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Miss Watson & Miss Colley
Sunday, 5 December 2010
What did you really think of the end of Spies?
I know that my class had some pretty mixed reactions to the final chapters of Spies, but I - for one - thought it was brilliant. What's your view? Did it meet your expectations, or is there another way Frayn could've finished his story?
I thought the ending was good because it revealed a few things regarding who was actually german, and how the various characters grew up to be. However, it think it could have been better, as you don't find out as much as you wanted to, such as what happened immediately after chapter 10, and information regarding the Haywards.
I didn't really like the last chapter of spies, i feel that the rest of the book dragged out, talking about things of little relevance and the last chapter was too rushed. It doesn't explain the rest of Stephen's life in enough detail to make it seem important. The questions seem to be answered but not in a satisfying way, making the whole novel seem like it didn't really add up to anything.
I think the ending of Spies was a bit of a let down. The revelation that Stephen was German, his family had ran away from Germany and completely changed his name and so his identity was a good twist and did provide an interesting ending; however the way Stephen describes the continuation of life in a normal style in the close, with neither Keith, Mrs Hayward or himself changing their behaviour after Uncle Peter's death just emphasised Stephen cowardise and reminded the reader of his complacencey with life. A satisfactory ending, though I would never rate the novel as a whole above "average"
I think the ending of spies was brilliant! How old Stephen sees past&Present. The 2 co-exist his mind. Also where every hidden detail about his family was revealed.
Laura Moran, what i really thought about the end of the spies is that after all the tension and build up, in the last couple of chapters were overloaded and seemed as if it was rush and everything that could of possibly happened shoved into a chapter (especially chapter 10). i think the ending would of been more successful if all the events were gradually brought in.
To be honest, I was quite disappointed with the ending of the novel. It answers questions, but not the detail that would be expected, instead in a very factual way, as if emotionally distant from the events.
However, it is good because the audience finally realises that Stephen is definately a coward, as he didn't tell anyone of what happened. He didn't go and tell Mrs Hayward what Uncle Peter said and what he wanted her to have. Because of Stephen's many moments of cowardise and bravery, it is sort of expected that he would, or at least have told someone. But then again, who is there for Stephen to tell?
It also increases the readers opinion that Stephen's narrative is not to be trusted and taken as the truth. For example when he asks himself if he knew all along that it was Uncle Peter, he seems to be unsure about actually when he realised. He also asks himself a lot of questions in the final chapter, as if he is doubting himself, as if he is unsure what actually happened, which reinforces the opinion that his narrative is not to be trusted.
Therefore, overall, I think that the ending was not fully satisfying for the reader as it ties up loose ends, but in a very factual way, almost as if Stephen has left it all behind, even thought he spent the whole of the book reminicing about his younger days. However, it informs the reader of Stephen's definate cowardice and untrustworthy narrative.
I felt that the ending of Spies left too many unanswered questions, I appreciate that Frayn might have done this for dramatic purposes however as a reader I did not find it enjoyable. I also felt that the depressing tone used to describe Stephen's seemingly bleak and monotonous future was disappointing. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Stephen had passed on the message to Mrs Hayward and I think it was selfish of him not to do so.
I like spies but I think that the ending was bit disappointing as he spent the whole of the novel building up who the tramp was and his relation to Mrs Hayward only for him to be killed off in the next couple of pages. I liked the end paragraph when Frayn repeated the thank you for having me and I thought that was good, but the part of the ending should of been more climatic.
I really didn't like the ending of Spies. I thinm that the first half of the book was interesting, however the the audience have to wait a long time until any of actions action happens and the climax is imply too long! Also, I personally found the plot very confusing towards the end and was dissapointed. Finally, I think that the character of Mrs Hayward should be developed more at the end as we never truly find out much abou her life! By Ellen Mason!
I thought the end of spies was good as it brought forward feelings of completion which lack throughout the novel. throughout the whole story the reader is unaware of all the details but by the end of the book there seems to be some forfillment (even if it is only because the readers discovered the whole story) I think the story finishes with alot of self realisation from stephen who seems to be growing up, which pleases the audience as it feels as if there is a postive end to the book. holly t.
