'", "I just waited a bit, then turned back to the car, to drive off to wherever it was I was supposed to be. The above is only a portion (we wouldn't be able to fit all of it in this article), but we couldn't NOT include one of the longest last sentences in literature. The there was a knock on the door, I opened the door, and the new gerbil walked in. Here are 21 of our favorite last lines in literature: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. He watched it stand very still for a second with a smug look as if it exepcted nothing less. At the end, an attempt to kill the shark takes place. They spark interest by stating a hard truth that seemingly comes from deep within the narrator's (or writer's) soul. His opponent duly humiliated, Al turns to the throng of spectators and gleefully announces "Hey, everybody! Theatre quiz: which Shakespeare character is dying? In this closing scene, the lovely Lady Brett tempts Jake once again to imagine what a damned good time they could have had. The plays . The next day, Tony stands at a press conference and makes a stunning confession: "the truth is, I am Iron Man.". We know, he laments, that our first dreams can never be realized, but we cant help pining for them anyhow. ", In the all-time classic Casablanca, American expatriate/nightclub owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is reunited with an old lover, Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). by John Steinbeck (1939). Hint. can use to call home. His eyes, she sees, are open. In fact, he confesses that the universality of his experience frightens him. ", RELATED: 13 Best Shark Movies To Watch This Summer (That Aren't Jaws). When the applause dies down, he asks, Are there any questions? Those of us staring at a Supreme Court now tipping away from womens reproductive rights probably have several questions. 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars. ", "Might I trouble you then to be ready in half an hour, and we can stop at Marcinis for a little dinner on the way? The father of the four March sisters is just a minor character in Louisa May Alcotts beloved Little Women (1868), but Geraldine Brooks put him at the center of her historical novel March, which won a Pulitzer Prize. Anyone who has ever seen Se7en cannot forget its harrowing ending. Of course, former slaves and historians had described the horrors of slavery before, but nearly 125 years after Emancipation, Morrison made the psychological legacy of the Souths peculiar institution palpable as no other book ever had. Most grandiose and declarative/most often quoted by people who have no idea where its from: 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., 18. A Tale of Two Cities , Charles Dickens. Ominous and syntactically exciting, this final line brings Conrad's dark novel full circle. "From The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen. 19. ", "With the Gardiners, they were always on the most intimate terms. The movie ends with police boss Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) suggesting that he and Rick join the Free French army. Chinatown was released in 1974, when Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal were on the US's collective mind. In the final pages, the narrator knows some readers will continue to ignore the relevance of his life: Youll fail to see how any principle that applies to you could apply to me. But he knows thats not true. It's Life carrying on. ", "Of course, it's only superstition, just for fun. Dont ever tell anybody anything. No way has yet been invented to say goodbye to them. He wants Mills (Brad Pitt) to kill him so that he can finish his series of murders based on the seven deadly sins. Best beautiful sum-up of the novel you just read, both in tone and in meaning, and possibly the most well-loved last line of all time: So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. ", "Very few castaways can claim to have survived so long at sea as Mr. Patel, and none in the company of an adult Bengal tiger. The Finish Line - 10 questions - 3 mins. All that was left was love and wonder. ", "'From the Land of Oz,' said Dorothy gravely. Overcome with grief and a thirst for vengeance, Mills shoots him anyway. All of them wrap their respective movies up beautifully. That might be the subject of a new story, but our present story is ended. And Carlson said, 'Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys? A stormy wind rattled the scrap-iron in the ruins, whistling and howling through the charred cavities of the windows. Killer John Doe (Kevin Spacey) reveals that he cut off the head of protagonist Mills' pregnant wife and stuck it in a box. If On a Winters Night a Traveler , Italo Calvino. From classics such as George Orwells Animal Farm to L. Frank Baums The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Jung Changs Wild Swans, weve scoured the Stylist book shelf for the best closing lines (or, in some cases to give context, the best final few lines) ever written. Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince by J.K. Rowling "Severus. The only thought in cutting it was of the essentials of the grave, and there was no other care than to make this stone long enough and narrow enough to cover a man. Best reason to go adventuring in Wonderland: Lastly, she pictured to herself how this same little sister of hers would, in the after-time, be herself a grown woman; and how she would keep, through all her riper years, the simple and loving heart of her childhood; and how she would gather about her other little children, and make their eyes bright and eager with many a strange tale, perhaps even with the dream of Wonderland of long ago; and how she would feel with all their simple sorrows, and find a pleasure in all their simple joys, remembering her own child-life, and the happy summer days. His mix of treacly self-pity, witty cynicism and clinical depression speaks for millions of lonely people forced to endure a world of phonies. Woody's final words, therefore, speak to the fact that things that were once vitally important get left behind later on in life. At every turn, there are bribes, lies, cover-ups, and conspiracies. Knowing that the complex power of her book is already complete, the very ending offers a sigh of emotional relief: a wry repudiation of Jane Eyre., Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson (2004). '", "The broken flower drooped over Ben's fist and his eyes were empty and blue and serene again as cornice and facade flowed smoothly once more from left to right, post and tree, window and doorway and signboard each in its ordered place. The elitist snobs are no longer in charge. Here are 21 of our favorite last lines in literature: "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past." From The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Alex snapped open his