--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The good ending dismisses us with a touch…" description: "\"The good ending dismisses us with a touch of ceremony and throws a backward light of significance over the story just read. It makes it, as they say, o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/john-updike-396_backward_the-good-ending-dismisses-us-with-a-touc_2750212.png" --- # The good ending dismisses us with a touch of ceremony and… ![“The good ending dismisses us with a touch of ceremony and throws a backward light of significance over the story just read. It makes it, as they say, or unmakes it. A weak beginning is forgettable, but the end of a story bulks in the reader's mind like the giant foot in a foreshortened photograph.” quote by John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/john-updike-396_backward_the-good-ending-dismisses-us-with-a-touc_2750212.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/john-updike-396_backward_the-good-ending-dismisses-us-with-a-touc_2750212.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/311/john-updike-396_backward_the-good-ending-dismisses-us-with-a-touc_2750212.png) > “The good ending dismisses us with a touch of ceremony and throws a backward light of significance over the story just read. It makes it, as they say, or unmakes it. A weak beginning is forgettable, but the end of a story bulks in the reader's mind like the giant foot in a foreshortened photograph.” [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The ending shapes a story’s lasting impact, making it memorable or diminishing it. **In simple terms:** The ending decides how well a story stays with readers. Key Takeaway Craft endings that reinforce the story’s core. Themes storytelling structure memory impact Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical literary When to use this quote - book reviews - creative writing workshops - literary analysis Key Concepts narrative closure psychology of recall Questions to Reflect On - How does an ending change your perception of a story? - What elements make an ending unforgettable? A Different Perspective A strong ending cannot fix a fundamentally weak plot. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Backward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backward/) [Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Ceremony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ceremony/) [End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end/) [Ending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ending/) [Ending Dismisses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ending-dismisses-3093857/) [Foot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/foot/) [Forgettable End](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgettable-end-3093858/) [Giant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giant/) [Good](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good/) [Just](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just/) [Light](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/light/) [Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like/) [Makes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/makes/) [Mind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mind/) [Over](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/over/) [Photograph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/photograph/) [Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/read/) [Reader](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reader/) [Say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say/) [Significance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance/) [Significance Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/significance-story-3093860/) [Story](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/story/) [They say](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/they-say/) [Throws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/throws/) [Touch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/touch/) [Us](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/us/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) [Weak Beginning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak-beginning-3093859/) ## Related quotes > [“The difference between real life and a story is that life has significance , while a story must have meaning . 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After digging a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-mize/one-day-the-infielders-were-having-a-pretty-bad-time-and-were-making/) [Johnny Mize](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-mize/) > [I definitely want to play for a school that throws the ball in the post.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jahlil-okafor/i-definitely-want-to-play-for-a-school-that-throws-the-ball-in-the/) [Jahlil Okafor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jahlil-okafor/) > [I'm the shade queen and no one throws shade better than me!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenya-moore/i-m-the-shade-queen-and-no-one-throws-shade-better-than-me/) [Kenya Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenya-moore/) > [And as you point out, for American families who struggle every day to figure out how do they pay, we talk about gasoline prices.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allyson-schwartz/and-as-you-point-out-for-american-families-who-struggle-every-day-to/) [Allyson Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allyson-schwartz/) > [I like a scarf with a shirt; it throws it off a bit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-moss/i-like-a-scarf-with-a-shirt-it-throws-it-off-a-bit/) [Kate Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-moss/) ## More by John Updike > [Life is a roller coaster, you have your ups and downs unless you fall off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/life-is-a-roller-coaster-you-have-your-ups-and-downs-unless-you-fall/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Children are not a zoo of entertainingly exotic creatures, but an array of mirrors in which the human predicament leaps out at us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/children-are-not-a-zoo-of-entertainingly-exotic-creatures-but-an/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I