The late Kirk Douglas stars in Billy Wilder's film noir classic Ace in the Hole as Chuck Tatum, a disgraced newspaperman who's willing to do anything to get back on top. A few quotes stand out, whether for their wit, the poetic elegance with which they ponder love, or their heartbreakingly accurate depiction of anguish. He twists his head from one side to the other. ", "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. That this time - please just this once - it will leave without us. Following our massively popular and lovingly selected list of the 100 best opening lines from books, its now time for the closing lines to shine. Quiz: which Shakespeare characters speak these lines about love? This is the very famous last line of "Casablanca" which starred Humphrey Bogart, Paul Henreid and Ingrid Bergman. If you do, you start missing everybody. The opening sentence in a story is often considered the most important because it sets the tone for everything that's still to come. God, is anything more beautifully, simply written than these final lines? 4. 10. "Go, my book, and help destroy the world as it is. Kong takes one of the planes down, but he ultimately loses his balance after being shot, leading him to fall to his death. by Charles Dickens (1843). His enemy in this case is Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges), his late father's old business partner, who also manages Stark Industries. ", "Max stepped into his private boat and waved goodbye and sailed back over a year and in and out of weeks and through a day and into the night of his very own room where he found his supper waiting for himand it was still hot. 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. Warning: This graphic requires JavaScript. Orwells classic dystopian novel about a totalitarian state has never gone out of print, but it got a huge boost two years ago from the election of Donald Trump. Her parting words are Sunset Boulevard's stinging, darkly funny punchline. Eventually, all is revealed to be a dream, one from which she gladly awakens. In 1816, Lord Byron suggested to friends vacationing with him in Switzerland that they each write a ghost story. ", "My husband remained there some time after me to settle our affairs, and at first I had intended to go back to him, but at his desire I altered that resolution, and he is come over to England also, where we resolve to spend the remainder of our years in sincere penitence for the wicked lives we have lived. When we first meet 26-year-old Harry Rabbit Angstrom, he decides on a whim to run away from his wife and toddler. Best way to end a novel in the middle of a sentence/best phantom use of a word when we all know what it is but maybe we dont because its DFW so wed better not make any assumptions: You can trust me, R.V. We'll take any optimism we can get from curmudgeonly Franzen, regardless of whether or not it's meant in earnest (and in this case, it seems to be). ", "Of course, it's only superstition, just for fun. From classics such as George Orwell's Animal Farm to L. Frank Baum's T he Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Stylist rounds up the most memorable 100 last lines from literature ever written. It's dark and psychological, but also exciting as all get out. It touches on the passing of youth and of more innocent times in life, but it also offers hope by pointing out that sharing toys helps keep the magic of play alive. Kansas seems like a pretty boring place to Dorothy (Judy Garland) in The Wizard of Oz. Often called England's 'national poet', his work consists of about 38 . The whole film is a sardonic look at show business and the way that people who have experienced the limelight have a hard time when it no longer shines on them. said, watching her hand. Together, they attempt to assemble a "phone" that E.T. Se7en is one of the most nihilistic motion pictures ever made, and Somerset's quote reflects that. And like that he is gone. He's asked what it is, to which he replies "the stuff that dreams are made of.". They spark interest by stating a hard truth that seemingly comes from deep within the narrator's (or writer's) soul. She knew firsthand the deleterious effects of that lack of demand. There is deep, delicious irony in this line. Ethereal and evocative, this line nicely wraps up Capote's deeply personal and heart-wrenching story. Ominous and syntactically exciting, this final line brings Conrad's dark novel full circle. As a man, he makes his way into the Mafia, where he's guided by three mentors: Paulie Cicero (Paul Sorvino), Jimmy "the Gent" Conway (Robert DeNiro), and the volatile Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci). After playing for a few moments, Andy hops in his car and drives away. ", "He reached the top of the bank in a single, powerful leap. I smoke a little dope. Then, Doc arrives in the DeLorean, informing him that there's a personal crisis in his future. 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. Filmmaker Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) corrects the officer, saying "no, it wasn't the airplanes. His comment is a sick joke, which is perfectly in keeping with Fight Club's entire aesthetic. 6 on PBSs Great American Reads. But like several of our most popular books Im looking at you, To Kill a Mockingbird its immortality has been buttressed by an exceptionally memorable film adaptation. 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 . All kinds of spot-on criticisms have been leveled against the novel (and producer David Selznicks 1939 movie) for its romanticized racism. The first sentence of a book may be what draws the reader in, but it is the closing sentence that makes many books memorable. 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. It'd be a glaring omission to not mention Fitzgerald's oft-quoted thesis about the American Dream. He uncovers a corruption scandal within the Los Angeles Department of Power and Water. "He loved Big Brother. That final line, with its simple, imploring repetition, concludes the novel with just the right spirit of affirmation and regret. 10 quizzes and 105 trivia questions. One of his associates leads him away from the scene of a standoff, offering the advice, "forget it, Jake. "Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you," he tells them before hanging up and flying off into the sky. "From In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. "There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of pinks filled the air." "The Awakening," by Kate Chopin (1899) At the end of Henrik Ibsen's play "Hedda Gabler" (1891), a trapped and passionate. At that moment, McCarthy suddenly breaks away from his characters and describes trout that once swam in mountain streams. Everyone is now free to have a good time at the club no matter who they are, where they come from, or how much money they have. Not love, necessarily, but a protective form of kinship. ", Create and edit your own book list on Stylist here, "One bird said to Billy Pilgrim, 'Poo-tee-weet? Im a man of my, 6. Best wonderfully mangled last line from a wonderfully mangled novel: Prettiest description of oblivion and both the interconnectedness and meaninglessness of worldly phenomena that also sounds something like a dehumanized version of the last line of The Great Gatsby: The wake itself remains, etched out across the waters surface; then it fades as well, although no one is there to see it go. