STORIES that have Judgment of Bad:

The Age of Innocence: Newland never realizes his full potential as an enlightened man hoping to share his true self with a lifelong partner, his wife. He is trapped in a stifling existence for the best years of his life. He only becomes free when he’s an old man who believes that it’s too late for personal happiness.

Amadeus: Salieri’s defeat is total, and he is both forgotten as a composer, and thought by the public to be insane. He never resolves his conflict of faith. It is his destruction.

Body Heat: Ned feels terrible that his decision has led to Mattie’s apparent death–she “obviously” couldn’t have known about the booby trap or she wouldn’t have walked into it (or so he thought). This judgment of “Bad” is mitigated in the author’s proof by having Ned figure out that he has been duped and that he strongly suspects the real truth: Mattie is alive and living exceedingly well off of the inheritance money.

Chinatown: Jake remains clueless as to why events turned out so badly for him–“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”

The Glass Menagerie: Laura retreats into her fantasy world — a glass menagerie that is like “bits of a shattered rainbow.” And though is seen being comforted by Amanda at the end, it is the memory of his sister that haunts Tom for the rest of his life.

The Godfather: For Michael to have been left the only one capable of preserving his family’s power is bad for him personally. He continues to be in love with Kaye, maintaining the lie he is not a murderer. Kaye represents his original desire to remain outside of his family’s dirty business. When he changes by becoming willingly committed and involved as the new Don, his need to prevent Kaye from discovering this indicates he is still plagued by his personal problems.

Hamlet: Hamlet finally perceives that “if it be not now, yet it will come,” and that “The readiness is all” (5.2.219-220). This discovery, this revelation of necessity and meaning in Hamlet’s great reversal of fortune, enables him to confront the tragic circumstance of his life with understanding and heroism, and to demonstrate the triumph of the human spirit even in the moment of his catastrophe. Such an assertion of the individual will does not lessen the tragic waste with which “Hamlet” ends. Hamlet is dead, the great promise of his life forever lost. (Bevington xxxi)

Heavenly Creatures: An adolescent rebelling against the confining nature of adult authority figures, Pauline is detained in prison for her crime. She is forever separated from her beloved Juliet, who “was released in November 1959 and immediately left New Zealand to join her mother overseas.”

(Walsh & Jackson, p. 216)

Lawrence of Arabia: Lawrence finds that while he is fully capable of fulfilling the role of God-like leader, it comes at great cost to his own personality: his sado-masochistic tendencies have been brought to the fore, and he finds he both enjoys inflicting suffering on others and experiences pleasure in his own degradation and torture.

Othello: Othello’s fall from grace is stunning. At first he’s a happy newlywed; successful as a warrior and well respected in the community. When Brabantio accuses him of witchcraft in front of the Venetian senate, the members disbelieve the charges because of his stellar reputation. He faces them with calm and confidence. But Othello is corrupted and quickly becomes an irrational, despondent madman, an abusive husband, a murderer, and after realizing his colossal mistake, he kills himself.

Platoon: Chris’ experiences in the war do not lead him to find something to be proud of, instead, he has become a cold-blooded murderer, and kills his nemesis, Sgt. Barnes in merciless revenge. The physical and, especially, emotional wounds he has sustained in Vietnam will forever serve to remind him of the shameful dehumanization he endured in the war.

Quills: The Abbe de Coulmier unwittingly and unhappily ends up an inmate of the asylum.

Reservoir Dogs: Mr. White defends Mr. Orange’s honor and his life in a three-way shoot-out with his colleagues. He suffers intense anguish when he learns Mr. Orange betrayed him; in killing Mr. Orange, he seals his own fate.

Romeo and Juliet: Romeo ultimately fails in his efforts to live happily ever after with his “heart’s dear love” (2.3.61)–“For never was a story of more woe/Than this of Juliet and her Romeo” (5.3.320-21).

The Silence of the Lambs: At the story’s end, Clarice has not put her personal demons to rest. She has no answer to Lecter’s final phone call:

LECTER (V.O.): Well, Clarice, have the lambs stopped screaming… ?

Unforgiven: While Munny succeeds in getting the money he needs to help raise his two children, it’s at great personal cost: the dark side of his nature that he’s suppressed for years has resurfaced. He’s become a mean killer again, drinks hard liquor, and will surely be haunted by the faces of his new victims.

