The General - Ending Explained

The entire plot of "The General" is built on a symmetrical chase structure. After Johnnie Gray is rejected by Annabelle for not being a soldier, his beloved locomotive is stolen by Union spies with Annabelle as an unwitting passenger. The first half of the film is Johnnie's desperate, single-handed pursuit north. He commandeers another engine, "The Texas," and overcomes a series of obstacles set by the spies, such as disconnected cars and railroad ties on the tracks, in a series of brilliantly executed gags.

After a long chase, Johnnie finds himself behind enemy lines. He hides and fortuitously overhears a meeting of Union generals discussing plans for a surprise attack, with the Rock River Bridge being a key strategic point. He then finds and rescues Annabelle from the room where she is being held captive. Together, they steal back "The General" in the dead of night.

The second half of the film mirrors the first, with Johnnie and Annabelle now being the ones pursued by the Union army as they race south. Johnnie now uses the same tactics against his pursuers that were used against him. The climax occurs when Johnnie reaches the Rock River Bridge ahead of the Union forces and sets it on fire. The pursuing Union train attempts to cross the burning bridge, which collapses spectacularly, sending the locomotive crashing into the river below. This act halts the Union advance and throws their attack into chaos. The Confederate army, alerted by Johnnie, arrives to fight off the remaining soldiers. For his bravery, Johnnie is rewarded not with a simple enlistment but with a commission as a lieutenant. In the final scene, he is finally in uniform, able to accept Annabelle's love while awkwardly trying to salute passing soldiers.

While on the surface "The General" is a straightforward action-comedy, its historical context invites alternative readings. One interpretation views the film through the lens of the "Lost Cause" mythology, a revisionist history that romanticized the Confederacy. By framing the Confederate protagonist as a heroic underdog and the Union as the villainous aggressors, the film aligns with a sympathetic, and historically sanitized, view of the South prevalent in the 1920s. Some analyses suggest Keaton's choice was less a political statement and more a narrative one, believing an underdog story was more compelling. However, this choice makes the film a complex cultural artifact, reflecting the racial and historical attitudes of its time.

Another interpretation focuses on the film's symmetrical structure as a metaphor for control and chaos. As noted by critic Noël Carroll, the film is divided into two mirrored halves: the first chase, where Johnnie is reactive and things constantly go wrong, and the second chase (back to the South), where he is in control, setting the traps himself. This reading suggests the film is less about the Civil War and more about Keaton's recurring theme of an individual learning to master a chaotic, mechanical world, moving from being a victim of circumstance to an agent of his own destiny.