As we approach the end of the school year, it seems only
fitting to talk about endings. At the end Maus by art Spiegelman we encounter a
part where we see photos of the relatives in Vladek’s family and receive a
brief description of what happened to each of them. From what I noticed, the
overwhelming majority did not have a happy ending. Even for Vladek, his life
was far from a happy ever after. Generally when reading books, I don’t like having
to deal with suspense, so I flip to the end and make sure that everything is
fine and dandy. However, as we have seen often in history, there is not always
a cheerful conclusion. Thus I want to explore an interesting pattern I found
among the books we read versus the young adult books of today. It seems that
all of the books we read this year have an unhappy closure. Billy Budd, Vere,
Gatsby, Tea Cake, and Vladek all die. Additionally, Laura and Jim turn out not
to be a couple, and Tom runs away yet remains unhappy. On the other hand,
contemporary young adult books end happily: Voldemort dies, Catniss and Peta
get together, and good triumphs over evil once again. So why is it that the “great
literature” has a sad ending while the “kid’s literature” has a happy ending?
My hypothesis is that it has to do with realism. As we have seen in history
with issues like civil rights, things are never perfect, and life doesn’t
always end on a positive note. Thus, the not entirely happy ending is more
realistic. The authors we have looked at seem to be making statements about the
world. If the setting is not relatable, then the point would not have been
articulated to the full extent. Thus, meaningful texts cannot always end with a
smile. However, this doesn’t mean that they can’t. Good things do happen in
real life, and thus books can be meaningful representations of the world
without being sad.