The Wild Bunch: Pike never gets the chance to put right the personal wrongs he’s experienced in the past: he doesn’t get revenge on the man who killed his woman, and for abandoning Thornton there’s no forgiveness–only death for another’s (Angel’s) cause offers any kind of redemption at all.

Witness: By staying on the farm, Rachel doesn’t get the man she obviously desires, John Book, and she’s about to be saddled with Daniel–the Lapp family may be buying a horse with only one good ball again.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

STORIES that have Judgment of Good:

A Clockwork Orange: Alex resolves his personal problems–his conflict with society–by making society accept him. As frightening as it may be to unleash Alex back into society, it is worse to eradicate individuality. To have a society worthwhile to live in, society must compromise with the needs and desires of the individual. Also, in this particular society, Alex’s evil is matched, if not surpassed, by society’s own corruption.

A Doll’s House: By leaving Torvald, Nora will have the opportunity to explore who she really is and learn to stand on her own.

All About Eve: Margo resolves her personal problems: She comes to terms with her fear of aging, especially her fear of being too old for Bill; she’s vindicated for attacking Eve after Eve’s comments are published; she remains secure in her status as one of theater’s most important actresses.

All That Jazz: Joe accepts his death–and an afterlife with Angelique. In addition, Joe may have failed in bringing NY/LA to Broadway, but his fantasy production of his good-bye to life is “the best one yet” (Aurthur and Fosse 127).

Apt Pupil: Todd ultimately succeeds when he allows his true evil nature to surface:

“Everything was fine. Everything was together. The blankness left his face and a kind of wild beauty filled it…’I’m king of the world!’ he shouted mightily at the high blue sky, and raised the rifle two-handed over his head for a moment” (King, 1982, p. 286).

Barefoot in the Park: Paul changes his conservative ways and his happy marriage is restored.

Being There: Chance is no longer homeless. He has grown to love Eve, who will provide him with a home, gardens, and a television in every room:

“A breeze fell upon the foliage and nestled under the cover of its moist leaves. Not a thought lifted itself from Chance’s brain. Peace filled his chest” (Kosinski, 1970, p. 118).

Blade Runner: Deckard stops killing replicants and learns to love them, which is healthy considering he may be one. The screenplay is more specific: the story ends with Gaff chasing Deckard and Rachael, with a voice-over:

DECKARD (V.O.): I knew it on the roof that night. We were brothers, Roy Batty and I! Combat models of the highest order. We had fought in wars not yet dreamed of… in vast nightmares still unnamed. We were the new people… Roy and me and Rachael! We were made for this world. It was ours!

(Fancher and Peoples, p. 133)

Boyz N The Hood: Tre survives life in the hood and attends Morehouse College with Brandi across the way at Spelman.

Braveheart: William strives to compel Robert the Bruce to lead the Scots in a united effort against the English, and although William never lives to see it happen, Robert in the end, on the field at Bannockburn, does exactly what William had hoped–and wins Scotland’s independence.

Bringing Up Baby: This is a good example of the fact that story judgment can sometimes be a matter of degree. When Susan arrives at the museum after Alice has left, David thanks her for finding the bone and tells her to leave. Susan tells him that she has the million dollars and still David doesn’t seem too thrilled. However, when Susan apologizes for ruining everything, David tells her that he ought to thank her. He says that he has just discovered that it was the best day he had ever had in his life, but more than that, he says, he thinks he loves her.

Bull Durham: Annie comes to realize that perhaps there is more to life than baseball. She realizes that she is in love with Crash, and is willing to set aside her expectations, preconceptions, and need to control. The “authors proof” is she even allows herself to be tied to the bed, while Crash paints her toenails, and seems happier and more fulfilled than at any other time in the story.

Candida: Morell’s anxiety over the possibility of losing Candida to Marchbanks is appeased as Marchbanks takes his leave and husband and wife embrace.

Casablanca: Rick resolves his bitterness over Ilsa’s leaving him in Paris. He forgives what has happened in the past, opens his heart to love again, and resumes his efforts against fascist oppression.

Charlotte’s Web: Wilbur’s sense of security gives him the maturity to control his actions and concentrate on helping others, instead of always thinking of himself first.

The Client: Reggie’s change of heart lets her willingly arrange for Marcus’ participation in the Witness Protection Program. She will no longer be haunted by her sense of failure regarding her own children. She IS a good person and a good mother–Marcus tells her that he loves her.

