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Agree Quote by Margaret Atwood

“Every ending is arbitrary, because the end is where you write The end. A period, a dot of punctuation, a point of stasis. A pinprick in the paper: you could put your eye to it and see through, to the other side, to the beginning of something else. Or, as Tony says to her students, Time is not a…” quote by Margaret Atwood
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“Every ending is arbitrary, because the end is where you write The end. A period, a dot of punctuation, a point of stasis. A pinprick in the paper: you could put your eye to it and see through, to the other side, to the beginning of something else. Or, as Tony says to her students, Time is not a solid, like wood, but a fluid, like water or the wind. It doesn't come neatly cut into even-sized length, into decades and centuries. Nevertheless, for our purposes we have to pretend it does. The end of any history is a lie in which we all agree to conspire.”

Margaret Atwood

About This Quote

Source Novel: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood, 1985

The conclusion we assign to events is a construct; endings are fluid and can become beginnings when we view them differently.

In simple terms: Endings are made up and can turn into new starts.

Key Takeaway

Recognize endings as opportunities for new narratives.

Themes

change perception time storytelling

Mood

reflective inquisitive

Type

philosophical literary

When to use this quote

  • Writing
  • film editing
  • personal transitions
  • historical analysis

Key Concepts

Narrative theory temporal fluidity constructivism

Questions to Reflect On

  • How might you reinterpret a personal ending as a new beginning?
  • What does viewing time as fluid change your planning?
A Different Perspective

Endings may feel arbitrary but still shape future expectations.

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