The ending of Border Town leaves the future unresolved. The grandfather is gone, Cuicui waits by the river, and the narrator hints that the young man she loves may return tomorrow or may never come back. Students often feel strongly about this ambiguity, which makes it an excellent essay topic and a challenging one to grade.

The central grading question is how to evaluate interpretations when the text itself does not settle the matter. The solution is to grade the quality of the reasoning, not the conclusion. A student who argues the ending is hopeful and a student who argues it is tragic can both earn top marks if they build their cases from the text.

Prompts about endings work best when they ask students to consider specific features. For example, you might ask how the final lines shape the reader's emotional response, or how the ending relates to earlier images of waiting and the ferry. These prompts encourage close reading rather than speculation about what happens next.

Distinguishing Interpretation From Speculation

A frequent problem is the student who invents events that the text does not support, such as claiming that Nuosong definitely returns and marries Cuicui. This is speculation, not interpretation. Feedback should ask students to ground their claims in details already present, like the narrator's tone, the setting, or patterns established earlier.

• Bases the interpretation on specific details from the final chapters
• Connects the ending to earlier images, such as the river and the waiting
• Acknowledges that more than one reading is possible
• Explains how the narrator's tone shapes the reader's response
• Avoids inventing plot events that the text does not state

Rewarding Sophistication

The strongest essays treat the ambiguity itself as meaningful. They may argue that leaving the question open reflects the novella's broader themes of uncertainty, longing, and the limits of human control. These students move beyond choosing a side and examine what the author accomplishes by refusing to resolve the story.

Be alert to students who give balanced answers that never commit to anything. A response that simply says the ending could be good or bad has not made an argument. Encourage them to pick an interpretation and defend it while acknowledging the strongest alternative.

Keeping Scores Consistent

Because essays about endings can vary widely in tone and conclusion, a detailed rubric becomes especially important. Define in advance how you will treat different kinds of interpretations, and note that the same score levels apply regardless of position. Sharing the rubric with students beforehand reassures them that they can take a risk.

AI grading tools can help enforce this consistency by applying the criteria evenly and flagging essays that lack textual support. You can then devote your attention to the more subtle task of recognizing originality. When both human and automated review work together, students receive scores that reflect the quality of the thinking rather than agreement with a particular reading.