The Tao of Happy Endings
Nov 28, 2022 18:24:20 GMT -5
Post by Radrook Admin on Nov 28, 2022 18:24:20 GMT -5
The Tao of Happy Endings
Martha, age twelve, was the spitting image of her mom, slim, blond, blue-eyed, and of ivory skin. She also seemed to inherit her mom's intense interest for reading and writing. Now, ever since the divorce and her gaining full custody, the burden of raising her correctly lay heavily upon her shoulders. So what Little Martha read, was of great importance to her mom.
Yes, Martha was doing fine in school. Good grades! Yes. they were also getting along just fine in their two-storied row-house in downtown Baltimore. This day of December it had snowed heavily and the birthday party that Martha was to attend had to be cancelled. So she had gone to her upstairs bedroom to read.
"Did you finish reading the short story Martha" Martha's mother asked, after seeing her daughter pick up a short story anthology but then cast it aside in frustration. She sat on the bed next to Martha so they could talk about it.
“Yes, I did read one of the stories mom." Martha replied somberly.
“Was it interesting?"
“Yea it was, sort of!”
“What was it about?
“It was about this woman who lived alone in this house..
“An old woman, or a young woman?
“Gee mom. I don’t know. The story didn’t exactly say. It just said a woman"
“Did she live in a small house or a big one?"
“Well, the story didn't say. It just said a house.
“Did she have pets at least?"
“Yea, the story says she had a dog."
“What kind of dog hon? Small dog? Big one like a German Shepherd? Or was it a small one, like a Chihuahua?"
“I don know mom. The story didn’t say. It just said a dog.
“So where did the story take place sweetheart? In the United states?"
“ It just says that she lived in this house in the country."
“Did she have family?"”
“It says that family visited every week on Sundays,
“Her brother and sisters?"
“The story just says family."
“So did the story at least have a happy ending?"
“Yeah mom. Her family introduced her to this young fellow and they fell in love and got married.
“So what kind of fellow was he?"
“Well mom, the story just says a fellow, her family brought over for a party one day."
“Was he short, tall, dark complexioned?"
“Don‘t know mom, it just says fellow" the little girl said in a semi-whining way that indicated that at at a deeper level, she indeed had noticed that the story had somehow been defective.
By this time the mother was also starting to become frustrated, not with her daughter, of course. Her daughter was merely the victim of shabby writing, but with the writer of the story. After all, what exactly was he expecting the reader to see since he used vague generalities.
“But did you like the story Martha?” she finally asked in order to see exactly what had been going on in her daughter’s mind while reading it.
“It was OK. I guess!"
“OK? Really hon? In what way?" her mother asked.
“Well mom, it had a happy ending, and that’s what really counts. Right?"
Now where exactly her daughter had managed to derive that notion, was anybody’s guess. It sure as hell wasn't from her. She expected far more from short stories than happy endings. After all, invariable happy endings would drastically reduce drama which depends on unpredictability of an outcome. It reminded Martha’s mother of a movie she had gone to see as an adolescent and this kid, who had already seen the picture, kept telling everyone not to worry since nothing bad was going to happen to the protagonist whenever the protagonist seemed in danger. Part of the drama, of course, was in not knowing, and he ruined it for the rest of the moviegoers.
So having all stories wind up in a nice way would certainly make them monotonously predictable and reduce the tension necessary to hold her daughter’s interest, since no matter how convoluted the twists and the turns, the reader would always be sure that in the end, everything was going to turn out honky dori just as the author always had promised it would be.
Aliens? Bah! Somehow or other, they would become docile, easily defeatable, or mysteriously disappear. Natural Disaster Danger? Bah! Somehow or other it would be avoided. Broken hearts? Bah! Somehow or other they would be mended. Of course, certain readers needing constant reassurances that the world is not as dangerous as it really is, would respond with broad alleviated smiles of approval. However, the majority, which are those expecting far more from fiction than just happy endings, would become annoyed just as her daughter had.
So she certainly did not want her daughter reading with that unrealistic, irrational expectation in mind and always being deeply disappointed if a story deviated from a totally happy ending.
She rightfully worried that her daughter’s young tender, mind would learn to expect only happiness and would eventually be ill-prepared for the disagreeable realities of twists and turns and unpredictable ups and downs of life. The mental frailty induced by such expectations would lead to depression and even maybe a nervous breakdown. So no, this was certainly not good from mental-health perspective for her Martha and she needed to intervene.
