Monday, April 26, 2010
Alternate Endings
Endings to stories, especially long ones, are extremely important. They end the story emotionally, but they also put the finishing touches on the themes they have been exploring. In Great Expectations, Dickens presents us with two different endings. Explore something else we read this year, and how a different ending would change its thematic level. Be specific about what happens in your alternate ending; be specific about how this changes the thematic level of the story.
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An alternate ending to a book could change the meaning, the theme, and the message to the book. If you take Othello and change the ending, it could alternate the reader's view on the book. In Othello, the author made it so the main characters die in the end, making this a bitter love story. The reader might think that it was romantic, having Othello and Desdemona die next to each other romantically. Also, when Othello makes the choice of death rather than living without his loved one, it shows the reader Othello's intense love for his wife.
If you alternate the ending to this story, the bitter love story theme is taken away, and new ideas unfold in the reader's head. For instance, instead of choosing death, the author could have had nobody die. I think it would have been more interesting if Iago escaped from their town and nobody could find him. Then the story would continue for a little longer and the couple would have to go through obstacles trying to avoid Iago and his thrive to kill the married couple. This would put a thrill to the book, and even though one of the themes of Greek literature is death, adventure should been inserted to give it a twist.
In the short story, the most dangerous game, an alternate ending would have completely changed the meaning of the story. In my alternate ending, Rainsford would be the one who gets killed, and not the General. This would change the whole significance to the story. The meaning would be changed to, its wrong to hunt and kill human, but ultimately its just another game, and the value of human life is lost. The general representing the game, whole rainsford is representing the value of humans.
An alternate ending to The Cask of Amontillado would completely change the story. If Fortunato realized what Montresor was trying to do, he could have turned the tables and locked up Montresor.
Originally, on the thematic level, Fortunato represented the part of Montresor that he wanted to lock away, so the theme of repression stood out. If Fortunato locked up Montresor, the theme of irony would stand out. It is ironic how when Monstresor tried to lock up Fortunato, he himself got locked up instead.
It would be interesting to see how an alternate ending can change the whole meaning and theme of a story, like in Great Expectations. For instance, if one were to change the ending of Oedipus, the entire story could be completely changed around. In my version, Oedipus would have never found out about Jocasta being his mother,so that they could go on their way without Oedipus blinding himself, or Jocasta killing herself. It would have completely covered up Oedipus' hamartia of being hasty in temper, and fate would have been avoided.
Alternate endings to books can enhance the thematic level of the book. In Great Expectations, therer were two different endings that displayed different themes. When Pip and Estella didn't meet at Miss Havisham's house, the theme was completely different. Pip didn't get Estella after all, and the theme of how people have to change is ruined. However, in the newer ending, that theme is preserved since the two stay together. One example of how an alternate ending can change the meaning of a story is The Cask of Amontillado. If Montresor had not locked up Fortunado and solved the problems a different way, then a different theme would have been shown. In the original ending, the insanity of Montresor is shown. However, if Montresor had not sealed up Fortunato, it would have shown how violence is not the answer. If they had talked about their differences and become friends again, it would have shown a different ending with what I think is a better ending.
The Cask of Amontillado was a very dramatic and creepy story. It was creepy because of its ending: Fortunato being walled up by Montressor. This gives the reader a theme of revenge and getting back at someone to the point where they cannot get back at you. In an alternate ending, if Montressor stopped walling Fortunato up, then this would completely change the whole theme. If Montressor decided that what he was doing was completely wrong, and let Fortunato out, then we would get the theme of forgivness. It would not make the story very climatic, because it would be a happy ending where we knew that no one died or was harmed. In the actual story it leaves you wondering what happened to Fortunato. How long did he live for after he was stuck in there? But if there was an alternate ending and he was let out, then you know what happened to him and you know that everything is ok. If will give you the theme of forgiving people for their wrongs and moving on together to get along better. It would turn the whole dark story into a happy little fairytale ending, which would throw the reader off. Any different ending resulting in no one getting killed or walled up would be very weird and would be considered a bad ending because it would disagree with the whole eerie feel of the story of Montressor plotting his terrible revenge on Fortunato.
In Oedipus, one of the original themes was that you should never ignore the truth. In my alternate ending to Oedipus, the prophecy did not come true, and the person who Oedipus killed was not his father, and he did not marry his mother. Instead it was a coincidence with his father. This alternate ending changes the thematic level of the story because it gives the reader a sense of relief that the prophecy did not come true. It also changes the theme to "don't always believe what you hear." This alternate ending however, does not give the story much conflict and shock, instead it gives the reader what they want to hear. The fact that Oedipus ends up learning the prophecy was fake, sort of makes the book predictable and realist. On the other hand, that's not always what a book wants. The author wants the reader to be open to different ideas of how the situation will end, and the real ending does that, but my alternate ending does not.