The Crucible: John Proctor resolves his personal problem when he chooses to die rather than to blacken his own name and others of the community:

Parris: Go to him, Goody Proctor! There is yet time! Go to him! Proctor! Proctor!

Hale: Woman, plead with him! Woman! It is pride, it is vanity. Be his helper!–What profit him to bleed? Shall the dust praise him? Shall the worms declare his truth? Go to him, take his shame away!

Elizabeth: He have his goodness now. God forbid I take it from him! (Miller 144-5)

El Mariachi: El Mariachi matures into a man prepared for all eventualities.

Four Weddings And A Funeral: Charles overcomes his personal dilemma (fear of commitment) and spends the rest of his life with Carrie as a happy family man. The last still photo on screen is that of a cheerful, contented Charles with Carrie and their new son.

The Fugitive: Dr. Kimble’s steadfastness allows him to prove his innocence.

The Graduate: As Elaine and Ben are on the bus riding away from the church, they are very happy (this a matter of degree, of course, because there is a moment when their smiles fade slightly and become looks of “Oh my God, what have we done?”), but for the moment at least, Ben clearly thinks he has done the right thing.

The Great Gatsby: Nick realizes it’s important to have a certain amount of cynicism when interacting with human beings:

“When I came back from the East last autumn I felt that I wanted the world to be in uniform and at a sort of moral attention forever; I wanted no more riotous excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart. Only Gatsby was exempt from my reaction — Gatsby, who represented everything for which I have an unaffected scorn.

No — Gatsby turned out all right at the end; it was what preyed on Gatsby, what foul dust floated in the wake of his dreams that temporarily closed out my interest in the abortive sorrows and short-winded elations of men.”

Harold and Maude: Harold learns to love and be loved–to embrace the new (playing the banjo) and to end his fascination with death–finally driving his hearse over the cliff, destroying it.

I Love Lucy: Although not in the way she had planned, Lucy is ultimately able to convey the information to Ricky they are about to become proud parents.

Klute: By story’s end, Klute has experienced an emotional and sexual connection with a woman (Bree) again, emerging from the isolation caused by his wife leaving him for another man.

Lolita: Ultimately, Humbert succeeds in resolving his personal angst. After a long and tortuous confession and an honest, objective, and analytical treatment of his sins, he lays down his burden of guilt and is ready to take his punishment. The reader catches a glimmer of redemption, and “it makes us ‘pity the monsters’ (Robert Lowell) by taking to our hearts its repulsive hero – as he himself answers us as he is – with eventual sympathy and even love” (Norton 1733).

The Philadelphia Story: As they are about to walk into the wedding, Tracy tells her father that she feels, “Like a human Ñ like a human being.” Her father asks if that’s all right, and Tracy replies, “All right? Oh Father, it’s Heaven!”

The Piano Lesson: Berniece resolves her personal problems: She overcomes her fear of releasing the spirits of her ancestors when she plays the piano to vanquish the ghost. She comes to terms with the past. She reconciles with her brother and is able to embark upon a more fulfilling future.

Pride and Prejudice: Elizabeth has overcome her prejudice of Mr. Darcy and looks forward to a happy marriage.

Rain Man: Charlie learns to love the brother he didn’t know he had. He forgives his father for disowning him, and becomes a compassionate person.

Rear Window: During Lisa’s tussle with Thorwald, Jeff realizes how much he really cares for her. The final scene has Lisa seemingly prepared to adapt to Jeff’s globetrotting lifestyle. Jeff’s growth towards marriage is alluded to in an earlier draft of the screenplay, where there is a final discussion of Mrs. Thorwald between Doyle and Jeff:

DOYLE: You were right. There was something in that garden. I just got a signal — it’s in Thorwald’s icebox now.

JEFF: That reminds me — two heads are better than one.

(Hayes, 12/2/53, p.164)

Rebel Without a Cause: Jim’s father stands up as a man and turns to help his son stand up, assuring Jim he can trust him; Jim introduces Judy to his parents as his friend; and so forth.

Revenge of the Nerds: Lewis’s decision to remain steadfast is seen ultimately to be good. He succeeds in changing the way nerds are treated at Adams and resolves the conflicts between his environment and the way he is.

Rosemary’s Baby: Rosemary is finally in control of the situation and she has the baby she has longed for.

