Endings

Marjan Faterioun and Liz Peters

The last section of a text which is known to wrap up or conclude the point or message that an author is trying to make
 * Ending definition**

In his writing, Rabinowitz talks a lot about how important endings are to a novel. He says that “its' difficult to recall all of a work after a completed reading, but climactic moments, dramatic scenes, and beginnings and endings remain in the memory and decisively shape our sense of the novel as a whole". Endings are extremely important because they leave the reader with their final impression, and can change the way one interprets the novel or text as a whole within a matter of sentences. Rabinowitz also talks about the ending from Dashiell Hammett's // Glass Key // of Ned Beaumont staring at an empty doorway. He then goes on to say that if this was anywhere else in the novel, the reader might just pass over it, but since it is at the end, it holds a larger amount of significance, and the reader knows they have to analyze that small detail. Arguable, endings are one of the most important parts of a book because of how it can affect the reader’s views of it.
 * Endings in relation to Rabinowitz**


 * Ending of //Plot Against America//**

"Across the face of each, across the cliffs, the woods, the rivers, the peaks, the geyser, the gorges, the granite coastline, across the deep blue water and the high waterfalls, across everything in America that was the bluest and the greenest and the whitest and to be preserved forever in these pristine reservations, was printed a black swastika." (Page 43) The main purpose of chapter one was an introduction to the scene, the charecters, and the current situation of the book. However, within this last sentence, it layed out the foundation of what the rest of this book is getting into. The ending of chapter one introduced the changes that would be coming along with Lindbergh being in office. These changes being represented by the "black swastika". Not only does this represent the changes, but there is so much more to it. The gorgeous area being described could be thought of as America, gorgeous and calm and untouched, in a sense. By saying that this is now replaced by a black swastika is representative of the untouched America being replaced by this dark idea. Automatically when most people think of a swastika, there is an extremely negative connotation that goes along with it, which I think is what Roth is trying to make the reader picture. This relates to Rabinowtiz because it leaves the reader with this last note at the ending of Chapter 1, arguably one of the most important which sets the scene and the characters. It really shows what's to come in the story and the reader is left with this vision of a black swastika covering the American scenery. It's obvious that this was placed at the end of the chapter for a reason.

"There was no stump for me to care for this time. The boy himself was the stump, and until he was taken to live with his mother's married sister in Brooklyn ten months later, I was the prosthesis." (Pages 361-362) This last line incorporates all of different parts of the book listed before. Including climatic moments, dramatic secnes, and beginnings. The ending is what ties all of this together, to reflect on the authors, or in this case, the speakers theme. Where Phillip has supported himself and Alvin throughout both of their journeys through this period of time, and now its relating to Philip doing the same for Seldon. This one sentence really gives the reader a final conclusion of the young boys personality, and how he has the desire to support people, or maybe that he always just ends up in that position. Philip had to grow up much faster than a normal young boy should, and by saying this sentence, its clear that he either is exteremly mature from the whole situation, or its from his perspective when he is older. This question often comes up throughout the book, and the author almost leaves it up to the reader in the ending to decide, which is another reason that this last section is so important to the novel.

A real life example of an ending is hard to come across, one could infer that the end of life is when they die. However, there are many mile stone or climactic moments in life that could be considered a begining of an end. Such as a graduation, the ending of a lifelong journey to discover who you really are. Another ending could include retirement, it could be seen as the end to your working career. Obviously, many texts have endings that as Rabinowitz says, have a larger significance because of its placement. If it were anywhere else in the film or novel, it wouldn't seem so important. In real life though there are other kinds of endings that people may not think about, such as a presidents farewell address. Here is former President Clinton's farewell address to the country. media type="youtube" key="nycvN6xk_tY&hl=en&fs=1" height="344" width="425"

When a president does this, they say the last words that they want to leave the people of the country with to think about them. The reinforce ideals from their presidency, and just like in Rabinowitz's descriptions of endings, the last words or a president act to shape how we view them as a whole. Although there are obvious endings in books because there is a last page, there are many non-textual endings in real life such as this one.