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Short Story 'The Monkey's Paw'

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The Monkey’s Paw Attempting to tamper with fate will often lead to disorder and consequences as a result of greediness. If you were content with your current life, why do anything to change it? To many people, happiness if far more important than a negligible amount of unnecessary benefit. In the chilling short story “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs, the White family suddenly becomes exposed to an eerie talisman that is able to grant them three wishes. The catch was that the wishes had to come “so naturally.” Mr.White’s first wish was for two hundred pounds which he got after learning his son died brutally, his second wish brought the mangled disfigured body of his son to the front door, and the third wish was wishing away the son. Just …show more content…

With his beginning wish, Mr.White acquired “ill-gotten gains” from the Monkey’s paw (Jacobs 3). He didn’t actually need the money but still thought he could unfairly accumulate the two hundred pounds. This also represent how after he tried to get free money, he ended up having to face consequences. After Mr.White declared his wish, he claimed that “‘it twisted in my hands like a snake,’” (Jacobs 3). This symbolizes how with the wish, he was “twisting” his own fate much like how the paw twisted. Like what he was told, “those who interfered with (fate) did so to their sorrow.” (Jacobs 2). The tragic future that led after the Whites possession of the Monkey’s Paw shows that if you are greedy even after being warned of the consequences, you will end up enduring the repercussions. When he makes his final wish, Mr.White realizes the reality of what the Monkey’s Paw is capable of and he “regarded it fearfully.” (Jacobs 6). He realizes the severity of wishing from the Paw and figures out what his family's greed has brought them. He knew the horror of what was behind the door and used his final wish to get rid of what he previously wished for by his own will. The story of “The Monkey’s Paw” shows that if you attempt to alter the course of nature by being selfish, you will ultimately bring you harsh

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280 Words | 2 Pages

In W.W Jacob’s short story “The Monkey’s Paw,” there are many instances of foreshadowing in order to keep readers engaged and on the edge of their seats. In part one of “The Monkey’ Paw’” the White family is introduced to the monkey’s paw by, family, friend Sergeant Major Morris. Major Morris explains the dire outcome of using the paw. Mrs. White asks if anyone has used the paw before and Major Morris responds with “The first man used his wishes, yes,”...”I don 't know what his first two wishes were, but the third was for death.

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664 Words | 3 Pages

Despite the warnings of the Sgt. Major, he wishes for two hundred pounds, which was found as compensation money for his son’s death, causing the family distress and great suffering. After his son died, Mrs. White tries to use the paw to wish him back to life to no avail. Her husband

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692 Words | 3 Pages

Furthermore, when asked if his wishes came true, he replied, “I did”. ( 9). This started all sorts of ideas and possibilities in the Whites’ minds, thinking of how with the paw they can get all they ever wanted. Knowing what happens to the family later in the story, if we think about it, if Sergeant-Major Morris had never told the story behind the paw or that it worked they would have never wanted it. In short, if Sergeant-Major Morris

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726 Words | 3 Pages

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:

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430 Words | 2 Pages

#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

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753 Words | 4 Pages

Imagine you were granted three wishes; and that's all. You can make whatever wishes you desire, but if not justifiable or reasonable, there could be a price to pay. The short story "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs discusses the alarming tale of an older couple being granted "three wishes" from a monkey's paw given to them. However, the purpose of the paw isn't to grant wishes; it is to show that you shouldn't change your fate. The film adaptation of the short story by Ricky Lewis Jr. also showcases that moral.

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1566 Words | 7 Pages

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.

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810 Words | 4 Pages

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

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231 Words | 1 Pages

Imagine that you were given three wishes would take the the chance to lose someone or something for them. It's something you have to think about right? Well all of this is in the short story of “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Which is labeled to have the horror genre. Because of the horror included in the short-story of “The Monkey's Paw” by W.W it is a horrifying story.

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546 Words | 3 Pages

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.

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1192 Words | 5 Pages

It was April 22, 1915, the French and the Germans had been in the battle of Ypres on the Western front for almost seven months. Suddenly the French soldiers noticed that their comrades were falling one by one onto the ground gasping for breath. In just a matter of minutes, over one-thousand of the French soldiers had died, and another four-thousand were wounded. The sudden deaths of the Allied forces were caused by a special team of German military meteorologists who had just opened six-thousand steal cylinders releasing one hundred and sixty tons of chlorine gas (FritzGerard, 1). They let the clouds drift into the complex system of French and British trenches and when breathed in, it caused death in just several seconds.

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776 Words | 4 Pages

With Morris’s face whitening, it tacitly tells the audience that something terrifying happened when Morris made his wishes. This foreshadows that something dreadful will happen once the Whites make their wishes. Question 2: Compare Mr. White’s feelings about the monkey’s paw when he makes the first wish, second wish, and third wish. How does his attitude change?

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582 Words | 3 Pages

The conflict in the story is not only the monkey’s paw but was somewhat Mr. White’s attitude. If he never was that greedy the story would have changed he would have agreed with Morris and burned the monkey’s paw but he didn’t want to do that creating the plot. Any change in the plot could have/ would have altered the course of the story but also altering the theme. In “The Monkey’s Paw,” the downfall of the White family is when they receive the two hundred pounds as a compensation for the son’s death which was actually caused by messing with fate.

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649 Words | 3 Pages

“Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality”-Edgar Allan Poe. All great horror stories represent that quote. There is one story that does not. “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs is not a horror story because there is not a monster, it is not believable, and it does not have a creepy setting. Classic horror stories usually have some sort of a monster in it, whether the monster is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or Frankenstein.

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825 Words | 4 Pages

The third reason is the events that happen that lead to the theme. First when Mr.White wished for two pounds. White’s first received the monkey 's paw they wished for some compensations which were the two hundred pounds. When he wished for Two hundred pounds”A fine crash from the piano greeted the words, interrupted by a shuddering cry from the old man. His wife and son ran toward him.”

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