i think that spies on the whole was an interesting and gripping novel, however the end i felt was rather anticlimactic and did not do the rest of the novel justice, Frayn seemed to cram in a lot of information into the final chapter, and while this served to liven up the book, it may have been better off over 2 or 3 chaptersx for the reader to fully understand and take in the events that unfold. jake (:
i didnt like the ending of spies because i think its too anti-climatic and dosent really account for much. i was unhappy with the way the book finished ( in terms of old stephen leaving the close) as it makes me feel like the whole book was an old mans rambilings rather than a story of any meaning/poigniency. however, i did like the way the narration mentions this (old stephen says that the people who actually live in the close now are probably looking at him and wondering what hes doing)
i thought that the ending of spies was a bit rushed because there was a lot of build up in the first nine chapters, making you try and guess what will happen at the end, but then the author tried to finish the story in one chapter and didnt really explain the storyline enough. Also, i thought that uncle peter being killed by a train was a random ending and wasnt expected. This novel is all about building up to things and then it has a random ending. So this is the reason why Spies has a bad ending.
i liked the ending of spies because it makes me feel as if the story had a significance in stephens life. i enjoyed the way the novel ending by going back to reality as old stephen because it reminds the audience of the actuality of it. the story overall is intresting as it shows a personal expierience and struggle by stephen to become an adult. mehran.
I overall didnt really like the ending of spies. I thought that it did not close the novel as well as it could have. In the chapter the narrator fills in brief details of the rest of Stephens childhood and what happenned to some other characters. Although important info is revealed such as stephen being German- Jewish I still found the ending was not very exciting and could of resulted in a different more climatic way.
I think the ending of Spies was rather sudden and didnt reall explain anything to us. We found out that Uncle Peter was the 'Spy' so this was reallu useful to know and we also found out that Stephen was a Jew but i think that Frayn could have ended it on a more interesting note.
The Ending of 'Spies' was a un-expectedly dull ending to such a long book. I realise it was s cliffhanger but the way Frayn crushed everyone such as Uncle Peters death etc into the last few pages without description or explanation makes it seem in a rush and less successful of a impact to the reader.
I think the main of the book had way too much description down to the smallest detail.
Some superb opinions expressed here. Can you think of any reasons why Frayn may have left all the events until the final few chapters?
Have a good weekend and don't forget your homework next week!
Homework: Decide which Spies question you are going to be writing and come prepared to write in Wednesday's lesson. i.e. with a plan, your copy of Spies and all your notes that you have been making throughout our lessons.
I did not like the ending of Spies. Although it does reveal a lot of the secrets of the novel it annoys me how Stepehen finally reacts to it all in the end... By not doing anything about what happened in the previous chapters, eg: having a knife held up to his throat, the message, so on.
I don't agree with Frayn's style of letting life just carry on as normal. Everything seems to simple afterwards and the way he reveals the secrets of the book (him actually being the German) are told too casually.
The ending also brings to light how bad Stephen's memory really is and why he couldn't have just remembered these things beforehand and told the reader earlier. (Although I am aware this would not have made the best book if Frayn did this.)
After reading the final chapter, chapter 11 it went forward in time back to the time where stephen was in his old age, rather than his young days in the close with keith. It was the closing of the story where stephen concludes the story in yet a still more confusing summary of the lives of those in the close. He states that he himself is a german, and so is his father. However in the end he still seemed to consider keith as the main character, and only him as the follower. Stephens main concern was the scalf/cloth that was given to stephen is uncle peteres confidence, It was the recuring factor that haunted stephen. Overall the ending was disjointed and dragged on with nooo formulating conclusion, the ending was meaningless.
I really enjoyed the ending of Spies, especially when the old Stephen thanks the reader, it made me so sad for him and I wonder if it connoted his death? It had surprising twists towards the end and I certainly didnt see it coming. the only thing I would say, is that I wish the author had gone into more depth about Mrs Hayward and Peter. Even though this would have been impossible as it was from Stephens point of view. Overall it was a very interesting read.
I thought that the ending of spies was disappointing, reason being was because there was so much happening during the book, you would of expected something big to happen at the end, unfortunately that never happened, that's why I felt that it wasn't the best ending !!!
I was very disspointed with the ending of Spies. I was expecting something completely different to happen, and was given something that I was disspointed with. It was very bland, there was so many events and a sense of mystery being created, which made me expect something big to happen for the ending, but I didn't feel satisfied, I felt that I had wasted my time reading the book, I'm just glad I had to read the book or I would feel I really wasted my time reading a book that didn't really interest me.
I thought the ending of the novel didn't come to much surprise as i was hoping for. It wasn't as dramatic as the book had been throughout, which was a let down. When reading Spies i had come up with this conclusion myself at one point - so when it was apparent that this was the ending, i felt it had been to obvious at some stages of it.
I didn't like the ending of spies as i thought it was really disappointing. I did like the second to last chapter where everything happened all at once but that should've happened somewhere near the beginning to make it more interesting and then in the last chapter he says how his life has become nothing. In that sense I think the ending was really depressing and basically said that all childhood games are not real and when you get old nothing interesting is going to happen to you and you will get married and divorced and then be alone. So the book as a whole was interesting at times but mostly it was disappointing and depressing about life.
