Answer:
Step-by-step explanation:
The two stories, "The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury and "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut, have very different endings.
In "The Pedestrian," the protagonist, Leonard Mead, is arrested by the police for the crime of walking alone on the street at night. The story ends with Mead being taken away in a police car, while the city remains empty and silent. The ending is bleak and unsettling, leaving the reader with a sense of dread and unease.
In contrast, "Harrison Bergeron" ends with the title character, a young man who has been artificially made equal to everyone else, being shot and killed by the government agents who are trying to maintain the oppressive status quo. However, the story ends with a note of rebellion and hope, as Bergeron's parents remove their own handicaps and dance together in defiance of the government's control.
Both endings are appropriate for their respective stories, and they serve different purposes. In "The Pedestrian," the ending reinforces the theme of individualism and the dangers of conformity. Mead is punished for his nonconformity, and the reader is left with a sense of the oppressive power of the state.
In "Harrison Bergeron," the ending is more hopeful, as it shows the possibility of resistance and rebellion against a totalitarian regime. Although the story ends with Bergeron's death, the final image of his parents dancing together suggests that the human spirit cannot be entirely suppressed by external forces.
Overall, the authors end their stories the way they do to drive home the themes and messages they are trying to convey. In "The Pedestrian," the bleak ending emphasizes the dangers of conformity and the need to resist oppressive societal norms. In "Harrison Bergeron," the hopeful ending suggests that even in the face of great adversity, the human spirit can still find ways to resist and rebel.