In W. W. Jacobs’ short story, “The Monkey’s Paw,” the White family’s innocent want for a better life is challenged when a magical talisman plagues their family through its wishes. When faced with death, humans have different ways of dealing with the rollercoaster of feelings that accompanies it. The family has to overcome grief, disappointment, and anger as they live their lives without their son. Through these emotions, the characters are being taught not to act foolishly, but they never learn. Through foreshadowing and situational irony, the story “The Monkey’s Paw” conveys the theme of how innocent intentions can have terrible repercussions. At the beginning of the story, Sergeant-Major Morris explains the mystery and wonder of the monkey’s …show more content…
White knows that her wish will bring only more disappointment to her, so he decides to make the final wish that their son Herbert will leave and not return. Majority of their wishes are innocent and they are only trying to bring their happiness back, but this wish is harsher. There are a few sudden knocks on the front door after Mrs. White makes her wish. Mr. White knows it is Herbert at the door and that he has to do something before it is too late. “If he [can] only find it before the thing outside [gets] in. A perfect fusillade of knocks [reverberates] through the house, and he [hears] the scraping of a chair as his wife [puts] it down in the passage against the door. He [hears] the creaking of the bolt as it [comes] slowly back and at the same moment he [finds] the monkey’s paw, and frantically [breathes] his third and last wish” (Jacobs 13). He wishes for their son to leave and not return again. At that same moment, the knocking stops and his wife opens the door. When she opens the door and sees nothing outside, she lets out a loud wail of sadness and disappointment (Jacobs 14). Arthur St. John Adcock is an English novelist and poet as well as a journalist. He mentions that “the uncanny grimness of ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ by a pathos that is wrought to a pitch of almost painful intensity when the knock comes on the door at night and the heart-broken mother, after struggling desperately with the bolts, flings the door open and there is nothing there” (Adcock 3). The family makes an avoidable mistake by wishing with the monkey’s paw, but when they finally realize that, it is already too late. Their first innocent wish flips their lives upside down and they bring themselves irreversible pain and sorrow through a few words. Carl Mowery, a professor at several universities with a doctorate in rhetoric and composition, gives a great statement about the story as a whole. “Their passion for the dark power of the paw [clouds] their ability to see … In this
This shows a contrast of the setting in the story. The upcoming quote can make a part of the story eerie. “The candle-end, which had burned below the rim of the China candle stick was, throwing pulsating shadows on the ceiling and walls, until, with a flicker larger, than the rest, it expired.” This is showing how a quote can make an eerie and scary in the story. This evidence concludes that W.W. Jacobs does a good job at creating a suspenseful and eerie story in “The Monkeys Paw.”
“When I was seven I had an answer to this question that made sense to me. I never discussed it with anyone, though, for fear of how my mother would feel. I concluded to myself that if I were the hunter, I would shoot the monkey so that it would no longer have the chance to put other hunters in the same predicament.” , (Beah 380). I don’t know why I waited until the end of the book to find a quote to start this off with, but it seems to be the best one to better understand what this book was about.
#1 about “The Monkey's Paw” The cause is that Morris said If you keep it, don't blame me for what happens. Sargent-Major Morris was the when Mr. White the paw, that night he gave it to him because he wanted it for it's power, Morris told Mr. White that the last wish will be evil. The fear in the charters words what they say it is like they
What if your parents actions affected your future? Would you react or would you be happy with your parents actions(parenting)? Whether you answered yes or no to either of the questions, I strongly believe that parents choices affect their kids. In “The Monkey’s Paw” on page 4, it states Mr. White made a wish for 200 pounds(Dollars).
In addition to vivid language, Jacobs also employs foreshadowing and symbolism to heighten the suspense and tension. For example, when the family first receives the monkey's paw, Jacobs describes it as "mummified," foreshadowing the curse that it carries. "His tones were so grave that a hush fell upon the group, and a feeling of terror crept over them as if they were haunted by a sense of unseen menace. It was not until his visitors rose to depart that he... [took] the monkey's paw, and... threw it upon the fire. White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off" (Jacobs 4).
