Metafiction and Happy Endings (Margaret Atwood) Essay

MetafictionA. DefinitionThe narrator of a metafictional work will advert attention to the writing process itself. The reader is never to forget that what she is reading is constructednot natural, not real. She is never to get lost in the tarradiddle.B. Possible limitintruding to comment on writinginvolving his or herself with fictional charactersdirectly addressing the readeropenly teasing how narrative assumptions and conventions transform and filter reality, trying to at last prove that no singular truths or meanings existC. General CharacteristicsMetafiction often employs intertextual references and allusions by examining fictional systems incorporating aspects of both theory and criticism creating biographies of imaginary writers encloseing and discussing fictional kit and boodle of an imaginary character.Authors of metafiction often violate narrative levels by intruding to comment on writing involving his or herself with fictional characters directly addressing the reader openly read/write heading how narrative assumptions and conventions transform and filter reality, trying to ultimately prove that no singular truths or meanings exist Metafiction also uses un received and experimental techniques by rejecting conventional plot refusing to attempt to become real lifesubverting conventions to transform reality into a highly suspect concept flaunting and exaggerating foundations of their instability displaying reflexivity (the dimension present in all literary texts and also central to all literary analysis, a function which enables the reader to understand the processes by which he or she reads the human beings as a text).It also poses questions about the relationship between fiction and reality by drawingattention to its characteristic as an artifact by itself. No sense of reality in its entire spectrum as a genre even though the extremes of each end are minute acceptance and merely exploration of fictionality to the other end being utter denial of reality itself.D. ExamplesAdams, Douglas. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. 1979.Mitchell, David. Cloud Atlas. 2004.HAPPY ENDINGSA. CharactersThe author uses roughhewn names for the characters which allows him the versatility of putting them into unalike situations. Doing so supports the way the author puts much importance on what happens during the story instead of how it ends. Johnone of the well-nigh common male child names, has ranged from musicians (John Lennon), to leaders (John F Kennedy), to philosophers (John Locke) etc. This can emphasize the authors use of putting the character into different contexts, changing the plot and how he plays different roles, yet emphasizes that it all ends the same (death). -Idea that the ending of a story is constantly the same, except only the centerfield field of studys In the story he is a winning husband, adulterous partner, womanizerMarymeaning of the name Mary is Wished-for child rebellion bitter. Famous Bearers the Virgin Mary Mary Magdalene Mary, Queen of Scots. as well shows how the author putes his characters in different situations. James -minor characterFred minor characterMadge minor characterB. SettingThe author employs the use of place as condition in the story. Various examples of setting seen in the story are an apartment, as seen in story B, and a charming house, as seen in story A, C and As seen in the line, Remember, this is Canada. Youll still end up with A, though in between you may get a lustful brawling saga of passionate involvement, a put down of our times, sort of, the setting of the story and each of its segments is a medium for what each character does before he reaches the end.The setting of the story could have an influence on what one could do before he dies, the end which everyone eventually reaches. This is seen in the story wherein each segment (letters) had different bodies of story, yet every matter continues as in A in which the characters live on with their lives then die.D. Concepts Ex How do elements in the story help to create meaning? Like setting, tone, imagery, symbol, irony, etc Metafiction in quick EndingsThe author tackles the What? question in the writing process through his story Happy Endings. He goes through many scenarios but shows us that the conclusion to each scenario is the same. The question What? only leads to the ending of the story which we already know will be the same. The important things to ask rather are How? and Why?. These questions make up the middle of the story, the events that happen, the part that counts.Textual IronyTitle is Happy Endings but the real endings are al the same and result in deathConflictIs always changing depending on the situation given. Always has something to with the subject of love.SYMBOLSE. TitleHappy EndingsMost people usually focus on the ending of a storyEveryone wants a happy ending, but in reality we all meet an equal end whichis that we eventually die There is no such thing as a happy ending. All are the same in which we all eventually pass away. What matters is what is done as we reach the end.F. ThemeWhat matters the most in the story is not the ending, but what what we do on the way there, because we can change our situations by choosing to act in the present, but not matter what you do you cant change your inevitable end.-RANDOM NOTESMargaret Atwoods Happy Endings is an illustration of the idea that the ending of a story is always the same, but only the middle matters. And Love plays an important factor in all scenarios. SYNOPSIS It includes six stories in one, each ending with death. The author believes that this is the only convinced(predicate) ending to anything. The stories are all inter-related, containing the same characters and similar actions. Behind the obvious meaning of these seemingly pointless stories lies a deeper and more profound meaning. What is the common denominator between all these scenarios?In case you missed it, Atwood sums it u p in her concluding remarks. John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die. Happy Endings forces us to question the point of life. Every story, carried to its ultimate logical conclusion, has the same ending, because all lives have the same ending. We may die in the heat of fighting we may die in our sleep. We may die in infancy, in a gang war, in a nursing home. But were passing game to die. The story isnt in the ending its in what we do on the way there.RESOURCES USEDhttp//ronosaurusrex.com/metablog/list-of-metafictional-works/ http//www.geneseo.edu/johannes/Metafiction.htmlhttp//postcolonialstudies.emory.edu/metafiction/ixzz2e1Z087Wr http//www.storybites.com/book-reviews/happy-endings-by-margaret-atwood.php characters http//www.bookrags.com/studyguide-happyendings/char.html themeshttp//www.bookrags.com/studyguide-happyendings/themes.html(online copy http//web.ics.purdue.edu/rebeccal/lit/238f11/pdfs/HappyEndings_Atwood.pdf )