If I were to change the ending of The Cask of Amontillado I would make it so that instead of Forunado getting walled up, Montresor and Forunado go down to the wine cellar and Montresor makes Fortunado taste a lot of wine. The two of them get drunk and Forunado tells Montresor why he insulted him and Montresor tells Fortunado of his orginal plan to wall him up. They both speak freely and admitt what they did or planned to do is wrong. They go back to the party and all is good between them. This ending would change the theme of the story which is revenge to something like resolution. Fortunado and Montresor worked it out instread of trying to evoke revenge. This is not ususal to Poe's writing because someone always dies in his stories. But this ending would change the entire meaning and feeling to the story even though the story is short.
Sometimes alternate endings can completely change the mood and tone of the book. For example, in Great Expectations one ending is more romantic and cute and the other ending was bitter and tough. I thought the original ending (the shorter one) fit the book better. nothing in the book is romantic and happy and Estella was never nice. I feel that the other ending gives the book a happier tone because of the ending, but it kind of contradicts it.
In Othello, at the end of the book everyone dies and Iago is taken to jail. Even thought the villain is going to jail the tone is sad because most of the main characters die all because of one person. If at the end of the novel no one dies and Iago goes to jail then the story would have a a happy end relieved tone. through the whole book Othello and Desdemona love each other very much and the tone is happy and if the ending ended that way then it wouldn't change the mood of the story.
An ending sets your final mood for a story. Changing an ending to a story can make you feel totally different to how you would before. One book we read this year was Othello. In the end, there were many people that died. This includes Othello and Desdemona. An alternate ending could be with Othello and Desdemona living, and instead of Iago going to jail, he could get away.
This alternate ending would create a totally different tone. Instead of the ending being sad, it would be more scared. You would wonder where Iago was going and what he was going to do next. You would never know if he was going to get a second chance or not. This still would not be a very happy ending for Othello, but it would still be very different. From here, the story would either end with you wondering or have to go on until they find Iago. You wouldn't know what would happen to Othello and Desdemona and if they ended happy or with Iago doing something else to hurt them. There are many different ending that could take place in Othello but this is one that I think would be very interesting.
An alternate ending to Oedipus would be that the prophecy would not come true. He would not have married his mom and not have killed his father. He also would not have ripped out his own eyes. This would make the story have a happy ending, but would not have the sme effect on the reader. The play would not have been as interesting and would not appeal much to anyone.
An alternate ending to the book most dangerous game could be that neither of them are successful in killing eachother. This would mean that their "game" would still continue.
This could change the theme from being one about mans love for "the hunt" to one of the frailty of human existance. The theme would be more that life is just a game in which life is the currency.
Alternate ending can change the overall way the reader views the whole entire novel or story. Since it sums up the piece of writing, it is the final thoughts that are left with the reader even after they finish it. It changes the thematic level. In Great Expectations, the two endings Dickens includes leaves the reader with two different feelings about the story.
In Othello it ends with Othello killing himself after Desdemona dies. This shows that once Othello finds out the truth about what Iago did to him he feels absolutely terrible about killing Desdemona and believing that she cheated on him. An alternate ending could be that Othello finds out that Iago tricked him into believing that Desdemona had an affair before actually killing Desdemona. Desdemona and Othello would forgive each other and Iago would be the one who they would hate. This completely changes the thematic level of the novel. It gives the story a more "happy" ending. This ending is less dramatic and not as realistic and true to the style of writing we are used to seeing by Shakespeare.
After all that we've read this year, and especially seeing the double endings of Great Expectations, it is clear how important they are to the them of the entire stories.
Oedipus The Great was one of the books this year that we read, and that was packed with many themes. These could easily change however with a change in the ending. If the ending had the prophet not come true, then the entire themes of the book would change. It would not then be between fate verses free will, and would change to a reasoning of the truth of prophecies and if he choose not to make the prophecy come true.
The ending to novels are vital. It gives closure and finishing touches to the novel before it ends. When we read Great Expectation, it was easy to see that the two different endings can change the meaning and tone to the novel a lot.
One story that we read in class was Othello. At the end, Othello kills Desdemona for "betraying" her, when really, she did nothing wrong. A huge twist, or second ending on this story could be Iago kills Desdemona, because he is so jealous. This would create a new tone of jealousy more than hatred. It leaves the audience wondering what would happen between Othello and Iago.
In A&P, the protagonist Sammy attempts to be a hero in order to win the hearts of three young girls, however when his plan falls through he begins to feel the weight of the world crash down on him. In this ending there is a theme that stresses the weight of decisions and the high risk involved with making bold moves. It uses Sammy as an example of someone throwing his life away in order to look like a hero, but getting nothing in return. The ending could have been drastically different, however. In the end of the original A&P the girls don't even notice Sammy. In the new ending, they would notice Sammy, however Sammy would notice that they were actually men playing some sick variation of dress up. Mortified and unable to bear the shame of his decision, Sammy would run away into the wilderness. Over the next seven years, Sammy built up his survival skills. Then, an attack from China forces his entire town into hiding in the wild. This allows Sammy to demonstrate his superior skills and he become the leader of his town, and eventually leads a counter attack to push China out.