Searching for Bobby Fischer: Josh wins on his own terms, keeping his life filled with variety instead of just living for chess. The author’s proof can be seen in the fact that after he beats Jonathan Poe, rather than feeling bad for Jonathan, he says that it was a “good game.”

The Simpsons Christmas Special: Homer resolves his personal angst when he realizes family is all that matters, and his family cares more about him than gifts under the tree.

All Good Things (Star Trek: The Next Generation): Q congratulates Picard for being able to expand his mind, thereby saving mankind . . . again. Also, Picard is at peace with the fact that mankind is saved and will be open to new possibilities of existence.

Star Wars: Luke becomes a hero.

Sula: Nel is emotionally uplifted when she finally is able to release the hurt and anger she has felt toward Sula.

The Sun Also Rises: Jake Barnes resolves his personal angst:

“Jake nobly accepts his tragic condition” (Meyers 460). He embodies Hemingway’s famous phrase, “Grace under pressure” (Meyers 189).

Sunset Boulevard: Before Joe is murdered, he finds the strength and integrity to send Betty off to marry Artie for her own good; leaves Norma and returns the expensive clothes and jewelry with which she trapped him; decides to go back to Ohio where he can at least earn an honest living.

Taxi Driver: While Travis is still a lonely guy, and one with psychopathic tendencies, at story’s end he is a more relaxed taxi driver. He’s no longer writing dangerous thoughts in a diary, has elevated status amongst his peers, and is a hero to the media. He’s even able to accept Betsy for what she is, “a star-fucker of the highest order,” and no longer has the desire to stalk her. But his last desperate glance at her in the rearview mirror begs the question–for how long?

To Kill a Mockingbird: Once Scout accepts Boo, she is finally able to comprehend her father’s lesson of stepping in someone else’s shoes to understand their perspective, “Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough” (Lee, 1960, p. 308).

Tootsie: Michael learns to be a better person.

MICHAEL: I was a better man with you. . . as a woman. . . than I ever was as a man. [. . .] I learned a few things about myself being Dorothy. I just have to learn to do it without the dress. (Gelbart, p. 144)

Toy Story: Woody learns that he will still be loved even if someone else holds the rank of “Andy’s Favorite Toy.” No longer compelled to defend his perch as Room Leader, he’s more relaxed and easy-going, and more available for Bo Peep’s romantic overtures (notice how, at the end, Buzz is the one who acts nervous about the new presents). And finally, Woody has lost an enemy and gained a friend.

The Verdict: Frank is on the road to recovery by kicking the liquor, returning to practicing like a real attorney, and avoiding women he knows are bad news.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: George’s resolve to continue playing within the rules causes the collapse of the “family fantasy” game. However, this is shown to be a potentially good event because it has destroyed the game that was keeping George and Martha apart. It is implied that the downward spiral of their life together may have changed direction: “GEORGE: It will be better. MARTHA (Long silence): I don’t . . . know. GEORGE: It will be . . . maybe.”

Washington Square: Catherine develops her own sense of integrity, and is content with the life choices she has made.

When Harry Met Sally: Harry listens to his heart, not his head, and marries his best friend.

X-Files: Beyond the Sea: Scully resolves her doubts that her father was proud of her. She recovers her self-confidence, and by the end of the story is assured that her partner will recover from his injuries.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

STORIES that have Outcome of Failure:

A Doll’s House: Nora’s decision to leave Torvald ends their marriage.

All That Jazz: The show (NY/LA) does not go on.

Amadeus: Salieri is ultimately able to contribute to Mozart’s death. However, it does not resolve his problem. Mozart’s music continues past his death. Salieri is praised for work which he knows is “mediocre.” He ultimately attempts suicide to resolve the problem, and he fails at that.

Blade Runner: Deckard does not capture/kill all of the replicants. Roy only dies because his time runs out. Rachael also lives and escapes with Deckard.

The Crucible: There are no witches in Salem. Those who claim to recall that they themselves or others have used witchcraft, lied to the court causing a great number of needless deaths.

El Mariachi: All the primary objective characters die, except for El Mariachi, whose outlook on life is irrevocably changed for the worse.

The Glass Menagerie: Jim, the gentleman caller, is engaged to someone else and will never be calling again; Tom follows in his father’s footsteps and abandons his mother and sister, leaving them “a mother deserted, [and] an unmarried sister who’s crippled and has no job!”

The Graduate: Although everyone in the story sees great things for Ben’s future, he ultimately fails them all (evidenced by the horrified faces at the church), by throwing away the future they had in mind for him and running away with Elaine.

