Multiple Questions Regarding Ambiguous Endings in SHORT Stories

[Guttersnipe]

I ready didn't know where to put this, as it doesn't necessarily pertain just to books. I'm more of a short story reader than a novel reader, and I have a few questions regarding the use of ambiguous endings in fiction.

Are there any short stories (or books, I suppose) where the clarification or fate of the main character is left ambiguous? What are they? Are there cases where you dislike it, and what are they?

Personally, I feel they can both satisfy and displease me, depending on the execution. For example, the ending to Charles Beaumont's "A Point of Honor" feels to me like either a copout or a misfire, rare imho for Beaumont. It's about a neophyte in a gang whose task it is to kill a man. In the end, the to-be gangster approaches his target...then the story's over. It just left me feeling frustrated. On the other hand, Stanely Ellin's short story, "Unreasonable Doubt," features a businessman who overhears an intense conversation about a crime which causes his heart problems to escalate. It leaves off with the businessman being in the dark about whether the story is true. This I liked immensely; it left things to your imagination, but it still "makes sense."

What are your experiences with this type of ending?

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I'm not particularly fond of that kind of ending, but there used to be quite a vogue for that kind of thing in "literary" fiction. Maybe there still is.

Frank R. Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger" is an early example. It made him famous and that fame endures, but in my opinion it is not the best thing he wrote.

 

[Danny McG]

I'm not sure if this fits but one that sticks in my mind is the ending of the book Pet Sematery by Stephen King.
The reader is left unaware if the wife is fully restored or is now going to be evil and try to kill him.

He did the same thing with the end of his book Cell, did the kid turn good or continue to be a bad guy?

 

[Randy M.]

At the end of "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell, you're left to wonder, is the protagonist a hero who will abolish what his adversary did, or will he take over from his adversary?

Even in grade school, I was okay with that.

 

[apocalypsegal]

Ambiguous endings can be hit or miss for me. It really depends on how well the story is written and if the ambiguity adds to the narrative. For example, I enjoyed the ending of "The Lady, or the Tiger?" by Frank R. Stockton because it made me think about the characters' motivations. But I found the ending of "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson satisfying because it was clear, despite being shocking. Ambiguous endings can be frustrating if they feel unearned or don't add to the story's depth.