“What do you mean that a happy ending is what really counts, Martha?” she asked very cautiously while placing a comforting palm of her hand on Martha's shoulder.
“You know mom." Martha moaned
“No I don’t, hon, tell me!"
“Well, mom, isn't it better to feel happy than to feel sad or angry or disgusted, or frustrated or scared?"
“Sure honey!" her mother said, while hugging her daughter to her breast, and giving her a huge kiss on one plump rosy cheek.
"It's good to feel happy and safe, and I’m glad that you are reading positive things. But I think that you should read works from another writer as well. You know, a writer who puts more effort into his writing by describing clearly so you can see them in your head as you are reading, and whose story-endings are not always so pleasantly but monotonously predictable.
“See them in my head? Endings not always happy? Mom?"
“Yeah! You know, like when you see things in dreams. In the same way, but while being awake and reading. And also like when you are surprised and thrilled because you never expected something to happen at the end. Those two things."
After contemplating how disappointed Martha was looking she asked:
“You really didn’t see anything in your head and weren't surprised by the ending, were you hon?"
Her daughter shook her head. “No mom, I just heard names like Joe, Bill, Betty Sam. But I didn’t see the people in my head. And I read words like house forest, but didn’t really see them. And no, I was not surprised by the ending, mom, since he always ends his stories that way.
Noticing her daughters growing sadness, her mom quickly added:
“But that’s not your fault sweetheart, is it? Do you really know whose fault it is?”
“The writer?"
“Yes, pumpkin. It is the writer’s fault. The writer is supposed to describe those persons and places and those animals clearly so you can see them. You see, a reader is like a blind person who needs to be told how things look in his story. Otherwise there is nothing that his mind can see. Or the reader might imagine things completely different from what the writer intended.
And yes, a writer is also supposed to vary the story endings so that his readers don’t get bored by expecting the same thing over and over. Here! Try reading this anthology and tell me what you think when you're finished."
A few days later after reading the anthology. Martha looked amazed.
“Mom! I saw everything like I was right in the places he spoke about and with the people he was telling me about. The endings always a surprise me too. ”
“Were they all very happy endings sweetheart?"
Some were, but not all. But that made it fun. Thanks for telling me to read those stories."
“Well, hon, if you ever decide to become a writer, now at least you know two things to avoid. So a very valuable lesson has been learned."
Eventually, Martha did grow up to be a professional writer and became widely renown for the vivid imagery that graced every story and for their unpredictable, and very interesting endings..
Yes, Martha was doing fine in school. Good grades! Yes. they were also getting along just fine in their two-storied row-house in downtown Baltimore. This day of December it had snowed heavily and the birthday party that Martha was to attend had to be cancelled. So she had gone to her upstairs bedroom to read.
"Did you finish reading the short story Martha" Martha's mother asked, after seeing her daughter pick up a short story anthology but then cast it aside in frustration. She sat on the bed next to Martha so they could talk about it.
“Yes, I did read one of the stories mom." Martha replied somberly.
“Was it interesting?"
“Yea it was, sort of!”
“What was it about?
“It was about this woman who lived alone in this house..
“An old woman, or a young woman?
“Gee mom. I don’t know. The story didn’t exactly say. It just said a woman"
“Did she live in a small house or a big one?"
“Well, the story didn't say. It just said a house.
“Did she have pets at least?"
“Yea, the story says she had a dog."
“What kind of dog hon? Small dog? Big one like a German Shepherd? Or was it a small one, like a Chihuahua?"
“I don know mom. The story didn’t say. It just said a dog.
“So where did the story take place sweetheart? In the United states?"
“ It just says that she lived in this house in the country."
“Did she have family?"”
“It says that family visited every week on Sundays,
“Her brother and sisters?"
“The story just says family."
“So did the story at least have a happy ending?"
“Yeah mom. Her family introduced her to this young fellow and they fell in love and got married.
“So what kind of fellow was he?"
“Well mom, the story just says a fellow, her family brought over for a party one day."
“Was he short, tall, dark complexioned?"
“Don‘t know mom, it just says fellow" the little girl said in a semi-whining way that indicated that at at a deeper level, she indeed had noticed that the story had somehow been defective.
By this time the mother was also starting to become frustrated, not with her daughter, of course. Her daughter was merely the victim of shabby writing, but with the writer of the story. After all, what exactly was he expecting the reader to see since he used vague generalities.
