In the fictional short story “Happy Ending’s,” Margaret Atwood utilizes multiple narrative perspectives. Third person omniscient is a powerful view as it gives a look into each of the characters minds and has control over the diction. While the second person point of view draws the reader into interpreting the story differently. She supports her ideas through the role of the narrator. Atwood uses both third person omniscient and second person point of view to narrate her feelings of the story telling process as well as the point of life as a whole.
The most commonly used point of view in the short story is third person omniscient. In the first scenario Atwood describes the so called, “happy ending” which includes a happy marriage, good jobs, and a “charming” house with little to no detail. She sets a very boring tone in the scenario, perhaps exaggerating to the reader how dull it is to write about a perfect life. In scenario B the situation is much more interesting
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She also uses this writing style as a tool to teach what is important for the writer as well. In scenario B Atwood states, “you'll notice that he doesn't even consider her worth the price of a dinner out”, this probes the reader to ask themselves what kind of person the character is. Later Atwood starts using the second person perspective more like an instruction manual on how to write a story. Scenario E opens with Fred having a bad heart and ultimately passing away from it. After this detail Atwood says, “If you like it can be ‘Madge,’ ‘cancer,’ ‘guilty and confused,’ and birdwatching.’” Meaning it could have been Madge with the cancer, regardless of the situation though they both die. Fred and Madge share the same common ending with the other characters, because all humans share the same ending. Atwood is driving home the point that the plot of the story is the most important, not the