The Great Gatsby: Nick and Jordan have a parting of the ways:

“There was one thing to be done before I left, an awkward, unpleasant thing that perhaps had better have been let alone. But I wanted to leave things in order and not just trust that obliging and indifferent sea to sweep my refuse away. I saw Jordan Baker and talked over and around what had happened to us together, and what had happened afterward to me, and she lay perfectly still, listening, in a big chair….

For just a minute I wondered if I wasn’t making a mistake then I thought it all over again quickly and got up to say good-by.

‘Nevertheless you did throw me over,’ said Jordan suddenly. ‘You threw me over on the telephone. I don’t give a damn about you now, but it was a new experience for me, and I felt a little dizzy for a while.'”

Nick reflects on Gatsby’s failure to realize his dream of obtaining Daisy:

“I went over and looked at that huge incoherent failure of a house once more…And as I sat there brooding on the old, unknown world, I thought of Gatsby’s wonder when he first picked out the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. He had come a long way to this blue lawn, and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obscurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic rolled on under the night.”

Once Wilson realizes Myrtle is having an affair, he attempts to hold onto her, which results in failure:

“He had discovered that Myrtle had some sort of life apart from him in another world…

‘I’ve got my wife locked in up there,’ explained Wilson calmly. ‘She’s going to stay there till the day after to-morrow, and then we’re going to move away.’

…A moment later she rushed out into the dusk, waving her hands and shouting — before he could move from his door the business was over.

…Myrtle Wilson, her life violently extinguished, knelt in the road and mingled her thick dark blood with the dust.”

Hamlet: In the effort to bring down Claudius and restore balance in the kingdom, many lives are lost–including all those of the royal family.

Harold and Maude: Mrs. Chasen, the psychiatrist, Uncle Victor, and the priest fail to persuade Harold to adopt a conventional lifestyle that they would feel comfortable with–and which he would have to pretend to enjoy.

Heavenly Creatures: Despite removing “one of the main obstacles in my path,” Pauline and her object of desire, Juliet, are separated at story’s end:

“A SERIES OF CARDS explains what happened subsequently:

‘Too young for the death penalty, they were sent to separate prisons to be “Detained at Her Majesty’s Pleasure.” […] It was a condition of their release that they never meet again.'”

(Walsh & Jackson, p. 216)

Lolita: In the end, most of the objective characters fail in their goal of keeping up appearances. They had been posing as someone other than that which they really were. Humbert cannot maintain his facade as the suave and confident stepfather–he’s eventually revealed as a cunning pedophile and later, a maniacal, boozy wreck, ” . . . bristly chin, my bum’s blood-shot eyes” (Nabokov 263). Early on, Charlotte had pretended to be the epitome of the cultured, upper-class suburban matron, an act that the worldly Humbert immediately saw through. On the surface, Quilty is the sophisticated and world-renowned playwright, but in reality he is also a bloated and drugged-out pervert. Lolita’s character is like a wooden Russian doll: one opens it only to find a different one, and another inside that and yet another inside that–all becoming smaller and smaller until there is only an empty wooden chamber left. In the beginning she appears to be a normal and healthy preadolescent. After her mother’s death, Humbert is amazed (and enthralled) to find out that she has had some previous juvenile sexual escapades, and thrilled when she initially encourages his advances. In public he has her act the role of his happy, insouciant, young daughter. In private she must act the little “pubescent concubine” (Nabokov 136) to fulfill his insatiable sexual urges. Before and after she would be (not surprisingly) whiny, bored, sulky, “sprawling, droopy, dopey-eyed . . . mentally . . . a disgustingly conventional little girl” ( Nabokov 136). In the inner sanctum of her mind and heart “there was in her a garden and twilight, and a palace gate-dim and adorable regions which happened to be lucidly and absolutely forbidden to me . . .” (Nabokov 259). Lolita, denied a normal upbringing, has to survive by assuming different roles, failing at the only one she should have played–that of a happy-go-lucky young girl.

Othello: The characters fail to recognize and stop Iago’s malicious scheme against them. As a result of this failure: Othello and Desdemona’s marriage is destroyed; Othello goes mad from Iago’s insinuations and murders the naive Desdemona; Roderigo, tricked into trying to kill Cassio, is then murdered by Iago; Emilia is murdered by Iago when she reveals his treachery; Othello commits suicide when he learns of Desdemona’s innocence; Iago himself is sentenced to torture and execution contrary to his plans for his future.

