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On Epilogues and Ambiguity

  • Feb. 10th, 2011 at 7:11 PM
beth_shulman: (tv: cj cregg)
I've been thinking about this for a long while now, probably since reading Mockingjay last summer. I still haven't expressed what I mean very well, but I wanted to say it.

"For remember," he said, "that it is altogether your world now. You and all the rest. We have delivered you from evil, but the evil that is inside men is at that last a matter for men to control. The responsibility and the hope and the promise are in your hands—your hands and the hands of the children of all men on this earth. The future cannot blame the present, just as the present cannot blame the past. The hope is always here, always alive, but only your fierce caring can fan it into a fire to warm the world...

"For Drake is no longer in his hammock, children, nor is Arthur somewhere sleeping, and you may not lie idly expecting the second coming of anybody now, because the world is yours and it is up to you. Now especially since man has the strength to destroy this world, it is  the responsibility of man to keep it alive, in all its beauty and marvelous joy...

"And the world will still be imperfect, because men are imperfect. Good men will still be killed by bad, or sometimes by good men, and there will still be pain and disease and famine, anger and hate. But if you work and care and are watchful, as we have tried to be for you, then in the long run the worse will never, ever triumph over the better..."
From Susan Cooper's Silver on the Tree
"The tasks you set yourself are cruelly difficult. There is no certainty you will accomplish even one, and much risk you will fail in all of them. In either case, your efforts may go unsung and forgotten. And at the end, like all mortals, you  must face your death; perhaps without even a mound of honor to mark your resting place."

Taran nodded. "So be it," he said. "Long ago I yearned to be a hero without knowing, in truth, what a hero was. Now, perhaps, I understand a little better. A grower of turnips or a shaper of clay, a Commot farmer or a king—every man is a hero if he strives more for others than for himself alone. Once," he added, "you told me that the seeking counts more than the finding. So, too, must the striving count more than the gain..."

...

"Evil conquered?" said Gwydion. "You have learned much, but learn this last and hardest of lessons. You have conquered only the enchantments of evil. That was the easiest of your tasks, only a beginning, not an ending. Do you believe evil itself to be so quickly overcome? Not as long as men still hate and slay each other, when greed and anger goad them..."

...

And so they lived many happy years, and the promised tasks were accomplished. Yet long afterward, when all had passed away into distant memory, there were many who wondered whether King Taran, Queen Eilonwy, and their companions had indeed walked the earth, or whether they had been no more than dreams in a tale set down to beguile children. And in time, only the bards knew the truth of it.
From Lloyd Alexander's The High King
The train began to move, and Harry walked alongside it, watching his son's thin face, already ablaze with excitement. Harry kept smiling and waving, even though it was a little like bereavement, watching his son glide away from him...

The last trace of steam evaporated in the autumn air. The train rounded a corner. Harry's hand was still raised in farewell.

"He'll be all right," murmured Ginny.

As Harry looked at her, he lowered his hand absentmindedly and touched the lightning scar on his forehead.

"I know he will."

The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. All was well.
From J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
The questions are just beginning. The arenas have been completely destroyed, the memorials built, and there are no more Hunger Games. But they teach about them at school, and the girl knows we played a role in them. The boy will know in a few years. How can I tell them about that world without frightening them to death?

...My children, who don't know they play on a graveyard.

Peeta says it will be okay. We have each other. And the book. We can make them understand in a way that will make them braver. But one day I'll have to explain about my nightmares. Why they came. Why they won't ever really go away.

I'll tell them how I survive it. I'll tell them that on bad mornings, it feels impossible to take pleasure in anything because I'm afraid it could be taken away. That's when I make a list in my head, of every act of goodness i've seen someone do. It's like a game. Repetitive. Even a little tedious after more than twenty years.

But there are worse games to play.
From Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay

There's been an odd finality to the epilogues of fantasy series recently. I think it's what accounts for the polarized reactions. Spelling out for readers exactly what happens years later is frustrating; it is bound to disappoint someone. It robs the readers of the limitless possibilities that result from ambiguity. It limits the impact of the author's theme because readers can no longer draw their own conclusions about the outcomes of the book's conflict - because the result of good versus evil is specified play-by-play.

What problems does Harry face now? The success of the series may have been because Harry was easy to relate to; here Harry is unrecognizable. All was well? What kind of cop-out is that? What person achieves that sort of future?

Katniss's conclusion is worse. Mockingjay frustrated readers because it possesses such a depressed tone. And the conclusion says that she never recovered, never learned how to deal with that grief. What happened to Katniss the survivor? War and death are nightmarish but they're made even worse when they're allowed to control people's futures. (Although the conclusion is almost redeemed by "My children, who don't know they play on a graveyard." Almost.)

It's not as if the "years later" conclusion can't be done well. Lloyd Alexander demonstrates that. Perhaps it's because they don't fall into the genre of epic fantasy, but neither recent epilogue possesses the grandness and the vision that Silver on the Tree and The High King do. Instead, the conclusions undercut the stories. There is a neat little bow that ties the characters into a box and distances them from the readers. There is less of the universal truth of fantasy, the infinite interpretation of its symbols that comes along with ambiguity and doubt. There is less wonder. And the books suffer for it.

Comments

[identity profile] jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 11th, 2011 01:35 am (UTC)
LLOYD ALEXANDER TAUGHT ME EVERYTHING I NEEDED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE i remember how long it took me to find Taran Wanderer and how little I understood it when I first read it and oh I left those books at home for my sister and she keeps not reading them, alas.

and Silver on the Tree I read recently, and the interesting thing about those books is that I never doubted good would triumph over evil and I never doubted that solutions would present themselves without ever being hinted at, and yet I kept reading because it was beautiful and true anyway.

