Satire
‘‘Happy Endings’’ is satirical in the way that it makes fun of the naive conception that a person’s, or a couple’s, life can have a simple happy ending. In version A, John and Mary build a life based on their nice home, rewarding jobs, beloved children, enjoyable vacations, and post-retirement hobbies. They experience one success after another. No problems or difficulties—major let alone minor— are mentioned; as such, their life is completely unreal.
Such unreality is emphasized by the events of version B. While John and Mary do not achieve...
Source: Short Stories for Students, ©2013 Gale Cengage. All Rights Reserved. Full copyright.
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