assume my stance, and take back the club, low, slowly; at the top, my eyes fog over, and my joints dip and swirl…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-assume-my-stance-and-take-back-the-club-low-slowly-at-the-top-my/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The New England spirit does not seek solutions in a crowd; raw light and solitariness are less dreaded than welcomed as enhancers of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-new-england-spirit-does-not-seek-solutions-in-a-crowd-raw-light/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [I imagine most of that stuff on the information highway is roadkill anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/i-imagine-most-of-that-stuff-on-the-information-highway-is-roadkill/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Families, doing everything for each other out of imagined obligation and always getting in each other's way, what a tangle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/families-doing-everything-for-each-other-out-of-imagined-obligation/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The fucking world is running out of gas.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-fucking-world-is-running-out-of-gas/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [The theme of old age doesn't seem to fascinate Hollywood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-theme-of-old-age-doesn-t-seem-to-fascinate-hollywood/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [“The mind cannot fall asleep as long as it watches itself. 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All that growth, you can feel Nature groaning, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/some-people-find-fall-depressing-others-hate-spring-i-ve-always-been/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) [Explore all 592 John Updike quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) ## More Backward quotes > [I hate looking backward, but every once in a while it sneaks up on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/burt-lancaster/i-hate-looking-backward-but-every-once-in-a-while-it-sneaks-up-on-you/) [Burt Lancaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/burt-lancaster/) > [“Thus the thoughtless drift backward toward slavery.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carter-g-woodson/thus-the-thoughtless-drift-backward-toward-slavery/) [Carter G. Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carter-g-woodson/) > [“Whoever said that the past isn’t dead had it backward. It’s the future that’s already dead, already played out. This whole night has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gayle-forman/whoever-said-that-the-past-isn-t-dead-had-it-backward-it-s-the-future/) [Gayle Forman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gayle-forman/) > [Honestly, if you were any slower, you’d be going backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/honestly-if-you-were-any-slower-you-d-be-going-backward/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I learn things in a backward way. I learn all those limitations, and slowly my brain soaks them up, and if things go right,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/i-learn-things-in-a-backward-way-i-learn-all-those-limitations-and/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [“It took us a while to discover that we do effectively think, but that we more readily narrate backward in order to give ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/it-took-us-a-while-to-discover-that-we-do-effectively-think-but-that/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“Our habit of wishing backward from what is to what might have been is the soft but persistent tapping that cracks the crystal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-kirn/our-habit-of-wishing-backward-from-what-is-to-what-might-have-been-is/) [Walter Kirn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-kirn/) > [The thing I love most about my job is watching people age backward, becoming more lively and energetic as they free themselves from situations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/the-thing-i-love-most-about-my-job-is-watching-people-age-backward/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [“Dreaming her way backward in time, resurrecting images, the young girl realized, with wonder, that the absent are always present, that you don't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-shields/dreaming-her-way-backward-in-time-resurrecting-images-the-young-girl/) [Carol Shields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-shields/) > [“Us ballplayers do things backward. First we play, then we retire and go to work. —CHARLIE GEHRINGER”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lori-wilde/us-ballplayers-do-things-backward-first-we-play-then-we-retire-and-go-2/) [Lori Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lori-wilde/) > [This was the Darker Life, where every truth was written backward.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-was-the-darker-life-where-every-truth-was-written-backward/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Backward, flow backward, O tide of the years!I am so weary of toil and of tears,-Toil without recompense, tears all in vain!Take them, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-chase-allen/backward-flow-backward-o-tide-of-the-years-i-am-so-weary-of-toil-and/) [Elizabeth Chase Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-chase-allen/) > [I loved you backward and forward in time. 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You live it forward, but understand it backward." from CUTTING FOR STONE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-verghese/life-too-is-like-that-you-live-it-forward-but-understand-it-backward/) [Abraham Verghese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-verghese/) [Browse all 340 Backward quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backward/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The good ending dismisses us with a touch of ceremony and throws a backward light of significance over the story just read. It makes it, as they say, or unmakes it. 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