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The Monkey's Paw Essay

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“We are spinning our own fates, good or evil, never to be undone” - William James. The story, “The Monkey’s Paw”, by W. W. Jacobs is about the horrors the White family encounters from wishing on the monkey’s paw. The first wish was for money, and that came true with the death of the family’s son. The second was for the son to come back alive, and the third was for the son to go back to the grave. Throughout the story, it is shown that Mr. White had the largest contribution to the family’s misfortune. Mr. White brought up the topic of the monkey’s paw, he took the paw even after multiple warnings of it, and he was easily influenced by Mrs. White and Herbert to wish. The first apparent reason why Mr. White is to blame would be when he brought up the monkey’s paw after Sergeant-Major Morris mentioned his time in India for military service. When the family and the Sergeant-Major sat down, he talked about “...strange scenes and doughty deeds of wars…” and Mr. White went immediately to mentioning the supernatural monkey’s paw. On page 2, it reads, “What was that you started telling me the other day about a monkey’s paw or …show more content…

White being to blame would be when he followed through with what his family told him to wish for. Mr. White said that he had everything that he wanted, his son said to wish for money or to be an emperor, and his wife told him to wish her “...four pairs of hands…” The text states, “Well, wish for two hundred pounds… I wish for two hundred pounds…” and “...and wish for our boy alive again… I wish for my son alive again.” Herbert tells his father to wish for two hundred pounds and they do get the money, but only when his son died. Mrs. White told her husband to wish their dead and mutilated son back to life, and he did, but he was horrified by the thought of their son’s reanimated corpse coming back. Their son dying is what caused most of the problems in this story, and it was wished on by Mr. White and his

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Why did he take the paw if he knew what happened to the last man that had it? Tension was introduced by the author when the soldier threw the monkey’s paw upon a fire. When Mr. White retrieved it, Morris’ solemn response was, “Better let it burn.” This leaves the reader once

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The person responsible for the misfortune to the White family in the Monkey's paw is Mr. White. The Monkey’s Paw is a short story by W.W. Jacobs is a story about a paw that grants three people three wishes. The family gets the paw but the catch is that each wish comes at a cost. The family's first son causes their son's death.

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Chatter against the glass. Another example is when he tells Mr. & Mrs. White about the previous Owner had his first two wishes granted but the third was for death, he is hinting the danger that is Obviously connected to the monkey's paw. Once Herbert is killed the Whites then receive the Two hundred pounds they are so lonely without their son. Mr. White then begs to wish his son back .

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Have you ever made a mistake so bad and so dire that the consequences following affected everyone around you for years to come? Hopefully, you have never made a mistake this severe, however in the short story, “The Monkey’s Paw”, by W.W. Jacobs, a man named Mr. White made a mistake just like that. In the story, a decorated Sgt. Major visits Mr. White, his wife, and son and tells them about an enchanted monkey’s paw that can grant them three different wishes.

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If you had the opportunity, would you make a wish that you believed would modify your life for the better? What if you were advised that it wouldn’t end as well as you assumed? A book by W.W. Jacobs titled “The Monkey’s Paw”, entertains us with the story of a family who suffers the loss of their son after a wish is made on a monkey’s paw the family attained from a friend. Numerous examples from the text will justify that Sergeant Major Morris is the most responsible for the death of the family’s son, Herbert. The first example that shows Sergeant Major Morris is responsible for the death is found on page 34.

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In the story, “The Monkey’s Paw”, the White’s acquire a monkey’s paw from an old friend. The friend reveals that the paw is considered magic and then gives it to the Whites, starting a chain of events that brings sorrow to the family. However, just who is responsible for the misfortune that came to the Whites? Sergeant-

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This differs from the movie because Herbert says 200 instead of 300 pounds. The characterization in The Monkey's Paw are similar. Mr. White is a very curious and direct character. He is so curious about the paws' powers it leads to his son's demise.

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Montag is a firefighter living in a time period when all types of books are illegal. If someone has books, firefighters like Montag are supposed to find them and burn them. Books are banned because a group of powerful people have made it where other people are not supposed to think for themselves, or act as individuals. This society mostly watches television and does whatever they are told by those in power. Although Montag is supposed to be on the right side of the law he is flawed and committs some crimes of his own.

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"The Monkey's Paw" is a short story by W.W. Jacobs tells the story of a family who comes into possession of a cursed monkey's paw that grants wishes, but with deadly consequences. The story's tone is somewhat ominous, evoking a sense of dread as the characters unfold the dark forces unleashed by the paw. Through his use of great imagery and foreshadowing Jacobs creates a really suspenseful atmosphere that grips readers from beginning to the end of the story. The tone in the "The Monkey's Paw" is established from the beginning of the story. Jacobs uses vivid and evocative language to describe the setting and characters, creating a sense of unease.

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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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White’s fault, as he is the one who made the wish, but this is not true as he never really wanted anything and it was his family around him who told him to wish for them. On page four Mr. White says “I don’t know what to wish for, and that’s a fact.” this proves that Mr. white is not responsible for the misfortune as he is already happy with what he has.

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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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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.

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