Atwood's Happy Endings

Certainly, stories -- whether real or fiction -- can have "Happy Endings." These are the scenarios in which the character all live happily ever after, just like in a fairy tale. However, happy endings do not make the most interesting stories. They do not provide much to write about or for the reader to comprehend. As I read through Atwood's short story, I get caught up in how John, Mary, Madge, Fred and James' lives all turn out, but her last paragraphs change my perspective on endings. She is right -- everybody's end is the same. They die. It is really the journey of how they get to the end that is the most interesting. Although the destination is always the same, the paths to get there are as the individuals. The structure of this store is very different from anything I have ever read; it really is just an elaborate list of how these people's lives all end, but there is little character development or interesting language or story development. The fact that it is intentionally repetitive and boring really helps Atwood make her point about the adventure being in the journey.