Endings That Last

Endings. Everything has one. Stories. Moments. Relationships. Lives. But what elements separate the endings that leave an impression from those of which leave us thinking, "Uhm, okay...?"

Endings are all around us. Sometimes, they're positive, such as relationships that end to transform into something bigger and better, like marriage. Other times, they're rather unfortunate, such as a lost life or a forgotten memory. Nonetheless, we don't remember every ending to everything we've seen or read or experienced; we remember those that last.

Playing more on endings I've seen or read, here's a list of some of the best endings I recall:

*****WARNING: SPOILER ALERTS AHEAD. READ AT OWN CAUTION.*****

Movies:

1. Inception: Cobb seemingly escapes the dream world and returns to his family in reality, but viewers are left on a thread as the film ends before the spinning top comes to a halt. Although it isn't specified, Cobb's totem is perceived as the spinning top, and viewers are forced to decide on whether or not he actually returned to reality. Leaving the audience with this element of surprise, making them think a little, ends the story with some mystery.
• SPOILER: Cobb actually managed to escape the dream world. His totem isn't the top; it's his wedding band. In reality, it's off; in his dreams, where he and Mal are still together, it's on. It's off at the end of the movie.

2. Titanic: Although she had lost the love of her life, Rose dies an old woman, warm in her bed, just as Jack promised she would before he died in the ocean, many years before, from hypothermia. Moments before she peacefully passed, she dropped the Heart of the Ocean into the sea over the wreck site of the Titanic. This ending leaves the audience at ease, as Rose was finally able to get closure over losing Jack.

3. 50 First Dates: Lucy wakes up and plays a tape Henry made for her, recalling her accident. Instead of ending in the loop she once lived, the tape ends with her and Henry's wedding, and she meets her husband and children on the deck. I liked this particular ending because it was one of those feel-good endings. Henry, formerly known as a promiscuous player, was able to get Lucy, the once confused amnesiac, to remember him and her love for him, as he fell madly and deeply in love with her.

Literature:

1. The Things They Carried: This book, "neither a novel nor a short-story collection," is one of my all-time favorites, and I must admit, the ending was a primary factor as to why. O'Brien ends his compilation of war stories with "The Lives of the Dead." He explains how back in Vietnam, the soldiers kept the dead alive by telling stories about them. And basically, he keeps his childhood love Linda alive by telling stories of her, as well as ruminates over how he's lived his entire life trying to save his childhood life.

• Last line:
• "I'm skimming across the surface of my own history, moving fast, riding the melt beneath the blades, doing loops and spins, and when I take a high leap into the dark and come down thirty years later, I realize it as Tim trying to save Timmy's life with a story."
2. The Great Gatsby: Another, somewhat overplayed, classic, this novel is another all-time favorite. The plot revolves around obsession, partying, narcissism, and accidents, and the ending statement is one of the most quoted lines by many English teachers I know. It captures everything that the preceding pages suggest: there can be no way for this book to end--end in the sense that time or a legacy cannot end. Shit happens, and we all learn to deal.
   
• Last line:
• "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."
3. The Perks of Being a Wallflower: I remember reading this story in tenth grade, thinking it was one of the greatest stories ever told. Still a favorite, this novel contained so many quotes I absolutely loved. This coming-of-age novel is about the misadventures and the memories of starting/being in high school. The ending itself is very nostalgic, and it reminds the reader to live in every moment. Because before you know it, it's gone. Just like that.
   
• Last line:
• "And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite."

Short Stories:

1. A Temporary Matter (from Interpreter of Maladies): Shoba and Shukumar, a trying couple, with high hopes of rekindling their flame, face their tragic fate.
• Last line:
• "They wept together, for the things they now knew."
2. The Trespasser: A girl fears becoming the trespasser of her own life.
• Last line:
• "The dream that scares her awake over and over is the dream of entering a stranger's bedroom--only it is her room--and encountering there her own body, waiting."
3. The Most Girl Part of You: After getting intimate with her best friend Big Guy, a girl realizes she's ready to grow up and start living.
• Last line:
• "I want him to know what it clearly seems to me: that if it's true your life flashes past your eyes before you die, then it is also the truth that your life rushes forth when you are ready to start to truly be alive."

