diff --git a/cs677/final/mpi-fractals.cc b/cs677/final/mpi-fractals.cc
index 62249b3..eb74b85 100644
--- a/cs677/final/mpi-fractals.cc
+++ b/cs677/final/mpi-fractals.cc
@@ -31,7 +31,9 @@ int main(int argc, char * argv[])
 
     if (my_rank == 0)
     {
-        createWindow(width, height, &screen, &pixels);
+        bool window_success = createWindow(width, height, &screen, &pixels);
+        if (!window_success)
+            return -1;
 
         for (int y = 0; y < height; y++)
         {