Alternate Ending - of Mice and Men

Introduction to Alternate Endings in Literature

Alternate endings can reveal shifts in plot, character, romance, and theme. Vietnam War narratives, for example, offer a useful thought experiment for including an alternate ending. Genres like romance, science fiction, choose-your-own-adventure, fan fiction, and literary fiction often contain alternate endings.

Alternate endings afford readers—and viewers and gamers—the catharsis of feeling disappointment, deferral, and surprise. Alternate endings also trigger a different readerly lens upon the primary text. At their core is a human desire: to prove, in reading or writing, that the original could be or become something else. In this essay, I discuss alternate endings for one of the most pressing classics-as-contemporary literature and its film adaptation. First, I focus precisely on an alternate conclusion draft cut from the novella by the author. Next, I discuss whether a missing scene meant to serve as the script’s wink shines light upon its conclusion, creating such a proper final ending to the genre film narrative that it has never been written elsewhere.

Analyzing the Original Ending of 'Of Mice and Men'

Of Mice and Men was published in 1937, a time when 60% of all families in America were living in poverty. The original ending is both memorable and disheartening. Lennie, who suffers from mental health problems, has killed mice and, most recently, a puppy. He and his friend George, who has been in trouble because of Lennie’s behavior many times, are looking for work on a ranch. They promise each other to work hard and find a way to buy a small bit of land, where they can raise rabbits and chickens and make their dreams come true. In the original ending, George, against his better judgment, takes Lennie to a serene place by a river, far from everyone who might want to hurt him, and shoots him, as another worker shoots Candy’s old dog, who is also suffering and in pain.

The ending is devastating despite Lennie's death being a relief. George is portrayed as a carer and has guided Lennie away from problems. For George, Lennie's death represents the hardships of the Depression. The narratives end happily for George but not for the readers. George sacrifices everything, knowing he will never attain his dreams. The story operates on different levels of meaning.

Proposing and Developing Alternate Endings for 'Of Mice and Men'

Alternate Ending 1: George raises the gun and unintentionally shoots Curley. He realizes he can never leave Lennie now and carries him away into the sunset. Alternate Ending 2: George and Lennie walk away with wounds but leave behind hopeful poems. George stays, Curley shoots, and Lennie turns to ashes. Audiences may prefer this innocent version.

Impact and Significance of Alternate Endings in Literary Works

Alternate endings in literary works impact us in a very profound and meaningful way. The notion of a close reading can be taken to a completely different and perhaps richer and more meaningful level if one has the chance to read an 'unfinished' version of an artwork and then contrast it to the completed one. If the reader is acquainted with both endings nested in a single text, or if both versions are well-known within the mainstream discourse on the artwork, reading and evaluating both versions could lead to a dialogue among critics and consumers, a dialogue that could even prompt writers to explore different resolutions in the unfolding of their stories.

The idea of a second potential ending could affect readers in different ways. Different endings could potentially offer closure or represent unresolved conflict. They might show how hope can be kept alive under radically different circumstances. They might also invite the reader to become the writer in imagining the aftermath of the second ending or subsequent action that stems from it. In taking such an approach, the writer's decision to present the reader with alternate endings can be seen to reflect and engage in the contingencies of the world. By presenting a story with 'what if' endings, the author encourages her readers to imagine how any given storyline is marked by the scars of violence and inequality, even if a temporary solution is found for its immediate unfolding. Offering multiple endings that depict events that are not completely erased by a sudden and optimistic conclusion supports the notion that real and fictionalized conflicts based on social reality are just as unresolved as they are resolvable.

Conclusion and Reflections on the Alternate Ending of 'Of Mice and Men'

In conclusion, the development of alternate endings for a novel, as well as the reactions of readers when faced with the different choices that can be considered at a key narrative point, provides insight into the importance of narrative alternatives. It is difficult for a reader to create new material and identify themselves with the classification. The substance of the work is that suffering, rage, and passion are concealed distastefully.

Such a conclusion reinforces readers' understanding of the intensity of the characters' emotions, the content of which is repeated in the three endings, and scrutinizes the stereotypes applied and then subverted in the original ending. Finally, to further develop the characters in the face of different fates imparts their same magic to the reader. Writers facing a similar narrative choice in their creative work are likewise to derive insights from this study. This research returns to the work in an effort to keep altering this narrative and its importance in doing so. The notion of the author's oeuvre and style is directly translatable in contemporary discussions, purposefully defined literature that seeks to directly engage readers in audience interpretation and response. Described texts, participatory stories, and readers themselves would all stand to gain from circulation and discussion in future research. Readers and authors of fan fiction will be inspired.