How Does 'A Fable' End?

2025-06-14 03:06:47 301

5 Answers

Yvonne
Yvonne
2025-06-16 05:46:26
In 'A Fable', the ending is a profound meditation on war and humanity. The story culminates with the execution of the Corporal, a Christ-like figure who leads a mutiny against the senseless brutality of war. His death is portrayed with haunting symbolism—reflecting sacrifice and the cyclical nature of violence. The generals, representing institutional power, remain unchanged, underscoring the novel’s bleak view of authority.

The final scenes shift to a chaotic battlefield where soldiers, oblivious to the Corporal’s martyrdom, continue fighting. Faulkner juxtaposes their mindless carnage with fleeting moments of individual humanity, like a soldier sharing cigarettes with the enemy. The last paragraph lingers on a donkey, a recurring symbol of suffering, trudging through the mud—a silent testament to war’s futility. It’s a masterstroke of ambiguity: neither hopeful nor entirely despairing, leaving readers to wrestle with its meaning.
Will
Will
2025-06-17 09:50:36
‘A Fable’ ends with the Corporal’s execution by firing squad, mirroring Christ’s crucifixion. His death fails to stop the war, highlighting the futility of idealism against entrenched power. The generals drink champagne afterward, chillingly indifferent. Faulkner’s prose turns visceral in the final pages—mud, blood, and the donkey’s braying haunt the reader. It’s less a resolution than a scream into the void.
Aiden
Aiden
2025-06-18 15:31:05
Faulkner’s ending is a gut punch. The Corporal dies, but his mutiny’s ripple effects are subtle: a German private refuses to shoot, an English pilot crashes his plane deliberately. These scattered moments of rebellion contrast with the generals’ callousness. The donkey’s final appearance—now limping—suggests enduring suffering. What stays with me is the French soldier who pockets the Corporal’s bloody medal, a tiny act of preservation in a world hellbent on oblivion.
Oliver
Oliver
2025-06-19 11:35:38
The novel closes on dissonance. The Corporal’s sacrifice changes nothing structurally, yet Faulkner lingers on peripheral characters—a chaplain doubting God, a widow burning her husband’s letters. Their grief becomes the real epilogue. The donkey, now skeletal, stumbles past a trench, its stubborn survival a muted counterpoint to human folly. It’s classic Faulkner: beauty and horror woven into the same sentence.
Piper
Piper
2025-06-19 17:25:06
The ending of 'A Fable' is pure Faulkner—layered, brutal, and dripping with allegory. After the Corporal’s execution, the narrative fractures into vignettes: a French officer weeping over his betrayal, a German soldier humming a lullaby amid gunfire. The war machine grinds on, but the focus narrows to small acts of defiance—a stolen kiss, a shared prayer. The donkey’s reappearance ties everything together, a stubborn reminder of resilience in the face of absurd destruction. Faulkner doesn’t offer closure; he forces you to stare into the abyss of war’s paradoxes.
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