eyes, and he and Bennie both turnedwhirled, really, peering for Sasha in the ashy dark. One of the most-quoted lines from Casablanca, "Here's looking at you, kid," is one that Humphrey Bogart ad-libbed during the flashback scenes of Rick and Ilsa falling in love in Paris. Repetition and cynicism may have reduced Tiny Tims final prayer to a saccharine cliche, but the tale of lives reformed and saved has lost none of its real sweetness. And so she does. In that haunting last line, we see the ultimate success of Big Brothers deception, and we feel the full atrocity of whats been done to Winston. "The Maltese Falcon" "Key Largo" . But even more arresting is the books moral struggle to understand and forgive his parents failings and his own. ", "The men began singing, a grave, slow song that drifted away into the night. The most excellently crafted, strange, funny and ambiguous ending I have ever met: They said, please, please make love with Helen, we require an assertion of value, we are frightened. Hemingways vaguely autobiographical story about a group of dissipated friends in Europe after World War I has aged well. Isnt it pretty to think so?From The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. E.T. Although two centuries have passed since Dr. Victor Frankenstein turned loose into the world a depraved wretch, his creatures plaintive cry still moves anyone who has a beating heart. Its a plaintive acknowledgment that his wandering confession to us has brought him no comfort. These final words suggest that Kong had some kind of primitive feelings for Ann. Most widely debated and surprising-yet-inevitable suicide-based ending ever: Then he went over and sat down on the unoccupied twin bed, looked at the girl, aimed the pistol, and fired a bullet through his right temple. Theologically, the story is a gooey mess of New Age mysticism, but its emotionally effective because Sebold got Susies voice just right. He uncovers a corruption scandal within the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water. He may be sad, but he's got a new direction, plus someone to go down that road with. 3.66 avg rating 137,082 ratings. 10. II,1,385. The movie's theme could not be laid out any more succinctly; The Wizard of Oz is about a number of things, but nothing more than the idea of home. Scholars of Elizabethan drama believe that William Shakespeare wrote at least 38 plays between 1590 and 1612. said, watching her hand. Upon being arrested, Norma, who is convinced that the newsreel cameras filming her capture are part of her movie production, exclaims, "Alright, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up.". Even today, millions of people think of the ravages of the Great Depression through the lens of Steinbecks story. . If you don't stop and look around once and a while you might miss it." Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) 111 27 3. That contrast is most evident in the final moments. Such is the effect of the last line of Eugenidess most recent novel, which seems in retrospect constructed to bring us directly to these three letters. All was well. Most Beckettian closing to a Beckett novel: Perhaps its done already, perhaps they have said me already, perhaps they have carried me to the threshold of my story, before the door that opens on my story, that would surprise me, if it opens, it will be I, it will be the silence, where I am, I dont know, Ill never know, in the silence you dont know, you must go on, I cant go on, Ill go on. The definitiveness of this brusque sentence has a blunting effect, highlighting the bleakness of Orwell's predictions. The last bit of spoken dialogue is what's most likely to stick with audiences, and, if it's particularly poignant, it can seriously boost a film's reputation. His testimony, sealed with that line from King Lear, is enough to convert anyone to the power of great fiction. Some Like It Hot came out in 1959, a time when subjects such as sexual/gender identity and cross-dressing were still very much taboo onscreen. ", "The eyes and faces all turned themselves towards me, and guiding myself by them, as by a magical thread, I stepped into the room. ", "She opened the door wide and let him into her life again. During its initial release in 1999, Fight Club was widely misunderstood. At that moment, McCarthy suddenly breaks away from his characters and describes trout that once swam in mountain streams. Everything will crumble. ", RELATED: 10 Unpopular Opinions About E.T. These dramatic works encompass a wide range of subjects and styles, from the playful "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to the gloomy "Macbeth." Shakespeare's plays can be roughly divided into three . Amazon's most highlighted quotes of all time on Kindle, By entering my email I agree to Stylists. It was, in so many ways, a film ahead of its time. No, those words are phenomenal because they contain the promise of adventure and the mystery of a future filled with all kinds of amazing possibilities. After the gray and blood-soaked pages that came before, its shockingly beautiful and places humanitys horrors against the boundless life of the Earth. We don't think so. 20. The School, Donald Barthelme (From Sixty Stories). A few quotes stand out, whether for their wit, the poetic elegance with which they ponder love, or their heartbreakingly accurate depiction of anguish. So it was that Giles Corey's last lines in "The Crucible" endure in popular culture. Over the course of the movie, he sees evidence that the world can be a pretty horrible place. A book's final sentence is the ribbon on a packaged plot, tied neatly and prettily before an author hands her story over to her readers' imaginations for good. Her simple, final wish looks banal out of context, but after watching her family and her murderer for years, its devastatingly pure. "Oh, poor,. Click through for 20 of our favorite endings from our bookshelf of classic and contemporary greats, and let us know your own picks for best last lines in the comments. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (1936) Set around the American Civil War, the Pulitzer-winning epic about collapsing worlds, rape and murder, slavery, starvation, war and doomed love not only gave literature the most brutal break up line in literature ("My dear, I don't give a damn"), but also one of the most hopeful final flourishes. Previously, their dealings were driven by individual self-interest. ", "I ran with the wind blowing in my face, and a smile as wide as the valley of Panjsher on my lips. by Mary Shelley (1818). The Usual Suspects ends with a callback in which Verbal provides a very telling quote: "The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. Parents failings and his own least 38 plays between 1590 and 1612. said, watching her.! 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famous last lines of plays