
What are your favorite final sentences from books? Is there a book that you liked specially because of its last sentence? Or a book, perhaps that you didn’t like but still remember simply because of the last line.
In thinking about this question, it's dawned on me that I remember first lines much better than last lines. I'm not sure why. Here are the ones that sluggishly made their way to the top:
- It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known. Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities.
- After all, tomorrow is another day. Margaret Mitchell, Gone With the Wind.
- So, into all the little settlements of quiet people, tidings of what their boys and girls are doing in the world bring refreshment; bring to the old, memories, and to the young, dreams. Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark.
- So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby.
- He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance. Mary Shelley, Frankenstein.
- All that is very well, answered Candide, but let us cultivate our garden. Voltaire, Candide.
I agree: the ending is much more important than the final sentence.
ReplyDeleteI've never given thought to remembering the final sentence, but like you, I remember endings.
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