I was very disappointed with the ending of spies. Whilst I liked that many questions were answered, I also felt that Frayn suddenly decided to put as many different twists in at the same time. Moreover, in my opinion the ending was slightly predictable i.e I had figured that Stephen's father was german and what Mrs Hayward had been doing. Overall although Spies was interesting at times and somewhat mysterious, I felt that the disappointng ending overruled the more exciting events.
I found the ending of Spies really disappointing. There was a big build up and I was waiting for something that never happened. It was really obvious and I'd pretty much already worked out what was going to happen. There was no element of surprise and the book as a whole was really boring and all over the place. I didn't like it.
I thought the ending was really ovbious and pretty bad tbh.The end half of the book was starting to get good and lots tension n suspence was being built up and then at the end loads of it wasnt even explained and the things that were didnt really help much
I thought that the last chapter of Spies was a bit disappointing because throughout the whole book so many questions were put forward and in the last chapter it all seemed to end too abruptly! I thought the book was cleverly written but the end chapter was a bit of a let down!!!
I thought the ending of Spies was not interesting, I feel the tension was built up too much and the reader was dissapointed by the final ending. It was a predictable ending although when reading I thought of the ending and predicted it I still predicted a twist to interest the reader and really shock me, but It was the predictable ending many of us guessed unfortunately. Tasha Berryman
I found that the end of Spies was quite a poor ending, it didn't conclude whether his stories through-out the novel were actually real or whether they were just his imagination. It was a very disappointing ending because you never find out what Stephen's actual feelings were about the situations in the book, we only ever see Stephen through the eyes of Keith. The novel can be interesting at times but overall i did not like it because it gave a negative view on life.
I don't think that the ending of Spies was very good. I think that the last couple of paragraphs were pretty good but I don't think that the ending itself was very good. It seemed like the rest of the book went slowly but there there was too much all put into the last chapter. The ending was disappointing and I thought it was quite badly written. And it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the novel.
I thought the ending was good because it revealed a few things regarding who was actually german, and how the various characters grew up to be. However, it think it could have been better, as you don't find out as much as you wanted to, such as what happened immediately after chapter 10, and information regarding the Haywards.
ReplyDeleteI didn't really like the last chapter of spies, i feel that the rest of the book dragged out, talking about things of little relevance and the last chapter was too rushed. It doesn't explain the rest of Stephen's life in enough detail to make it seem important. The questions seem to be answered but not in a satisfying way, making the whole novel seem like it didn't really add up to anything.
ReplyDeleteI think the ending of Spies was a bit of a let down. The revelation that Stephen was German, his family had ran away from Germany and completely changed his name and so his identity was a good twist and did provide an interesting ending; however the way Stephen describes the continuation of life in a normal style in the close, with neither Keith, Mrs Hayward or himself changing their behaviour after Uncle Peter's death just emphasised Stephen cowardise and reminded the reader of his complacencey with life.
ReplyDeleteA satisfactory ending, though I would never rate the novel as a whole above "average"
By Ruby
I think the ending of spies was brilliant! How old Stephen sees past&Present. The 2 co-exist his mind. Also where every hidden detail about his family was revealed.
ReplyDeleteLaura Moran,
ReplyDeletewhat i really thought about the end of the spies is that after all the tension and build up, in the last couple of chapters were overloaded and seemed as if it was rush and everything that could of possibly happened shoved into a chapter (especially chapter 10). i think the ending would of been more successful if all the events were gradually brought in.
To be honest, I was quite disappointed with the ending of the novel. It answers questions, but not the detail that would be expected, instead in a very factual way, as if emotionally distant from the events.
ReplyDeleteHowever, it is good because the audience finally realises that Stephen is definately a coward, as he didn't tell anyone of what happened. He didn't go and tell Mrs Hayward what Uncle Peter said and what he wanted her to have. Because of Stephen's many moments of cowardise and bravery, it is sort of expected that he would, or at least have told someone. But then again, who is there for Stephen to tell?
It also increases the readers opinion that Stephen's narrative is not to be trusted and taken as the truth. For example when he asks himself if he knew all along that it was Uncle Peter, he seems to be unsure about actually when he realised. He also asks himself a lot of questions in the final chapter, as if he is doubting himself, as if he is unsure what actually happened, which reinforces the opinion that his narrative is not to be trusted.
Therefore, overall, I think that the ending was not fully satisfying for the reader as it ties up loose ends, but in a very factual way, almost as if Stephen has left it all behind, even thought he spent the whole of the book reminicing about his younger days. However, it informs the reader of Stephen's definate cowardice and untrustworthy narrative.
