As a reader of books and a writer of stories, one would think that I always hope for a happy ending. After all, if you’ve read (or written) hundreds of pages of book and have gotten to know and have become invested in the characters’ story, then you’ll want a happy conclusion, right?
The above is true for me about 99% of the time, and it’s that 1% that makes me wonder if I’m some kind of sadistic jerk. But let’s be real, sometimes an ending is happy but not satisfying–like when the girl gets the guy she loves, but he’s the literal worst and only the audience seems to recognize it. Sometimes an ending is happy but completely unrealistic–like when a war or battle takes place and somehow all of the main characters survived with no permanent damage. And sometimes the happy ending is done well and is indeed satisfying, but a tragic ending would serve a greater purpose-like when a happy ending means a sweet girl finds her father and gets married, but the alternative ending would involve her death, and her death would be a catalyst that frees a lot of slaves from the hands of a disgusting human. See? Some stories need a sad ending.
The last example is obviously very much targeted at The Curse of Caste. Claire, our sweet, literally-deserves-the-best-of-everything-in-life protagonist has two possible endings: relationship with father and Frenchman, or death at the hands of a jealous woman who she has spoken, like, maybe three words to. If given the choice between the two, the answer should be obvious. Pick the ending where the good characters get to be happy and psycho characters get to wallow in self-pity, duh! It’s only fair.
But sometimes life isn’t about fair. In fact, it’s rarely about fair. Sometimes it’s about bad things happening to good people; sometimes evil wins. But the Bible says (and I realize not everyone is religious or believes these words) that God–while He doesn’t cause or create evil–will always turn it into good. In the “tragic ending” of The Curse of Caste, Claire dies, but her death makes Col. Tracy realize how screwed up the institution of slavery is, so he releases all of his slaves. Homeboy was a wealthy man! Who knows how many were freed because of Claire’s death. I know she wasn’t given a choice in the matter, but if she knew what dying would do, Claire probably would’ve welcomed it. She was a selfless girl like that.
In class, I said I believed the happy ending was the correct one, and I stand by that, but it’s not the ending that I prefer. Heroine happiness is almost always something I hope for, but heroine sacrifice for a greater or bigger cause is how all of the best stories end (even if said heroine is unaware of the effects of their sacrifice).
My Thoughts on African American Literature 