Response to "An Ounce of Cure"

"An Ounce of prevention is worth a pound a cure." This quotation means that it is better to try and prevent problems before they occur, rather than fixing them after. A small effort of preventing problems is worth having not to fix them once they had already happened, because the prevention has already cured it. The title could have many possible hidden meanings. It could be sadistic, it could be literal, and it could be a play on words. But when reading the story, one is able to look for the deeper meaning. Her problem was, she was madly and deeply in love with Martin Collingwood. It had taken over her life, and she obsessed over it to the point of recklessness. Someone can usually get their mind off of something by focusing on something else, or by things the person likes to do. However, everything she did reminded her or Martin Collingwood. She needed to find a way out of the deep sickening addiction. This phrase "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" does not directly relate to the main characters story line. She does not prevent her problem. Her problem is Martin Collingwood and everything about him that consumes her mind. This was not preventable, because heartbreak isn’t exactly something that you can predict. Once she had her problem however, she tried to cure her problem. She tried to cure it in any way possible, but it was a battle of her mind vs. mind. Nothing seemed to be correcting her problem. However, in the end result, she cured her problem by creating a more severe problem. She had been so affected by her actions of drinking that one night while babysitting, and the repercussions were so grave that it gave her something else to obsess and worry over. There for, she prevented nothing. She simply created more problems and worries to take over her mind. This story showed that a pound of problems, would eventually in turn, create an ounce of cure. This could also have a literal meaning/ a play on words. During the climax of the story when she is making the decision to drink, she takes shot glasses and mixes alcohol together. Usually, shot glasses are about an ounce. This could relate to the title "an ounce of cure" because it simply took one small mistake of being under the influence that allowed her to be liberated of her own thoughts. " But there was a positive and splendidly, unexpected, result of this affair: I got completely lover Martin Collingwood..."What was it that brought me back into the world again? It was the terrible and fascinating reality of my disaster; it was the way things happened.... "But the development of events that happened on that Saturday night- that fascinated me." These three lines near the conclusions of the story were what made everything click. Because of the significance of her experience, it made her realize that things aren’t as a big deal as they seem. To her, not being with Martin Collingwood felt like the end of the world. However by experiencing more dramatic events, it made her able to put things in perspective. Martin Collingwood was her "ounce of cure." A small thing, that really wasn’t all that important in the first place. The drinking on that Saturday night was her “pound of problem" The small ounce of cure made her finally capable of realizing the importance of things and putting it in perspective.

Response to "Happy Endings"

I believe that this story is written to some what make fun of the classic "boy meets girl" scenario. However, I do not think that it was triggered toward making fun of romantic plots. Although when talking about John and Mary and their love interests, the reader is able to detect a statistic tone in the writing style. The point Atwood is trying to make is that the ending of a story is not what makes it, nor is the beginning; however, the beginning is what captures the readers attention. I think what Attwood is saying is there are so many options and available from one simple starting phrase. Commonly, writers stick to the basic love story, of two common variations. Either that boy meets girl, fall in love, live happily ever after, or boy and girl boy or girl ends with broken heart. However, Attwood added in many different variations to prove how important plot is. As said in the y last paragraph, It is not only important to distinguish the 'what' in a story, but also the 'how' and 'why' to add intrigue. Characters also have a very significant role in this story. Atwood shows that the plot may be interesting or bland, but it is the characters insight that had emotion and feeling to the story. The skill of authors is shown by the twists and turns in between the start and end. When endings are pre determined by the plot, the story is not as good. That’s why the several endings of happy endings keeps readers interested. When Atwood says the only authentic ending is John and Mary die, I believe she has reason. Although this could mean many different things, I think that she means that that ending is the only ending set in stone. It means that there are so many possible endings, to write, and and ending is never really an ending. So much more can happen, and there are always the continuing "what" and the questions of "how or why".