Jo Ward
ReplyDeleteI felt that the ending of Spies left too many unanswered questions, I appreciate that Frayn might have done this for dramatic purposes however as a reader I did not find it enjoyable. I also felt that the depressing tone used to describe Stephen's seemingly bleak and monotonous future was disappointing. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Stephen had passed on the message to Mrs Hayward and I think it was selfish of him not to do so.
Some superb comments, guys, keep 'em coming. Gents, you are massively under-represented; The ladies are putting you to shame....!
ReplyDeleteI like spies but I think that the ending was bit disappointing as he spent the whole of the novel building up who the tramp was and his relation to Mrs Hayward only for him to be killed off in the next couple of pages. I liked the end paragraph when Frayn repeated the thank you for having me and I thought that was good, but the part of the ending should of been more climatic.
ReplyDeleteAnnabel :)
I really didn't like the ending of Spies. I thinm that the first half of the book was interesting, however the the audience have to wait a long time until any of actions action happens and the climax is imply too long! Also, I personally found the plot very confusing towards the end and was dissapointed. Finally, I think that the character of Mrs Hayward should be developed more at the end as we never truly find out much abou her life!
ReplyDeleteBy Ellen Mason!
I thought the end of spies was good as it brought forward feelings of completion which lack throughout the novel. throughout the whole story the reader is unaware of all the details but by the end of the book there seems to be some forfillment (even if it is only because the readers discovered the whole story) I think the story finishes with alot of self realisation from stephen who seems to be growing up, which pleases the audience as it feels as if there is a postive end to the book. holly t.
ReplyDeletei think that spies on the whole was an interesting and gripping novel, however the end i felt was rather anticlimactic and did not do the rest of the novel justice, Frayn seemed to cram in a lot of information into the final chapter, and while this served to liven up the book, it may have been better off over 2 or 3 chaptersx for the reader to fully understand and take in the events that unfold.
ReplyDeletejake (:
i didnt like the ending of spies because i think its too anti-climatic and dosent really account for much. i was unhappy with the way the book finished ( in terms of old stephen leaving the close) as it makes me feel like the whole book was an old mans rambilings rather than a story of any meaning/poigniency. however, i did like the way the narration mentions this (old stephen says that the people who actually live in the close now are probably looking at him and wondering what hes doing)
ReplyDeleteTom Stannard,
ReplyDeletei thought that the ending of spies was a bit rushed because there was a lot of build up in the first nine chapters, making you try and guess what will happen at the end, but then the author tried to finish the story in one chapter and didnt really explain the storyline enough.
Also, i thought that uncle peter being killed by a train was a random ending and wasnt expected. This novel is all about building up to things and then it has a random ending. So this is the reason why Spies has a bad ending.
i liked the ending of spies because it makes me feel as if the story had a significance in stephens life. i enjoyed the way the novel ending by going back to reality as old stephen because it reminds the audience of the actuality of it. the story overall is intresting as it shows a personal expierience and struggle by stephen to become an adult. mehran.
ReplyDeleteI overall didnt really like the ending of spies. I thought that it did not close the novel as well as it could have. In the chapter the narrator fills in brief details of the rest of Stephens childhood and what happenned to some other characters. Although important info is revealed such as stephen being German- Jewish I still found the ending was not very exciting and could of resulted in a different more climatic way.
ReplyDeleteRachel W.
I think the ending of Spies was rather sudden and didnt reall explain anything to us. We found out that Uncle Peter was the 'Spy' so this was reallu useful to know and we also found out that Stephen was a Jew but i think that Frayn could have ended it on a more interesting note.
ReplyDeletekirsteen
The Ending of 'Spies' was a un-expectedly dull ending to such a long book. I realise it was s cliffhanger but the way Frayn crushed everyone such as Uncle Peters death etc into the last few pages without description or explanation makes it seem in a rush and less successful of a impact to the reader.
ReplyDeleteI think the main of the book had way too much description down to the smallest detail.
Some superb opinions expressed here. Can you think of any reasons why Frayn may have left all the events until the final few chapters?
ReplyDeleteHave a good weekend and don't forget your homework next week!
Homework: Decide which Spies question you are going to be writing and come prepared to write in Wednesday's lesson. i.e. with a plan, your copy of Spies and all your notes that you have been making throughout our lessons.
I did not like the ending of Spies. Although it does reveal a lot of the secrets of the novel it annoys me how Stepehen finally reacts to it all in the end... By not doing anything about what happened in the previous chapters, eg: having a knife held up to his throat, the message, so on.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree with Frayn's style of letting life just carry on as normal. Everything seems to simple afterwards and the way he reveals the secrets of the book (him actually being the German) are told too casually.
