Language

Style of language

The language in Margaret Atwood’s “Happy Endings” gives the narrator an authentic voice and the impression that the narrator is having a conversation with the reader. This impression is reinforced by the presence of direct address (p. 72, l. 24) and the suggestion that readers can choose which ending they want, which is undermined by the final statement that all stories end the same way.

The language is blunt and unromantic. The narrative speeds through the events of the characters’ lives to arrive as quickly as possible at their deaths. However, readers are told that all stories end in death and it is, in fact, all those little actions and motivations along the way (which are told in a straightforward manner) that are important in the story.

Notably, the author uses repetition to stress the fact that there can only be one ending: “John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.” (p. 72, l. 28). By repeating the phrase three times, and writing it in italics, the author draws attention to the fact that all ...