Last sentences that blow you away.

[dotchan]

The last line of Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”

Then we noticed that in the second pillow was the indentation of a head. One of us lifted something from it, and leaning forward, that faint and invisible dust dry and acrid in the nostrils, we saw a long strand of iron-gray hair.

:eek: :eek: :eek:

[gigi]

@dotchan

The last line of Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily”

Yay! I was going to mention that. And also The Picture of Dorian Gray:

It was not till they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was.

For movies, Gallipoli:

What are your legs? Springs. Steel springs.
What are they going to do? They’re going to hurl me down the track.
How fast can you run?
As fast as a leopard.
How fast ARE you going to run?
As fast as a leopard!
Then let’s see you do it!
(Screaming) Gangway! Gangway! Gangway! Urgent message!
(Whistle)

[Monstre]

Well, this one didn’t exactly bring tears to my eyes, but it pretty much sums things up nicely.

“There was a point to this story, but it has temporarily escaped the chronicler’s mind.” – Douglas Adams, So Long and Thanks For All The Fish

[Carnacki]

@Raguleader

If I may hijack slightly to include an episode of a TV show, one of my favorite episodes of Buffy, “Lie To Me”:

Reminds me of the end of one of my favorite movies, “The Survivors”, with Robin Williams and Walter Mathau.

RW: I don’t have a job…I don’t have my house…I don’t even have Doreen anymore!
WM: Donald, you’ll catch pneumonia!
RW: Well at least then I’ll have something…
…you’re right, I’m freezing…
…what am I gonna do now, Sonny?
WM: Well the first thing you’re gonna do, you’re gonna take my jacket.
RW: Then we’ll both freeze!
WM: That’s ok, we’ll freeze together.
RW: Thanks…
…Tell me everything’s going to be ok, Sonny.
WM: Everything’ll be ok.
RW: Yeah.

[Mrs.Millamant]

I am exceedingly fond of both final sentences of The Princess Bride:

However, this was before Inigo’s wound repoened; and Westley relapsed again; and Fezzik took the wrong turn; and Buttercup’s horse threw a shoe. And the night behind them was filled with the crescendoing sound of pursuit…

followed by

But I also have to say, for the umpty-umpth time, that life isn’t fair. It’s just fairer than death, that’s all.

I’m with those who enjoyed the final line of The Dark Tower. If nothing else, it’s an excellent line on its own, and if you’d written it, wouldn’t you like to be able to use it

again?

[Only_Mostly_Dead]

@Push You Down

The last line of Brave New World Where “The Savage” has just hung himself. The last line simply describes the directions his body turns as it hangs from the rafters.

Rats. I was coming in late, hoping nobody had mentioned that one yet. It’s just a perfect image to summate the dystopian “society destroying man” theme.

[F.U.Shakespeare]

“From here on in, I rag nobody.” (from Bang the Drum Slowly)

And I second the last line from The Nine Billion Names of God.

[straight_man]

@Quercus

Senor Catfish got it right. Nitpickily, it’s All Quiet on the Western Front (title and last words.) And read the book before the final sentence, or it ruins it.

In fact, that is the title (in English – the German is apparently more like “Nothing New in the West”), but not the last words. It’s buried in the last paragraph, the actual words to which I can’t find online (nor does this stupid library I’m in carry the book – I checked.) It’s something like:

“He died on a day so quite that the general report read simply: “All quiet on the western front.” He was facing upwards, and there was a look of peace on his face.”

Can a doper with the actual book please check it out for me?

[straight_man]

Right, and since I’m here, let me recommend the closing line of A Prayer for Owen Meany. It doesn’t really make sense without reading the book first, so I’ll just throw it out there.

[Scubaqueen]

@Dung Beetle

Final two sentences of The Haunting of Hill House:

Hill House itself, not sane, stood against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, its walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.

Dung, ya gave me goosebumps! :eek:

[Raguleader]

Final line from the poem Death of the Ball Turret Gunner

“When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.”

[Sublight]

God Knows, by Joseph Heller.

After all his raging, ranting and self-pitying as everything he’s built up comes crashing down around him, King David is visited by the very unsympathetic ghost of Samuel while on his deathbed. Samuel goes on to describe how everything will turn to shit for the Israelites after David’s death, and that it’s all David’s fault.

“What happens to Bathsheeba?”
“She lives happily ever after.”
“Thank you Samuel, that’s the best story I ever heard.”

[Der_Trihs]

“Lady fingers they taste like lady fingers” - don’t recall the title, but it’s the Stephen King one where the guy tries to survive by eating himself bit by bit.

“I am the executioner. Murder someone in my town, and I’m the one you get to see. Once.” - Incubus Dreams, Laurell Hamilton

[Sublight]

@Der Trihs

“Lady fingers they taste like lady fingers” - don’t recall the title, but it’s the Stephen King one where the guy tries to survive by eating himself bit by bit.

Survivor Type, from the Skeleton Crew collection of short stories.

Speaking of Skeleton Crew, it’s not the final line, but “Longer than you think, Dad! Longer than you think!” from The Jaunt has always stuck with me.

[Subterraneanus]

@cornflakes

“I am haunted by waters.”

–Norman Maclean

You beat me to it. That last page is achingly beautiful, but it loses its thematic context in the film. In the novella it summarizes the story, Maclean’s life, and his vision of the cosmos in a stunning lyrical climax.

[Der_Trihs]

@Sublight

Survivor Type, from the Skeleton Crew collection of short stories.

Thanks; my copy is in a box somewhere.

@Sublight

Speaking of Skeleton Crew, it’s not the final line, but “Longer than you think, Dad! Longer than you think!” from The Jaunt has always stuck with me.

One of my favorite lines ! If this wasn’t just about final lines I’d have included it.

[RealityChuck]

The last word of Fredric Brown’s “Nightmare in Yellow.”

“Parizianski” – Cordwainer Smith, “Scanners Live in Vain.”

[cornflakes]

@Subterraneanus

“I am haunted by waters.”

–Norman Maclean

You beat me to it. That last page is achingly beautiful, but it loses its thematic context in the film. In the novella it summarizes the story, Maclean’s life, and his vision of the cosmos in a stunning lyrical climax.

Thanks. While the movie is little more than an illustrated Cliff’s Notes version of the story, it does have a nice bookend with:

Long ago, when I was a young man, my father said to me, “Norman, you like to write stories.” And I said “Yes, I do.” Then he said, “Someday, when you’re ready you might tell our family story. Only then will you understand what happened and why.”

[Junior_Spaceman]

There are various translations of Franz Kafka’s The Trial, and the copy I have with me now is not the one that I first read, and which floored me, but the ending left me absolutely devastated - so much so I paraphrased it and turned it into a song when I was in a band a few years ago.

But the hands of one of the partners were already at K.'s throat, while the other thrust the knife into his heart and turned it there twice. With failing eyes, K. could still see the two of them, cheek leaning against cheek, immediately before his face, watching the final act. ‘Like a dog!’ he said: it was as if he meant the shame of it to outlive him.

The book doesn’t have a bad opening, either:

Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.

[Spoke]

She was the only earthly love in my life, yet…I never knew, nor ever learned, her name.