The Piano Lesson: Boy Willie’s efforts to eradicate his family’s slave history by buying the land of their former owner ends in failure when he leaves the piano with Berniece. He returns to Mississippi without enough money to buy Sutter’s land which would have enabled him to quit being a sharecropper and own a farm of his own.

Platoon: From the very first scene of the film, as black rubber body bags are loaded onto planes that have just unloaded new recruits, America’s success in the war is put into question. Throughout the film, we experience the platoon’s frustrations, anxieties, and fears of fighting an invisible enemy that the platoon seems to have little to no impact against. And we are finally left with not only the platoon, but almost the entire 25th infantry, overrun by the enemy sustaining enormous loss of lives. In the final scene the dead aren’t even in body bags. The surrounding jungle floor and the entire military compound are strewn with the bodies of American and Viet Cong soldiers, and the Americans have obviously gotten the worst of it. This is definitely a war America is not winning.

Quills: No one is able to envision a way to stop The Marquis from disseminating his stories: “In the last scene, the boxes containing the body parts of the Marquis tremble with pleasure. One hand snakes loose from its box . . . and begins to write” (Back cover–Dramatists Play Service, Inc.).

Rain Man: Charlie does not get half of the inheritance that he expected. He doesn’t even get custody of Raymond.

Reservoir Dogs: The robbers fail to escape with the diamonds; the undercover cop has apprehended the gang but is finished off when he identifies himself as the “rat.” Everyone dies a violent death.

Sula: A future for the community of the Bottom is never realized:

It was sad, because the Bottom had been a real place. These young ones kept talking about the community, but they left the hills to the poor, the old, the stubborn-and the rich white folks. Maybe it hadn’t been a community, but it had been a place. Now there weren’t any places left, just separate houses with separate televisions and separate telephones and less and less dropping by. (Morrison, 1973, p. 166)

The Sun Also Rises: The objective characters fail to find meaning and fulfillment in their lives. This failure is particularly well depicted in the character of Lady Brett Ashley. She changes her amoral ways and begins to acquire a conscience, but her potential for peace and contentment will always remain unfulfilled:

It is unclear whether or not Jake’s insights and Brett’s final moral act give meaning to the lives of these exiles. During their Bayonne fishing trip, Jake’s friend Bill Gorton sings a song about “pity and irony,” and that seems to be the overall tone of the book, and especially the ending: pity for the personal anguish and aimless searching of these people, but ironic detachment toward characters whose lives and situations are, at best, at least as comical as they are tragic. (Neilson 6350)

Sunset Boulevard: Joe fails to make it as a Hollywood screenwriter and ends up murdered; Norma fails to return to the screen and goes completely mad; Betty doesn’t finish developing the story with Joe as she envisioned; Max doesn’t implement steps to stop Norma from destroying Joe and herself.

To Kill a Mockingbird: The court demands its witnesses to give their honest recollection of what happened on November 21 at the Ewell’s shack in order that justice may be served. This goal is not achieved; Bob and Mayella Ewell lie about what they remember, and as they have lied to the sheriff, Heck Tate, his memory is biased; Tom Robinson tells what really happened but is still found guilty of a crime he did not commit.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?: The fantasy of George and Martha’s “son” is exposed. This is not because their son has “died”–his death could easily perpetuate the myth. It’s the fact that Nick (and ostensibly Honey) come to understand that there never was or could be a child of George and Martha’s. “NICK (To George; quietly): You couldn’t have . . . any? GEORGE: We couldn’t. MARTHA (A hint of communion in this): We couldn’t.”

Washington Square: The one man Catherine desires for a prospective husband turns out to be a bounder; she turns down all other offers of marriage and remains an “old maid.” In his introduction to the novella, Mark Le Fanu comments on the irony of the outcome: “The outcome of the story is terrible, if terrible describes Catherine Sloper’s proud refusal to compromise, and the consequent penalty of being given over to spinsterhood” (x-xi).