This alternate ending drastically changes A&P on many levels. For one, it becomes much more interesting, possibly even making A&P a story worth reading. On a thematic level it is very different as well. In the new ending a theme of making life the way you want it to be emerges. Sammy has a boring life in an A&P with a boss he doesn't like in the beginning. Yet after sticking up for what he believed in he ended up having a better life in the end, even though he had to work hard for a while to get this better life. Even though the story is a bit ridiculous, the themes of taking a fall to improve things in the long run, as well as doing what you believe in often hold true in the context of real life.
An alternate ending to a book can completely change it's meaning. In Great Expectations, Pip doesn't get Estella in the first ending, leaving the audience with a bittersweet end between them. However, in the second and published ending, it is presumed that Pip and Estella finally end up together, leaving the readers with a happy and romantic ending.
If you take the short story, "The Most Dangerous Game", and change the ending, it can create a completely different effect then the original one did. In the actual ending, Rainsford kills the General. But if you switch this to the General killing Rainsford, it can be a way of telling the readers that evil always triumphs over good. That in order to survive in this world, you have to be tough and not be sympathetic like Rainsford was. The entire meaning of the story would change.
One of the short stories we read this year, "The Most Dangerous Game," would be very different if it had a different ending. In the story, Rainsford kills General Zaroff in the end. In another ending, it would've been Rainsford who was killed which would have changed the entire theme of the story. Zaroff would have gotten his way in the end and 'won' his little hunting game, and Rainsford would merely be another man hunted by Zaroff. This wouldn't give the story the surprising twist in the end and would make it kind of boring because it would be so predictable.
In the story "The Most Dangerous Game", an alternate ending would be Rainsford getting killed. The old theme, Rainsford taking General Zaroff's place, changes completely. The old ending also leaves room for the reader to think if Rainsford will save all the people or continue with Zaroff's game. This new ending makes it clear to the reader of what will happen. It also ends the story very depressing, and tells the reader not to try to fix bad things cause you will always fail.
In the story "Othello", an ending could dramatically change the theme. At the end of Shakespeare's novel, most of the characters end up dying because of Iago's selfish motivations. Although his actual motivations are debatable, the theme remains constant; those who commit evil while endure consequences. The consequences of Iago's hatred and cruelty are found in the loss of multiple characters. However, if no characters ended up dying, the theme would be greatly altered. It would send off the message that if wrong is committed, there will be no consequences. Furthermore, Iago's plans would have never been discovered which would imply that those who commit evil can get away with it. This alternate ending would change the course of the meaning into a whole other direction and point of view.
Earlier this year we read Othello and an alternative ending would include Iago being found by Othello, and Othello would realize his silly fantasized ideas of his wife's affair. He would then proceed to kill Iago in rage and everyone would breathe a sigh of relief that their comrades were not turned against them, but that they needed to be more trusting and that rumors will get them nowhere.
This new ending would change the entire outlook of the story. It would give a theme of friendship and trust that should be strengthened between friends. It would not talk about the brilliance of a few malevolent whispers of lies, but about the need for love and trust. It would not be nearly as interesting or thought-provoking, but nobody would die. The theme would be simple of good vs. bad and not quite debatable as the old ending would be.
In Othello, if Othello and the rest of the cast had forgiven Iago instead of killing everyone, then the theme would be changed. Instead of being a story of revenge, it would change to be a story of forgiveness. Othello would forgive Iago for his crimes and deciet, and nobody would die, (except maybe Cassio because nobody likes him).
In Great Expectations, the alternate ending did not completely change the novel, although it did affect the reader's knowledge and what they are left with at the end. If you were to change the ending of The Most Dangerous Game, though, it could change the entire story. Instead of Rainsford sleeping in Zaroff's bed at the end, which left a question of whether or not he was taking his place on the island, the author could have written it so that Rainsford freed all the prisoners at the end and left no question about the ending. This would have made the story less of a mystery, and also it would have made it so that Rainsford ended up as the "good guy" after all. This would have also made the story less complex, though, and would have been a more "black and white" or "good vs. bad" approach.
By changing the ending of a book, the reader could be provided with a different theme or message. For example, take the short story "The Most Dangerous Game". Throughout the story, you get the idea that General Zaroff is evil and that Rainsford is the good guy with strong morals for humanity. While fighting in the jungle for their lives, Rainsford's morals are tested and even changed. Somewhere along the way, he becomes more and more like General Zaroff. At the very end Rainsford kills Zaroff and then sleeps in his bed, meaning that is now taking the General's position of the bad guy. The theme the this ending presented was that anyone can change, even for the worse.
If the ending was changed, then the theme would have been completely different. Instead of Rainsford sleeping in the General's bed, he could have found a way to escape the island. After escaping, he could have lived on to be a hero, tell his story to the world, and be known as the one who defeated General Zaroff. This ending would have completely changed the thematic level and show that people can keep strong morals even through the worst of times.
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