Ambiguous endings

Hello all,

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I just read a book with a sortof ambiguous ending – although even that is argued against, by some – and I’m still digesting and deciding whether I liked it or not.

Do you like endings that are uncertain, or do you like all loose ends to be neatly tied up? Please comment supporting why.

Let’s discuss this!

Defining Ambiguous

Ambiguous is defined as something where the ending is up to interpretation, with 2 or more conclusions able to be made. Another, looser definition as defined by TVTropes.org is when “there’s a lot left unexplained and the audience is still asking questions.”

Here are some famous books and movies you may know about, which feature ambiguous endings:

• The Handmaid’s Tale
• The Giver
• 2001 Space Odyssey
• The Good Sister
• American Psycho
• Bladerunner
• Casablanca

Is there any one that particularly stands out to you? A favorite or least-favorite? Personally, I haven’t seen or read any of these in a long time, if at all, so now I sortof want to do a “ambiguous endings” movie marathon!

Personally, I’m in the unsure camp – sometimes I like ambiguous endings, and sometimes I don’t.

What makes a good ambiguous ending?

As writer Gabi Scholl shares in her blog post about them, the good ambiguous endings leave the viewer to decide what happened, or who’s guilty, or if someone died or not – ambiguous endings can apply to a multitude of things, from what happened in the plot, to what a character felt, or even if the narration of the story was reliable, or imagination/madness on the protagonist’s part.

Sometimes, Scholl says, endings are cliffhangers, and the answers are given in the next book. I felt this way when I read Tolkien’s The Two Towers; I loved and simultaneously hated how the book ends with Sam NOT finding Frodo all wrapped up in Shelob’s webs (like in the movie), but seeing Frodo carried away by orcs. You’re left not knowing if Frodo is dead or alive, if I recall correctly, and Sam has to determine some way to rescue him! It was SO exciting to me upon first reading, and I was very happy to have the next book to grab immediately.

So in addition to excitement, which we could count as the first item on our list of what makes good ambiguous endings, another is questions. We need to leave the readers asking quite a few questions.

A third thing I think is significant about ambiguous endings is debate. If everyone agrees on what happened etc or what they would like to happen, or what something meant, or if a character is alive or dead, then ambiguous endings wouldn’t be as unique, fun, and flashy as they are. Debate creates impact, leaves the story lingering in our mind, creates an extra power the book has over us. And that’s what we want to as writers, right? We want to impact our readers and make them unable to forget our story. As readers, too, we want stories that stay with us, that resonate in our hearts and minds, that make us think.

Of course, last but not least, another element of ambiguous endings that make them so delightful or awful, is the element of surprise. When we are lead one way and then, suddenly, another – although hopefully not TOO suddenly, a good writer drops hints along the way – we are surprised at how things commence. This surprise can either delight us or anger us, maybe even make us toss the book across the room – but it makes the book have a hold over us. I’d call it successful either way, whether the ambiguous element is infuriating or wonderful.

What makes a bad ambiguous ending?

Bad or good is totally subjective, but I’d like to explore this, too. What makes am ambiguous ending bad? Is it one that’s too confusing, or too infuriating? Maybe an ending where all the characters die and one is mysteriously left alive?

Let’s explore this!

Some things I discovered by exploring online is, people dislike ambiguous endings where:

• The answer or solution to the main problem comes out of nowhere, AKA deus ex machina. I will discuss this in another post.
• The story changes tone and becomes suddenly happy or sad where it was the opposite before. Think fluffy bunnies bounding out of nowhere when previously the story was in a dark dungeon.
• The story feels incomplete, rather than an actual question being raised.

Writer and Editor Scott Wilson discusses these in detail more at his blog, Scott Writes Stuff, in this post.

What do you think?

Do you like ambiguous endings? Hate them? Why or why not? Perhaps there’s a recent book or movie that ended ambiguously that you’d like to share with us. I’d love to find out about more for my ambiguous movie marathon!

Until next time,
Chaitanya