W.W. Jacobs uses foreshadowing and other literary techniques to create tones of mystery, tension, suspense, and surprise in each part of his work “The Monkey’s Paw”. The first example of mystery is presented in part one when the soldier says, “The first man had his three wishes, yes… I don’t know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That’s how I got the paw.” This leaves the reader questioning several points; why did the man before him wish for death?
Thesis: In The Monkey's Paw by W.W Jacobs, the realistic essence of the monkey's paw made it fundamentally creepy. Point 1: The monkey's paw is a symbol for inclination for greed, exposing our superior wants as people, even the most humble. Point 2: Consequences for the actions of those using the paw develops the image of regret and fear. Point 3:
Creepy and foreboding are two moods that prevails in the short story "The Monkey's Paw. " The story begins with cold evening, most of the story takes place in night. The house is an out-of-the-way place. The exposition of the monkey's paw adds the touch of horror to the story, but it is the paw's magical powers that draws the reader's attention into the tale.
“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs and “What of this Goldfish Would You Wish?” by Egaret Keret are both exciting fictional short stories that engage the reader. There are many differences as well as similarities between the two stories. Overall, the two stores are more diverse. The differences lie in the areas of character traits and plot. Even though “The Monkey’s Paw” and “What of this Goldfish Would You Wish?” have many similarities, evidence shows the two stories have less in common.
In the story “The Monkey’s Paw” there was a small amount of cause and effect events, these cause and effect events create different feelings like suspense and much more. Mr. White told a story about the monkey’s paw after hearing it he wanted to test it to see if it was true he then wished for 200 pounds. The next day a soldier came to their house, saying their son had died, but they got the two hundred pounds they wished for, this happened all because he wished for two hundred pounds its simple
In the short story “The Catbird Seat,” the author James Thurber develops verbal, dramatic, and situational irony by his plot structure. In the beginning of the story Mrs. Barrows says phrases like “Are you tearing up the pea patch?” Right after that an employee explains to Mr. Martin what is means. He says, “‘Tearing up the pea patch’ meant going on a rampage.” That section of the story is verbal irony because Mrs. Burrows is saying phrases she doesn't really mean.
The short story "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs explores the dangerous consequences of unchecked desires through the effective use of literary techniques such as juxtaposition, foreshadowing, and symbolism. Jacobs skillfully weaves these techniques throughout the narrative to convey the message that unbridled desires can ultimately lead to destruction. Through the examination of key quotes in the story, we can unravel how the author employs these literary devices to support his theme. Juxtaposition In "The Monkey's Paw," Jacobs utilizes juxtaposition to highlight the stark contrast between the characters' desires and the consequences that follow.
In The Monkeys Paw, Mrs. White used the magical object (monkey’s paw). One out of the three wishes granted using the monkeys paw was to have her son back. The outcome of this was pounding at the door, not knowing exactly who was behind the door. The Monkeys Paw is all about granting wishes and not expecting its outcome. This is comparable to The Story of an Hour because Mrs. Mallard wished to have her husband back in her life, but she didn’t expect the outcome of actually seeing her husband alive.
In the story “The Monkey’s Paw” the theme is don’t mess with fate and this story elements like character, setting, and plot all help contribute to the theme. The character’s emotions, reaction, and actions are a significant role in revealing the theme. The setting, though not realized as much actually shapes the story too. As normal, plot most definitely contributes to the theme. The character’s reaction contributes to the theme.
In the short story, The Monkey 's Paw we are first introduced to the White, the Mrs.White, Mr.White, and their son, Herbert White. Later in the story, we are introduced to Sergeant Major Morris who brought the mummy-like monkey’s paw to the Whites house. The theme of the Monkey 's paw is to never interfere with fate. The theme is shown through many forms in the short story. The forms are the events, the foreshadowing, and the actions.