Inclusion of Light Humor in Story Endings
Many stories conclude with light humor to add an element of fun or surprise for the reader. This type of humor is often used when the story is otherwise serious, dark, or sad. The inclusion of light humor can help balance out the mood of the story and provide some relief to the reader. It can also make the story more memorable and enjoyable.
One example of this kind of humor can be found at the end of the popular book "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. The main character Holden Caulfield has been struggling with depression and loneliness throughout the novel, but the ending is surprisingly humorous. He ends up getting expelled from school and being sent away to live with his parents, who are not very happy about it. However, as he leaves the school grounds, he sees a group of kids playing catch and decides to join them. The final line of the book is "If you really want to hear about it, the old man is writing a book." This line is ironic because it suggests that Holden's life is just beginning, even though the novel itself has ended.
Another example of light humor in a story ending can be found in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor. In this short story, a family takes a road trip that turns into a nightmare when they encounter a serial killer. As the story comes to an end, the grandmother begs God for forgiveness and says she doesn't deserve what she got. Suddenly, the car flips over and everyone dies. The last line of the story is "She would have been a good woman if there had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life," which is both funny and sad at the same time.
Light humor can also be used to comment on society or current events. For example, in the book "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr., the main character Billy Pilgrim travels through time and witnesses various historical events. At the end of the novel, he finds himself back in his own time period and meets a young man named Eliot Rosewater who is planning to build a theme park based on the story of Jesus Christ. Billy comments that the project will likely fail due to the corrupt nature of American society. The last line of the book is "So it goes," which is meant to be ironic since it refers to all the death and destruction in the book but also acknowledges that things continue as usual.
Inclusion of light humor in story endings can help balance out seriousness or sadness, provide some relief to the reader, make the story more memorable, and add depth to the characters. It can also be used to comment on society or current events. However, it should not be overdone and must fit with the tone of the rest of the story.