The ending also brings to light how bad Stephen's memory really is and why he couldn't have just remembered these things beforehand and told the reader earlier. (Although I am aware this would not have made the best book if Frayn did this.)
After reading the final chapter, chapter 11 it went forward in time back to the time where stephen was in his old age, rather than his young days in the close with keith. It was the closing of the story where stephen concludes the story in yet a still more confusing summary of the lives of those in the close. He states that he himself is a german, and so is his father. However in the end he still seemed to consider keith as the main character, and only him as the follower. Stephens main concern was the scalf/cloth that was given to stephen is uncle peteres confidence, It was the recuring factor that haunted stephen. Overall the ending was disjointed and dragged on with nooo formulating conclusion, the ending was meaningless.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the ending of Spies, especially when the old Stephen thanks the reader, it made me so sad for him and I wonder if it connoted his death? It had surprising twists towards the end and I certainly didnt see it coming. the only thing I would say, is that I wish the author had gone into more depth about Mrs Hayward and Peter. Even though this would have been impossible as it was from Stephens point of view. Overall it was a very interesting read.
ReplyDeleteI thought that the ending of spies was disappointing, reason being was because there was so much happening during the book, you would of expected something big to happen at the end, unfortunately that never happened, that's why I felt that it wasn't the best ending !!!
ReplyDeleteI was very disspointed with the ending of Spies. I was expecting something completely different to happen, and was given something that I was disspointed with. It was very bland, there was so many events and a sense of mystery being created, which made me expect something big to happen for the ending, but I didn't feel satisfied, I felt that I had wasted my time reading the book, I'm just glad I had to read the book or I would feel I really wasted my time reading a book that didn't really interest me.
ReplyDeleteI thought the ending of the novel didn't come to much surprise as i was hoping for. It wasn't as dramatic as the book had been throughout, which was a let down. When reading Spies i had come up with this conclusion myself at one point - so when it was apparent that this was the ending, i felt it had been to obvious at some stages of it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like the ending of spies as i thought it was really disappointing. I did like the second to last chapter where everything happened all at once but that should've happened somewhere near the beginning to make it more interesting and then in the last chapter he says how his life has become nothing. In that sense I think the ending was really depressing and basically said that all childhood games are not real and when you get old nothing interesting is going to happen to you and you will get married and divorced and then be alone. So the book as a whole was interesting at times but mostly it was disappointing and depressing about life.
ReplyDeleteI was very disappointed with the ending of spies. Whilst I liked that many questions were answered, I also felt that Frayn suddenly decided to put as many different twists in at the same time. Moreover, in my opinion the ending was slightly predictable i.e I had figured that Stephen's father was german and what Mrs Hayward had been doing.
ReplyDeleteOverall although Spies was interesting at times and somewhat mysterious, I felt that the disappointng ending overruled the more exciting events.
I found the ending of Spies really disappointing. There was a big build up and I was waiting for something that never happened. It was really obvious and I'd pretty much already worked out what was going to happen. There was no element of surprise and the book as a whole was really boring and all over the place. I didn't like it.
ReplyDeleteI thought the ending was really ovbious and pretty bad tbh.The end half of the book was starting to get good and lots tension n suspence was being built up and then at the end loads of it wasnt even explained and the things that were didnt really help much
ReplyDeleteCallum H
I thought that the last chapter of Spies was a bit disappointing because throughout the whole book so many questions were put forward and in the last chapter it all seemed to end too abruptly! I thought the book was cleverly written but the end chapter was a bit of a let down!!!
ReplyDeleteI thought the ending of Spies was not interesting, I feel the tension was built up too much and the reader was dissapointed by the final ending. It was a predictable ending although when reading I thought of the ending and predicted it I still predicted a twist to interest the reader and really shock me, but It was the predictable ending many of us guessed unfortunately.
ReplyDeleteTasha Berryman
I found that the end of Spies was quite a poor ending, it didn't conclude whether his stories through-out the novel were actually real or whether they were just his imagination. It was a very disappointing ending because you never find out what Stephen's actual feelings were about the situations in the book, we only ever see Stephen through the eyes of Keith. The novel can be interesting at times but overall i did not like it because it gave a negative view on life.
ReplyDeleteI don't think that the ending of Spies was very good. I think that the last couple of paragraphs were pretty good but I don't think that the ending itself was very good. It seemed like the rest of the book went slowly but there there was too much all put into the last chapter. The ending was disappointing and I thought it was quite badly written. And it didn't seem to fit with the rest of the novel.
ReplyDelete