In essence, the best endings are the longest-lasting ones. They're the ones we carry with ourselves everywhere we go. They can be nostalgic, reminding us of our former lives, or elusive, leaving us with a sense of mystery--a sense of magic. They are relatable, and they don't add anything out of the blue. They're realistic, ending in situations we could actually picture happening. I'm still debating on where I want my story to go, but I'm thinking about ending the story happily--however, not clichéd. I hope to leave readers feeling good and possibly a little nostalgic.

Looking Backwards at "Cheating Upwards"

This past summer, I was forced to read and write about an article titled "Cheating Upwards." When I first read it, I didn't think very much of it. All I really thought was, I get to read and write about cheating? Greeeeaaaaat. Frankly, and unsurprisingly, the Directed Self Placement (DSP) was the last thing I wanted to do during the summer before the start of my college career. And the fact that the DSP was on such a banal topic didn't help my interest. Plagiarism was something that my generation was constantly reminded of throughout our secondary education. It wasn't anything new to me--it was old news.

However, after rereading the article now, I realize there were many things I didn't notice my first read through. Due to my inattention, or more so my lack of interest, I hadn't realized Robert Kolker introduced his essay with a three-page story to lure his audience in. I mean, don't get me wrong; I wasn't oblivious to the presence of the story. I just didn't really process, nor had I really cared to know the purpose of the implementation of a story. Instead of conveying the scandal in the standard news report format, Kolker had managed to transform the news into a story, which allowed for readers to better visualize what exactly had happened.

Kolker was careful to include several story elements when introducing his non-fiction. He began the story by describing the setting, vigilant to incorporate every specific detail. He noted the time and date, the environment and scenery--everything visible to the naked eye at the place and time of the start of the crime. Kolker then proceeded to further describe the main character, Nayeem Ashan, illustrating his appearance and background. "Like many teenage boys, he [seemed] to straddle two worlds: One moment you see a man, another a boy." After providing an adequate history of Nayeem, Kolker continued on by introducing the conflict at hand: cheating. The plot then begins to develop, moving the story along as well as noting the impact of the technological and collaborative culture kids these days are being raised in. Rising action builds as Nayeem grows bolder and bolder with his ethics, climaxing during his Spanish Regents exam--specifically when Stanley Teitel, the Stuyvesant High School principal at the time, enters his testing room.

While I was rereading this piece, I recalled most of the content. It definitely was something that stuck with me, as I recall being appalled and amazed that a bright and intelligent student actually had the audacity to cheat on not one, but three important examinations. I mean, it's not that I wasn't aware of students of all academic levels cheating; I just assumed that students as smart as Stuy kids would know better than to risk their academic career like that on something as major as an exam. Rereading about the Harvard case reiterated the importance of academic integrity and the severe consequences of plagiarism. I remember when I first read about the case, I viewed it as a scare tactic from UMich to alarm incoming freshmen of where cheating could get them.

I certainly saw this article differently my second read through. Maybe it's because I had to write this blog post, or maybe it's because I'm a more developed reader and writer as I once was, but I now notice the purpose of the usage of certain elements, such as anecdotes and rhetorical questions. I'm more aware of Kolker's transitions and overall writing style. After six months, after my first term of college, I've become a more attentive reader, questioning and interpreting the voices and the writing styles of every writer, as well as analyzing how each writer goes about conveying his/her purpose.

I don't remember how I wrote my essay, especially since my hard drive crashed last week and I didn't back it up, but if I were to write the DSP essay today, I would deviate from the standard five-paragraph essay I was taught to write in high school. I would develop my essay with an abundance of quotes, to better support my claim. Also, I would consider disregarding the prescribed writing rules my honors/AP English teachers taught me to adhere, such as eliminating rhetorical questions and beginning my sentences with conjunctions.