The End

It seems to me that “the end” is largely a creature of fiction. In life, more often than not, things just stop. This distinction is important, because an unrealistic expectation of “closure” can prevent one from moving on with one’s life. Even worse, an unrealistic expectation of finality can result in unpleasant surprises from the real world.

Fiction

In fiction, 9 times out of 10, the story “ends”. The virtuous are rewarded, the wicked punished (or, in “edgier” stuff, vice versa) and over the end credits we find out what happened to everyone. The story has an arc; it begins with characters at one spot, takes them through some adventures, and deposits them in a new spot by the time the story finishes. Thereafter, unless there’s a sequel, there’s an assumption that nothing too terribly interesting ever happens to anyone ever again.

Life

In life, things rarely end neatly. The project may ship, but there’s a long period of messing about with it before it goes out the door, and a long period of supporting it after it’s been released. The relationship may end, but there’s a long period of deterioration before the breakup, and a certain amount of housekeeping afterwards. Usually, one isn’t even aware (at the time) of the last line of code one writes for a project, or the last conversation one has with an ex.

Larger Problems

Not to pile on, but Francis Fukuyama’s “End of History” thesis (which, in the interests of full disclosure, I did not see as obviously goofy when first proposed) can be seen as an extreme case of looking for endings in a world where they just don’t happen.

Sure, liberal democracy had a good day back in 1989, but that didn’t mean that no one would ever again want to try something new – or, in the case of our Islamist friends, something old.

The thing about history is that there’s always more of it.

Counterexample

In my opinion, the best fictional example of a stoppage (well, deliberate example, ignoring hundreds of canceled T.V. programs) is the finale of “The Sopranos”, which is, in this context, brilliant: