In one Charlie Brown cartoon, Peppermint Patty wonders aloud “Do all fairy tales begin with ‘Once upon a time’?” to which Charlie Brown responds: “No, many of them begin ‘When I am elected, I promise…’” Leaving aside any political discussion here, we might move on to reflect on how fairy tales do not just start but end. Most fairy tales will have a perfect ending, and that most probably and most notably will be, “And they all lived happily ever after”. Is that the perfect ending?
Just as the first words of a novel are crucial, not least to instil a desire in the reader to read on, so the last words of a novel are equally important, to end on a high note, to make the reader think more, to leave the story strong in the mind. There have been many claims in many circles for novels to have the perfect ending.
Margaret Atwood ended her novel The Handmaid’s Tale with the line “Are there any questions?” which does give the answer perhaps as to what is a perfect ending. The classic Gone with the Wind ends with the line “After all, tomorrow is another day”, leaving much opportunity for the reader to think of what will happen. John Steinbeck’s East of Eden ends with “And now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good” which maybe goes against the argument of this article but it no doubt encourages readers well. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain ends with some humour (always a good way to end): “I got to light out for the territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she’s going to adopt me and sivilize me, and I can’t stand it. I been there before.”
The one novel that many would claim has the best opening and losing lines is Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, which opened with “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times” and ended with the main character Carton predict a future where his sacrifice will allow those “for which I lay down my life [to be] peaceful, useful, prosperous, and happy” and declare “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
We are not at the end of this article yet but it may be a far, far better thing that we get to the point, rather than waffle on about book endings! It is not just book endings that are important and interesting but also word endings – and when word endings end in ‘ending’ it is even more worthy of our attention! So, let us consider the following anonymous piece of advice or even instruction: “Live without pretending. Love without depending. Listen without defending. Speak without offending.” These are extending, transcending, commending words that should inspire our children.
Live without pretending. Relationships will end where there is pretence, façade, superficiality, acting. Children must learn to be themselves, not copy their heroes or parents or teachers or friends. Children must learn to face facts, to be told the truth and accept it honestly, bravely, positively.
Love without depending. Love is more about giving than receiving. The more we receive, the more we want to receive and the more we need to receive. We must learn to love without depending on favourable responses or tangible rewards. We love because it is right and best to do so.
Listen without defending. We need to be quick to listen, slow to speak. As Simon Sinek says, “There is a difference between listening and waiting for your turn to speak”. The best defence is often silence. “Good leaders”, says Sinek, “are the last to speak.” Actions speak louder than words.