The Wild Bunch: Though the Wild Bunch receive gold from Mapache in return for the guns, and it turns out to be their last big heist, they don’t escape to enjoy it. They are killed, as are Mapache and the bounty hunters. Angel’s hope of liberating his people from oppression does live on in the form of Sykes and Thornton, though the gold remains buried in a place unknown. Thornton fails to either kill the Wild Bunch or take their bodies back as promised (though he allows his bounty hunters to try), and becomes an outlaw again.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software

STORIES that have Outcome of Success:

A Clockwork Orange: Alex achieves his goal of regaining his freedom and self-identity. Ultimately, Alex’s steadfastness pays off as society changes in the form of the politicians adapting to his needs, curing him of the Ludovico treatment and putting away Mr. Alexander, while his parents also try to reconcile with him.

The Age of Innocence: The characters are successful in maintaining the status quo of the past: Through the successful marriage of Newland and May they have joined two leading families in a effort to perpetuate their class and social hierarchy; through the joint efforts of the families they were able to keep Ellen’s past relatively quiet.

All About Eve: Eve becomes a successful actress, awarded a prestigious theater prize and is about to make a Hollywood film; Margo is to become a married woman who will no longer be alone with only a career; Bill is to become a groom, having finally won the woman he loves; Lloyd becomes an even more popular playwright with the success of his new play; Karen becomes secure in her marriage to Lloyd and in her friendship with Margo.

Apt Pupil: Todd’s goal in obtaining Dussander’s memories of Nazi Germany is attained; Morris Heisel is finally able to recall the identity of his hospital roommate and “‘feels that God allowed him the sublime privilege of breaking his back so that he could be instrumental in the capture of one of the greatest butchers of human beings ever to live'” (King, 1982, p. 262); after Heisel recollects Dussander’s true identity, he passes on the information to Israeli special operative Weiskopf, yet before Dussander can be brought to justice he escapes retribution for his crimes by committing suicide; and so forth.

Barefoot in the Park: The objective characters attain love and happiness; Paul and Corie’s marriage-as well as Ethel and Victor’s imminent courtship-are marked for success.

Being There: Benjamin Rand is at peace when he dies, knowing Chance and Eve will be together and his associates will put Chance in the White House; Dr. Allenby is satisfied that Chance loves his dear friend, Eve; men of influence are satisfied that Chance, the man who has no past, will make a good candidate for President of the United States.

Body Heat: Mattie gets away with the murder(s) and the money. Because she is thought to be dead, no one is even trying to find out how she secretly escaped to Tahiti with ALL of the inheritance money. This complete success is mitigated in the epilogue/author’s proof by leaving Mattie’s subsequent “happiness” ambiguous. Does she regret her past actions as she lies there in the sun drinking exotic drinks with a handsome man, or is that neutral expression due to some other unrelated thoughts she has on her mind?

Boyz N The Hood: Tre and Brandi get outta the hood.

Braveheart: Wallace’s goal is taken up with success by Robert the Bruce, and Scotland’s freedom is secured.

Bringing Up Baby: Susan announces to David that she’s received the million dollars from Aunt Elizabeth and is giving it to David for the museum. She also tells him that she has found his missing intercostal clavicle.

Bull Durham: Annie and Crash succeed in getting Nuke into the majors.

Candida: The Morells’ marriage survives Marchbanks’s efforts at disruption; Marchbanks comes to realize his true nature; Burgess is welcomed back into his daughter and son-in-law’s good graces; and so forth.

Casablanca: Laszlo finally escapes Casablanca — with Rick’s help and Ugarte’s Letters of Transit — to continue his freedom fighting, taking the woman he loves with him.

Charlotte’s Web: Wilbur is allowed to live out his life; Mr. Zuckerman enjoys his proudest moment at the fair when Wilbur receives a medal of honor; Fern grows up and acquires a beau; Mrs. Arable stops worrying about Fern spending so much time with farm animals; Charlotte’s children are born safely; and so forth.

Chinatown: Jake discovers the identity and location of Noah Cross’ granddaughter.

The Client: The location of the senator’s body is revealed.

Four Weddings And A Funeral: Everybody becomes happily “committed” — they each find a long-term relationship to which they can commit themselves.

The Fugitive: The actual murderer is discovered and the forces behind the murder revealed and brought to justice.

The Godfather: A new “Godfather,” who will keep the Corleone family and the power structure of New York’s underground soundly preserved, is found in Michael.

I Love Lucy: Ricky comes to the happy realization he and Lucy will become parents in nine months time; Fred and Ethel understand they are chosen as godparents of the Ricardo’s baby; Ricky’s and his band’s performance meets with resounding applause; and so forth.