I think with Harry the urge was to show that he did come out of it all right. And I mean, in that moment, watching his son leave with his wife beside him, all was well. It's a bit distancing, but also a bit relief-inducing. (Also [livejournal.com profile] sarahtales made it all better with her Albus-and-Scorpio-are-friends fic.)

and I cannot get over the fact that within like the space of a year two books about butt-kicking K-named girls who end up with P-named guys came out. I think my hatred of Katsa is feeding into my desire not to read about Katniss. Ugh.
[identity profile] beth-shulman.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 11th, 2011 03:51 am (UTC)
YES YES YES.

yet I kept reading because it was beautiful and true anyway Pretty much. Even though my favorite was The Grey King, and my second favorite The Dark is Rising, and I didn't like Silver on the Tree the first time I read it, I still thought it was a great book.

I hear that. It just bothered me a little. Like, what a boring life he must have, although he might relish boredom. Then again, what, is there no evil of any sort? (WHAT WHAT WHAT WHERE)

I KNOW, I KNOW. First thing I thought of. The Hunger Games is better, though I don't really like dystopia and the third book is a royal mess.
[identity profile] styromgalleries.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 11th, 2011 04:56 pm (UTC)
Then again, what, is there no evil of any sort? (WHAT WHAT WHAT WHERE)
Reminds me of a line from Lord of the Rings. Paraphrasing from memory, but Gandalf says something to the effect of:

Even if we cast down Sauron, evil always takes a new shape. It may be just a shadow or shade of its former strength [and now I really am adding to it], but it's still there. It's not fully defeated because this is a fallen world.

And even if fantasies take place in A TOTALLY NEW SPARKLY ~FANTASY WORLD OMG!!1!, if it has no relation to our world, if we can't recognize ourselves and our lives in it somehow, then it's probably not going to ring true.
[identity profile] beth-shulman.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 11th, 2011 07:05 pm (UTC)
YES. EXACTLY.

And even if fantasies take place in A TOTALLY NEW SPARKLY ~FANTASY WORLD OMG!!1!, if it has no relation to our world, if we can't recognize ourselves and our lives in it somehow, then it's probably not going to ring true.

YES x1000.

(now is not the moment to confess that I have never read LotR, is it.)
[identity profile] styromgalleries.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 12th, 2011 03:00 am (UTC)
That's it. Defriending. Now.

Just kidding!

It's ok. As much as it pains me to admit, I know it's not for everyone. A few years ago, I wouldn't have been able to say this, but I noticed on my latest reread through it that Tolkien's style is rather dry. Staying with a story that long when it's not the most poetic or lyrical writing can be tough. XD

[identity profile] beth-shulman.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 13th, 2011 12:55 am (UTC)
:D That's what bothered me, I think. I tried reading The Fellowship of the Ring and there just wasn't anything that intrigued me. (Is there something wrong with me I love fantasy and I credit him with reviving it. Or creating it, even. I don't know.)
[identity profile] jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 11th, 2011 07:14 pm (UTC)
which one was the one with...Greenwitch? Is that the one where Jane meets the Lady? Or was that The Grey King? Hold on let me check. Oh, no, it was Silver on the Tree, and the ending of it still BREAKS MY HEART. I think of everything, the fact that Jane loses her memory of the Lady is what hurt me the most. (Also I ship Jane/Will SO HARD ALAS.)

sacrificing art for the sake of completion, or contentment? (please tell me you've seen Stranger Than Fiction.) (ALSO: NO LONGER ONLINE. YOU'LL HAVE TO FIND SOMEONE WITH THE PDF.)

i haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate dystopia. i read one a year. and i have yet to feel a need to read Hunger Games.
[identity profile] beth-shulman.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 11th, 2011 09:34 pm (UTC)
Greenwitch was the one with the Greenwitch :P (And with Jane. I love Jane. And Will. FOREVER SAD, that's all.)

Sometimes I think the forget-it-all ending is a bit of a cop-out, in an aw-shucks way, but mainly I think it adds to the magic of it all, in that you'll never know what and if you've forgotten...

NO I HAVE NOT, TELL ME MORE.
[identity profile] jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 12th, 2011 12:57 am (UTC)
(Not!Secret: I am SUPER-INDIGNANT that the Wikipedia article on Dark Is Rising mentions that "Bran may like Jane, as he indicated he thought he was pretty," but completely fails to talk about how Jane instinctively looks to Will, and vice versa, and how the two of them have the strongest bond to the Old Ones, and no one is talking about the tragic arthur/gwen/lance parallels going on, except this time Will is Lancelot and he's going to do the right thing, and TRAGEDY.)

yes!

ABOUT THE MOVIE?
[identity profile] beth-shulman.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 13th, 2011 12:57 am (UTC)
I have never thought about the parallels and I love that theory... *sad face*

YES, THE MOVIE! TELL ME MORE.
[identity profile] jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 13th, 2011 01:02 am (UTC)
YAY I AM GLAD

ummmmmmmm well at the end of it Dustin Hoffman has a line about how, "it's good. It's not great," and that was how I felt about the movie the first time I saw it--it was good but not amazing. And then I saw it a second time and realized that it is genius. Yes, it has Will Ferrell, but a) I am actually a fan and b) this is not Anchorman. See: Emma Thompson playing a writer and Dustin Hoffman playing an English professor and Maggie Gyllenhaal being adorable and

it is really really good and you should watch it. It is about Art and Writing and Responsibility and What Should You Do With Your Life and--watch iiiiiiiit.
[identity profile] beth-shulman.livejournal.com wrote:
Feb. 13th, 2011 01:04 am (UTC)
I will!

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