Wiseguys ending

    With the ending of Wiseguys being a break in the narration, as well as the fourth wall, we see a fully realized Henry. There is a sort of revelation that takes place within Henry. Throughout the book, we read about the rise of Henry Hill in relation to the rise of organized crime in New York. The two mirror each other, almost. Then, at the end, we see Henry's fall from the life he has been so accustomed to. The way that the ending reads invokes a sympathy, as if Henry is a baby who just got his/her candy taken away. Us as readers can identify the lifestyle that Henry leads as something to not aspire to, since we're taught from very young that it is "bad." However, Henry never really had that, and when people such as his parents tried to open his eyes, Henry had already made up his mind. Therefore, at the end, Henry seems so defeated and lost because he doesn't know of any other life. He had reached his idea of a fulfilled life without realizing how temporary that lifestyle was. Henry sounds annoyed at the way he lost his "empire," as though he'd rather have died than to walk away from it. In his final reflection, there is also a sense of nostalgia as he mentions Jimmy's hijack spots and Atlantic City; he misses the life. Having now been removed from that life for a while, it's very interesting how Henry hasn't grown to see the darker side of the life he lead and still desires it.