The End, The Final Words

"But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I been there before." -- Final lines of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.

King David Kalakaua of Hawaii (left) and author Robert Louis Stevenson.

According to the National Endowment for the Arts, fewer Americans are reading novels and short stories today. The NEA reported 37.6-percent of people read some form of fiction in 2022, down from 45.2-percent in 2012. The number has likely dropped since then.

Most of the fiction that people are reading are the crime and mystery genres. This information has me wondering what has become of the great literary tradition? Obviously we are spending more time online and getting our stories from Netflix, Hulu, HBO and other streaming sources.*

I guess you'd call me an "analog" guy. I like the touch and feel of paper, the typography and illustrations in ink. I probably read more stuff online today since printed newspapers are becoming obsolete. The draw of the online screen is strong and doubtless effecting how we absorb information and stories.

When, as a teenager, I first read J.D.Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, it opened up a whole new world to me. It helped me survive high school. I hadn't before heard a fellow teenager express such feelings of loneliness and personal insights. It was wonderful. I don't know if this kind of experience is possible with youngsters today; losing yourself in a book of words and thoughts and imagination.

As part of our entry to the University of California at Santa Barbara in fall of 1965, freshmen were asked to write an essay from a choice of topics. They included dissecting a sonnet; supporting or refuting capital punishment; comparing and contrasting two novels you had recently read.

I chose to compare and contrast two novels. They were The Stranger by Albert Camus and Lord of the Flies by William Golding, both of which I had read that summer.

I had no idea about what to say. I simply started writing my personal thoughts about the books. I do remember that I gave my essay the title: Who Are We? It got me into freshman English.

Rolling these thoughts through my aging brain got me thinking about the novels I’ve read.  I remembered scenes and characters but not how the stories ended: their final words.

In the interest of the legacy of our great authors and their work, I submit below the endings of a few great stories, most of which I have read. If there is a trend to these endings, it's the connection between the beginning of a great story and its ending, which is circular. 

What we find between the start and finish -- the gristle, meat and sweetness, along with the fear, hope and adventure -- is the essence of the story that makes us human. I wanted to know how these narratives ended. Surely we all want an ending.

Here are a few endings from the great literary catalog. Note: you can find them online just by asking. (I know, it's too easy.) For some, I did consult the books themselves.

 

"Oxen and wain-ropes would not bring me back again to that accursed island; and the worst dreams that ever I have are when I hear the surf booming about its coasts, or start upright in bed, with the sharp voice of Captain Flint still ringing in my ears: 'Pieces of eight! pieces of eight!" -- Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

"After a while I went out and left the hospital and walked back to the hotel in the rain." A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway.

"He would be there all night. And he [Boo Radley] would be there when Jem waked up in the morning." -- To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

"Yes, she thought, laying down her brush in extreme fatigue. I have had my vision." To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

"So we beat on against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

"And I [Ishmael] only am escaped alone to tell thee." [A reference from the Book of Job, following the destruction of the Pequod by the whale.] Moby Dick by Herman Melville.

"For everything to be consummated, for me to feel less alone, I had only to wish that there be a large crowd of spectators the day of my execution and that they greet me with cries of hate." The Stranger by Albert Camus

"Never was a story of more woe, than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare.

"it is accomplished!" [Spoken by Jesus dying on the cross after resisting the final temptation, signifying the completion of his earthly mission and sacrifice.] The Last Temptation of Christ by Nikos Kazantzakis.

"Poo-tee-weet." [The sound of a bird chirping that is repeated throughout, representing the absurdity of man's horrific destruction by war.] Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut. 

"She looked up and across the barn, and her lips came together and smiled mysteriously." [Rose of Sharon smiles as she feeds a starving man her breastmilk.] The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck.

"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody." The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

*Note: Huckleberry Finn, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Catcher in the Rye, Slaughterhouse-Five, Grapes of Wrath, The Great Gatsby, The Farewell to Arms and The Last Temptation of Christ have all been banned at one time or another in various school districts and libraries across the United States. The Stranger has not been banned, but has faced challenges and attempts at removal. The Lord of the Flies has been frequently challenged.