`` Happy Endings `` By Margaret Atwood

It is argued that long-term happy relationships have needs met while unhappy ones have unmet needs, this was said by Smith and Mackie

Happy Endings by author Margaret Atwood is a prime example of the literary device known as “a story within a story”. This short story has six different stories within itself. Due to the broadness of each story within the main story, Happy Endings can be classified as flash fiction. The two main characters, Mary and John have six different scenarios which are labeled A-F.

What then is happiness? Perhaps happiness is a basic and familiar concept, yet it may occur to be perplexing when one has to convey it through the medium of words. Lyubomirsky defines the term as “the experience of joy, contentment, or positive well-being, combined with a sense that one’s life is good, meaningful, and worthwhile” (Lyubomirsky 32). It is often subjective, personal, and can stem from a myriad of activities: some may experience similar feelings by engaging in sports, spending time with family and friends, others while reading or simply being in solitude. Due to the personal nature and subjectivity of happiness, a handful of myths pertaining to this concept has emerged. Three happiness myths were presented within the chapter: 1. Happiness must be found. 2. Happiness lies in changing our circumstances. 3. You either have it or you don’t. The first myth greatly piqued my interest, since I, too, have once externalized happiness and assumed that it would be found outside.

In 2002 the University of Illinois conducted an experiment surveying students attending U of I, using the top 10% scorers digging deeper into personal happiness. You may ask what cause it? One reason is the strong ties with family and friends. It shows the top scorers were found to be happiest when with their family, friends, and significantly happier than alone. The study also shown people with more “close relationships” being able to reveal

Relationships of all sorts are important to a healthy lifestyle. Whether it is close friends, family, or a significant other, humans physically need the benefits of a relationship to survive. All relationships are different and unique, but in order to have a successful and rewarding relationship, it must be a healthy one. Throughout the duration of Psychology of Close Relationship class and outside research, I have gathered what a good relationship consists of and how to improve within that relationship. Luckily, I have a great boyfriend and believe we have an excellent relationship, but of course there is always room for improvement.

He states "The surprising finding is that our relationships and how happy we are in our relationships has a powerful influence on our health. Tending to your body is important, but tending to your relationships is a form of self-care too. That, I think, is the revelation." The study also revealed that close relationships (more than money, or fame) are what keep people happy throughout their lives. Close relationships assist by offsetting mental, and physical decline. They are also better predictors of longevity, and overall health (better than societal class, IQ, or genes). This was found to be the results, across the board. Other studies also support this by showing that men's relationships in their 50's are a better predictor than cholesterol levels for a person's overall health. Stunningly, it also showed that marital satisfaction can have a protective effect on people's mental health. Those who had good standing marriages into their 80's reported that they had less change in their mood, secondary to them having physical pain. Those with unhappy marriages were more susceptible to more physical, and emotional

The major task of young adulthood is to develop intimate and emotionally satisfying romantic relationships. If this is not accomplished; the person often lacks the ability to have understanding, empathy, and support. Additionally, statistics show that adolescence and young adulthood are the loneliest age groups. This combination attributes to the reason being why single people are less happy than married individuals. Although it should be noted that research has shown that romantic companionship is more beneficial to men than to women.

The interesting thing about the short story "Happy Endings" by Margaret Atwood, is that the story is metafiction. As it states on page 284 in, "this is the thin part of the plot, but it can be dealt with later." Atwood is adding notes within the story almost mocking the point of the story itself. Metafiction literally means the author parodies the main point of the literature. The way Atwood creates multiple scenarios which plot makes her piece of literature very unique from others. She clearly states on 285, "That's about all that can be said about plots, which anyway are just one thing after another, a what and a what and a what."

The narrator addresses the audience to explain that all stories end the same, even if the story has a “happy ending,” with death. She directly states, “[y]ou’ll have to face it, the endings are the same however you slice it” (312). Atwood comes right out and directly tells the reader the point of her short story. She also tells her reader to “...[not] be deluded by any other endings, they're all fake...or just motivated by excessive optimism” (312). The repetition that “John and Mary die.

In Margaret Atwood’s, “Happy Endings,” the author writes about the nature of life. Throughout the short story, Atwood describes ‘happy endings’ through six different scenarios, which are all based around the characters, John and Mary. At the end of each scenario, the ending is all the same “John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die” (Atwood, 1984). Within the six different scenarios, Atwood describes how life is not what we expect to be, how it can end in the upmost perfect happy ending or how it could be filled twists and turns. Nothing in life is ever promised, you cannot be promised everlasting happiness, you cannot be promised love, but there is one thing that you can be promised: it will end.

At the same time a complicated plot can confuse the reader at the first sight. There is no strong and endless plot line, as it was already mentioned. The author shows just A-story, then B-story and so on. Another thing that confuses greatly is that the author finishes all the parts of the story, which are supposed to have a happy ending, referring to paragraph A. In paragraph B it sounds like ."..and everything continues as in A (70)." Then, in paragraph C it is ."..and everything continues as in A, but under different names (70)," in paragraph D one is ."..and continue as in A (70)." It creates an effect of having a couple of different stories which are ending with an A-story, of course. Why is Margaret Atwood doing it? Does she still have a story?

Happiness is key in life. This is a saying used for almost everything and everyone. This includes relationships. When asked by Time Magazine “Is there a pattern in the way that affairs begin?”

In the story “Happy Endings” the author Margaret Atwood gives 6 scenarios in alphabetical order from A to F of how a couples life could play out over the span of their lives. In these six scenarios Atwood uses satire to emphasize how interchangeable and simple each couples life is. In this story Atwood uses character, style, and point of view to chastise the desire for the everyday common life and the concern for only the “whats” in life and not “how or why”.

Through her claims, Atwood is trying to argue that life itself should always be the focal point of a short story and no one should dwell on the ending of the story. She says this because “…the only authentic ending is the one provided here: John and Mary die. John and Mary die. John and Mary die.” In addition, in continually saying that “if you want a happy ending, try A,” Atwood is emphasizes that there is no such things as a happy ending, since scenario A is unrealistic and impossible.

Happiness usually is derived from feelings of independence, competence, self-esteem, or relating well to other people (Sheldon et al., 2001). One aspect of adulthood that still remains the same, despite generational changes, is the development and maintenance of relationships. Erik Erikson spoke of young adulthood as the “Intimacy-Versus-Isolation Stage.” During this period, the focus is on developing close, intimate relationships