Klute: The plan that Klute implements to find out what happened to Tom–sticking close to the girl–succeeds in unearthing Tom’s killer Cable, who confesses all to Bree before committing suicide.

Lawrence of Arabia: Through Lawrence, the British Army learns the Arabs are hungry for artillery to help defeat the Turks and later maintain independent rule of the region. Allenby denies the artillery and retains British control.

The Philadelphia Story: By the end of the story, Tracy has rediscovered the passion that was always inside of her. She announces to the wedding guests that while she may have disappointed them two years ago by eloping to Maryland, she now intends to make up for it by “going beautifully through with it nowÑ as originally Ñ and most beautifully Ñ planned.”

Pride and Prejudice: All the principal characters’ future security and happiness are assured.

Rear Window: With the help of Lisa and Stella, Jeff’s able to lure Thorwald out into the open and expose him as a murderer. Even doubting Doyle has to concede that Jeff’s ideas were right when presented with the visual evidence of a head in a hatbox.

Rebel Without a Cause: Judy falls in love with Jim and is happy, something she never thought she could be; the Stark family is united with the indication that they will be a happy family:

Jim: Mom–Dad–this is my friend. Her name is Judy.

The parents nod warmly and smile at her. She smiles shyly in response, happy at being accepted. There is a warmth emanating from the tight little group. Changes have happened to them. Things have been shed and a new start has been made. (Stern 117)

Revenge of the Nerds: The nerds establish a fraternity, get control of the Greek Council, inspire the Dean to act in their support, shame the Alpha Betas, find women to date, and win respect for themselves as nerds.

Romeo and Juliet: The grief stricken Capulets and Montagues reconcile, horrified the ancient grudge has resulted in their children’s deaths:

PRINCE

A glooming peace this morning with it brings. The sun for sorrow will not show his head (5.3.316-317).

Rosemary’s Baby: The Satanic cult has a mother for the Devil; Rosemary gets the child she longs for, and she becomes the baby’s real mother in every sense of the word.

Searching for Bobby Fischer: Josh resolves the inequity within himself and goes on to win the championship.

The Silence of the Lambs: Buffalo Bill is found and killed, the Senator’s daughter is rescued, and Clarice graduates to FBI agent status.

The Simpsons Christmas Special: Christmas is saved as the Simpson family receives the only gift it truly needs, the love for each other and “Santa’s Little Helper,” their new puppy:

Lisa: So love at first sight is possible.

All Good Things (Star Trek: The Next Generation): Picard solves the “paradox” of the spatial anomaly and closes the anti-time eruption. Therefore, the destruction of mankind is prevented.

Star Wars: The Death Star is destroyed by the Rebellion which allows the Rebellion to find another safe haven from the Empire (until the sequels).

Taxi Driver: Travis succeeds in making progress in his mission to clean up the streets by killing Sport and his cohorts, and by getting Iris out of prostitution and back to her parents in Pittsburgh. As the Screenwriter notes:

“The slaughter is the moment Travis has been heading for all his life, and where this screenplay has been heading for over 100 pages. It is the release of all that cumulative pressure; it is a reality unto itself. It is the psychopath’s Second Coming.”

(Schrader, p. 117)

Tootsie: Michael learns how to be himself without robbing others of the right to be themselves as he raises the money to finance Jeff’s play; Julie learns to be honest with herself concerning her relationships with men; Jeff gets his play produced with the possibility of being “the” new hot playwright; Sandy learns to be more assertive and professional as she accepts Michael’s rejection with her own style of grace, and decides to act in Jeff’s play with him.

Toy Story: All of Andy’s toys are successfully reunited with Andy, before his family’s move to another house progresses too far out of reach.

Unforgiven: Munny and the Kid succeed in killing Quick Mike and Davey, satisfying the whores’ appetite for revenge and “justice.” They receive the reward money from Little Sue, which they split three ways to include Ned’s widow.

The Verdict: The jury finds the doctors guilty and awards Frank’s side a huge amount of money.

When Harry Met Sally: Sally and Harry marry.

Witness: At story’s end, Samuel the Witness is safe. Fergie and McFee have been eliminated, and their mastermind Schaeffer is overpowered by force of numbers and taken into police custody. The Amish have their peaceful, isolated lifestyle intact.

X-Files: Beyond the Sea: Scully and Mulder achieve the goal of freeing the kidnap victims before they become murder victims.

Excerpted from
Dramatica Story Development Software