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling. by Mary Shelley (1818). Ford describes the adolescents harrowing adventures in beautifully polished sentences. They show the delusions of Norma Desmond, who remains a legend in her own mind. "Up out of the lampshade, startled by the overhead light, flew a large nocturnal butterfly that began circling the room. "Then starting home, he walked toward the trees, and under them, leaving behind him the big sky, the whisper of wind voices in the wind-bent wheat. He is attacked by planes circling the building, shooting at him. ", A Hundred and One Days: A Baghdad Journal, Asne Seierstad, "It was then that I began to sit on my bed and stare out at the nibbling squirrels, and to make up powems from intense abstraction, hour after unmarked hour, imagination scarcely faltering once, rhythm hardly skipping a beat, while sisters called me, suns rose and fell, and the poems I made, which I never remembered, were the first and last of that time", "And presently, like a circling typhoon, the sounds of battle began to return. 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. So many heroes invent personas specifically to prevent anyone from discovering their true identity. ", Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, Patrick Sskind, "Old father, old artificer, stand me now and ever in good stead. Now, fortunately, the tumultuous story of Janie, a black woman in Florida, is firmly rooted in the canon of American literature, and every year new readers come and see., Where the Wild Things Are, The Finish Line - 10 questions - 3 mins. Her extraordinary novel Their Eyes Were Watching God fell out of print and was essentially forgotten, until Alice Walker rediscovered it in the 1970s. For many, John Keats is the prototype of artistic genius. A recurring bit in the movie finds millionaire Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown) falling for Daphne. And we never forgot it. 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. His story about a reformed miser was an immediate bestseller, and, a few years later, he began offering public readings that attracted enormous crowds in England and America. I'm all for crime. Of course, Eugenides is also echoing the end of James Joyces Ulysses, whose last extraordinary sentence is about 4,000 words long and ends with Molly Blooms boundless enthusiasm: yes I said yes I will Yes., Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell (1949). Its a deeply contemplative story about a man whose inept parents were imprisoned for bank robbery, leaving him and his twin sister to fend for themselves when they were 15. ", "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. First Line: "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.". (Hamlet) "To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the . Make fun all you want, but after everything that Harry went through, this may be the most well-deserved last line weve ever read: The scar had not pained Harry for nineteen years. Till we felt our eyes could meet again, without the tears. In the end, though, he puts her on a plane to safety. NEXT: 10 Best Comedy Movies Of 2021, According To IMDb, 13 Best Shark Movies To Watch This Summer (That Aren't Jaws), 10 Unpopular Opinions About E.T. Hazel followed; and together they slipped away, running easily down through the wood, where the first primroses were beginning to bloom. He watched it scurry away, over his hand. ", "And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea. As Woody watches him fade into the distance, he utters the bittersweet words, "so long, partner.". In the movie's final minutes, the limping Verbal exits the police station, and viewers see his disability immediately disappear. The Awakening,by Kate Chopin (1899). "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." The novels final scenes of physical torture including the gruesome rat helmet are undeniably terrifying, but whats most chilling is the governments success at twisting the very minds of its subjects. The right parting words help to drive the story's theme home in a meaningful way, encapsulating its entire point. Dorothy, relieved to be away from all that drama, looks at her aunt and exclaims "Auntie Em, there's no place like home!". The movie ends with police boss Captain Louis Renault (Claude Rains) suggesting that he and Rick join the Free French army. ", Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, J.K. Rowling, "He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance. It's virtually impossible not to tear up in this touching, heartfelt moment. "This game is seven-card stud" A Streetcar Named Desire Journey's End Dealer's Choice Reveal 2. Woody's final words, therefore, speak to the fact that things that were once vitally important get left behind later on in life. He no longer needs them and decides to leave them in the hands of a child who will love them the way he did. The cults of the famous and the dead. And Carlson said, 'Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys? It was, in so many ways, a film ahead of its time. ", "Slowly, very slowly, like two unhurried compass needles, the feet turned towards the right; north, north-east, south-east, south, south-south-west; then paused, and, after a few seconds, turned as unhurriedly back towards the left. The point, driven home so forcefully in those five words, is that corruption is so deeply ingrained in the situation Jake is investigating that he's wasting his time trying to expose or change it. The Road won a Pulitzer Prize and even spurred the normally shy author to agree to speak with Oprah for his first-ever television interview. A vague last line casts a shadow over the entire novel, whereas a powerful and poignant one will keep you wondering for weeks to come. 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). From old-school classics like Casablanca to modern masterpieces like Inglorious Basterds, these are the most remarkable final movie lines of all time. ", Half of a Yellow Sun, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, "Light falls through the window, falls onto me, into me. A Tale of Two Cities , Charles Dickens. "Everything we need that is not food or love is here in the tabloid racks. Beautifully, simply written than these final lines polished sentences for fun and! Minutes, the limping Verbal exits the police station, and viewers see his disability immediately disappear families are ;. 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Brown ) falling for Daphne advice, `` reached! And describes trout that once swam in mountain streams line brings Conrad 's dark and psychological, but a form! Quot ; all happy families are alike ; each unhappy family is unhappy in its way.. Of course, it was, in so many heroes invent personas specifically to prevent anyone discovering! `` Go, my book, and help destroy the world as it is a whim to run away the...

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