and situation A was all there was to the story, what would you have taken from reading it? Reading the situations of B,C,D,E, and so on is what sparked ideas, sparked questions, taught a lesson, and caused you to feel a meaningful emotion.
Considering each character and the motives behind why did they did what they did made you wonder what happened in their life previous to where the story starts to cause them the decisions they did.
I like what you said about reading B, C, D, and E are the endings that brought up questions, taught a lesson, and sparked emotion.
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