“But did you like the story Martha?” she finally asked in order to see exactly what had been going on in her daughter’s mind while reading it.
“It was OK. I guess!"
“OK? Really hon? In what way?" her mother asked.
“Well mom, it had a happy ending, and that’s what really counts. Right?"
Now where exactly her daughter had managed to derive that notion, was anybody’s guess. It sure as hell wasn't from her. She expected far more from short stories than happy endings. After all, invariable happy endings would drastically reduce drama which depends on unpredictability of an outcome. It reminded Martha’s mother of a movie she had gone to see as an adolescent and this kid, who had already seen the picture, kept telling everyone not to worry since nothing bad was going to happen to the protagonist whenever the protagonist seemed in danger. Part of the drama, of course, was in not knowing, and he ruined it for the rest of the moviegoers.
So having all stories wind up in a nice way would certainly make them monotonously predictable and reduce the tension necessary to hold her daughter’s interest, since no matter how convoluted the twists and the turns, the reader would always be sure that in the end, everything was going to turn out honky dori just as the author always had promised it would be.
Aliens? Bah! Somehow or other, they would become docile, easily defeatable, or mysteriously disappear. Natural Disaster Danger? Bah! Somehow or other it would be avoided. Broken hearts? Bah! Somehow or other they would be mended. Of course, certain readers needing constant reassurances that the world is not as dangerous as it really is, would respond with broad alleviated smiles of approval. However, the majority, which are those expecting far more from fiction than just happy endings, would become annoyed just as her daughter had.
So she certainly did not want her daughter reading with that unrealistic, irrational expectation in mind and always being deeply disappointed if a story deviated from a totally happy ending.
She rightfully worried that her daughter’s young tender, mind would learn to expect only happiness and would eventually be ill-prepared for the disagreeable realities of twists and turns and unpredictable ups and downs of life. The mental frailty induced by such expectations would lead to depression and even maybe a nervous breakdown. So no, this was certainly not good from mental-health perspective for her Martha and she needed to intervene.
“What do you mean that a happy ending is what really counts, Martha?” she asked very cautiously while placing a comforting palm of her hand on Martha's shoulder.
“You know mom." Martha moaned
“No I don’t, hon, tell me!"
“Well, mom, isn't it better to feel happy than to feel sad or angry or disgusted, or frustrated or scared?"
“Sure honey!" her mother said, while hugging her daughter to her breast, and giving her a huge kiss on one plump rosy cheek.
"It's good to feel happy and safe, and I’m glad that you are reading positive things. But I think that you should read works from another writer as well. You know, a writer who puts more effort into his writing by describing clearly so you can see them in your head as you are reading, and whose story-endings are not always so pleasantly but monotonously predictable.
“See them in my head? Endings not always happy? Mom?"
“Yeah! You know, like when you see things in dreams. In the same way, but while being awake and reading. And also like when you are surprised and thrilled because you never expected something to happen at the end. Those two things."
After contemplating how disappointed Martha was looking she asked:
“You really didn’t see anything in your head and weren't surprised by the ending, were you hon?"
Her daughter shook her head. “No mom, I just heard names like Joe, Bill, Betty Sam. But I didn’t see the people in my head. And I read words like house forest, but didn’t really see them. And no, I was not surprised by the ending, mom, since he always ends his stories that way.
Noticing her daughters growing sadness, her mom quickly added:
“But that’s not your fault sweetheart, is it? Do you really know whose fault it is?”
“The writer?"
“Yes, pumpkin. It is the writer’s fault. The writer is supposed to describe those persons and places and those animals clearly so you can see them. You see, a reader is like a blind person who needs to be told how things look in his story. Otherwise there is nothing that his mind can see. Or the reader might imagine things completely different from what the writer intended.
And yes, a writer is also supposed to vary the story endings so that his readers don’t get bored by expecting the same thing over and over. Here! Try reading this anthology and tell me what you think when you're finished."
A few days later after reading the anthology. Martha looked amazed.
“Mom! I saw everything like I was right in the places he spoke about and with the people he was telling me about. The endings always a surprise me too. ”
“Were they all very happy endings sweetheart?"
Some were, but not all. But that made it fun. Thanks for telling me to read those stories."
“Well, hon, if you ever decide to become a writer, now at least you know two things to avoid. So a very valuable lesson has been learned."
Eventually, Martha did grow up to be a professional writer and became widely renown for the vivid imagery that graced every story and for their unpredictable, and very interesting endings..