In a lot of ways the ending of the novel is generic, and perhaps even cheesy, but yet it also feels logical and conclusive to me. The ending is very sudden, and doesn't really seem to leave the reader with any idea of how Smithy's narrative will progress. However, I find this to be very consistent with the prior events of the novel, and the plot direction as a whole. From the outset, the journey was taken on a whim, unconsciously. There was a simple goal in mind of retrieving Bethany's body, but it was clear that for Smithy it was an introspective, emotional and psychological journey more than anything. For the novel to close as we see Smithy reach his physical destination, after rediscovering his past (physically and otherwise) and finding closure in it is therefore not unexpected. Smithy does not give the reader any sense of the possibilities for his future because he himself does not have any interest in contemplating anything other than the present. Smithy is content with his new beginning.
If you also interpreted the final scene with Norma as a hallucination, there's a lot less of that cheesy feeling, and all of the emotional and thematic importance to that scene is retained. As the hallucination of Bethany that has been torturing him for years is finally freed, Smithy begins anew with his love for Norma, confronting his guilt and pain associated with seeing her disabled body. The visual aspect of Smithy running alone on the beach to close the novel is also more appealing to me, as it emphasizes the personal, solitary aspect of the journey. The final scene and the scene with Bethany's body are both missing a typical heroic monologue, which probably adds to the abrupt feel of the last chapter, but in many ways this final emotional revelation was already made, split up over previous chapters. Smithy's last conversation with Bethany in the kitchen felt especially poignant and conclusive to me.
I think your conclusion of Norma being a hallucination that symbolizes a new beginning would make the novel's ending much more complete, but the only issue is that Bethany's spirit is flying along beside them. It is possible that she is finally flying away, freed, but I didn't get that from the text. I think that if this were a film this would be a really solid ending, but for a novel I just wasn't satisfied with the picturesque conclusion.
ReplyDeleteI agree that McLarty's ending wraps up the novel well and doesn't leave any loose ends, but I think it would have been nice to know what Smithy is planning to do in the future. My main problem with the ending is that Smithy makes a huge deal about seeing Bethany and then once he reaches her he just mutters a few words, kisses her, and leaves. I know it would have been really awkward if Smithy had recited a huge speech to her body, but the Bethany scene seemed a bit rushed.
ReplyDeleteI am not totally sure how I feel about the ending, but i do know that i was a bit unsatisfied, honestly. I felt like there needed to be more. like an epilogue or something, but there was nothing and i was just left feeling like i still had more to read.
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