When it comes to TV shows and movies, people like to complain about endings. Whether it's Seinfeld or The Sopranos, there can be a lot of controversy about how the writers chose to tie up the loose ends on a show and bring it to an end.
Up to reading The Memory of Running, I hadn't really read an ending that I truly hated. And after reading it, I still haven't. However, I wasn't very happy about the way that McLarty decided to bring an end to the novel.
While I figured that Smithy would end up happily with Norma (though I didn't like it, from the beginning), I definitely didn't expect them to end up in LA together, let alone on Venice Beach. I figured Smithy might head home, and then their relationship would start up there. I found the fact that Norma came all the way to California to see Smithy (and Bethany) was rather unrealistic, and quite conceived upon the spot.
As I mentioned in class, this novel, full of stories about Smithy's life, didn't conclude with a typical "Smithy ending" (still working on getting this to become a widely used term in literary analysis) in which Smithy's efforts are more or less for nothing. Smithy's prom, his service in the military, his trip to visit Bill Butler, and his nationwide bike trip were largely negated by the misfortunate endings of these situations. For example, Smithy's poorly timed decision to relieve himself led to him getting shot up and the death of a fellow soldier, ending his military service (though he does receive a Purple Heart for his injuries). Or when, after biking from Rhode Island to New Mexico (that's not easy, folks!) decides to take a truck for most of the rest of the way to California. While Smithy's ride up through New Mexico is definitely admirable and worthy of recognition, but the fact that he slacks off in the end really undermined his previous actions, at least in my opinion.
As such, I was expecting the "ultimate Smithy ending" to conclude the novel. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I figured that there would be something to ultimately disrupt the "positivity and optimism" of the novel that Mr. Mitchell brought up in his previous blog post, despite the numerous misfortunes which Smithy faces. Instead, the ending serves to further reinforce this "happy ending", with Smithy and Norma having a happy ending.
While this happy ending isn't necessarily an overall bad ending, I was disappointed by it, because I felt like there were more interesting ways to end the novel, that would've been better fit for Smithy.
I am in complete agreement with you on this one. It's not that I didn't want a Norma and Smithy to be together. It's how and when they get together. Logically speaking, they have been together for a long time. But the appearance of Norma all of a sudden is what ticked me off. There were most certainly a multitude of ways in which the novel could have ended and I am disappointed as well with this abrupt ending.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point about the ending being less interesting than the story. Norma coming to California at the exact moment that Smithy is there seems hard to buy. I disagree with you about what would have made a better ending. I think a nice scene on the beach (without Norma) with his whole life ahead of him would have been better, etc., but I don't think Smithy deserves a grand Smithy-style ending to his quest, like getting hit by a train or something else to disrupt his optimism.
ReplyDeleteI do feel like reading this book after Faulkner makes the ending seem even more expected and anticlimactic.
Although I didn't like the ending, I am happy about the fact that Smithy got to finally be happy at the end. He really deserved it. However, I'm not sure about the term "Smithy-ending" because it is debated on whether the things he does that end in "failure" really have no purpose. If it weren't for his taking a ride on the truck, he may have never even made it to California. I don't think that it is "cheating" do hitch a ride, since he never seemed to definitively think or say that he was going to bike the whole way. I think it was kind of cool by McLarty to not have him bike the whole way, showing us that even now, after all of his weight loss and biking, Smithy still isn't perfect. It was a twist which had debatable and discussable meanings, but I thought that it was interesting.
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