The monkeys paw is a suspenseful short story about fate, and greed combined to create disaster. After beginning to read this story I found that the son of two elderly parents, Mr. and Mrs. White, who had a son, by the name of Herbert, who died due to machinery failure at the farm he worked at. This was a very tragic, and unsettling event, but was no coincident. The night before that event had taken place, a friend, by the name of Sergeant-Major Morris, had come from far off lands, and had told the small family stories of his experiences, Morris had brought back an artifact from his travels as well, an artifact he warned the family was bad new news, he said it had left sorrow and misery in its wake. Morris believed this horrible object to …show more content…
White decided to do what any normal person would do, he wished for money, 200 pounds to be exact. And fast forwarding to the morning after, to where the poor son had died in a tragic accident, in the early morning a wealthy man had come to break the horrible news to the mother and father, he told the parents they would be reimburse for their loss, 200 pounds to be exact. But any sensible person would not see that as a coincidence, but as a direct result of Mr. Whites wish. At first Mr. White had been very uncertain about the wish he would make on the paw, but after thinking it over he believed that if the paw actually did work, he wanted to pay off bills on the house and 200 pounds would be the perfect amount to do so. He was very naive to think that nothing was going to happen, listening to the stories Morris told he knew the paw was bad news, yet he still wished upon it. If I was told i was capable of making three wished upon something, but with the warning that there would be dire consequences, i would decide that the wishes were not worth the risk, and heed the warnings of others. Although if i hadn't listened and i made this costly mistake, I would not try and fix it with more wishes. The first thing that i would do would be to burn the monkeys paw, and learn from the awful mistake i had just
White is warned plenty of times about the monkey’s paw and it’s consequences by Major Sergeant Morris, who had the monkey's paw before him. Mr. White discards Mr. Morris’s warnings and decides to use the monkey's paw anyway, characterizing the use of free will. As a consequence, Mr. White’s son dies in a tragic accident while at work. The company for which the son formerly worked feels remorse for the White family, presenting them with the original wish item, a sum of 200 pounds. Mr. White tries to rationalize this event as coincidence, or fate, but really he knows that he is to blame for his son’s death; he is the one who made the choice to make a wish on the monkey’s
W. W. Jacobs wrote the short story “The Monkey’s Paw” in 1902. A great number of adaptations of the story have since been created using different forms of media. The two which are being compared here are the play adaptation The Monkey’s Paw dramatized by Mara Rockliff and the 2011 film version The Monkey’s Paw by Ricky Lewis Jr. Both the play and film feature the White family receiving a monkey’s paw by which three wishes may be granted. The paw had a spell put on it by a holy man who wanted to show that fate rules people’s lives and that if people try to interfere, they will be sorry. The main differences between the play and the film are that film gives more background information about how and why the paw was obtained, uses more
In “The Monkey’s Paw,” the paw symbolizes temptation and greed which is a flaw in all human beings. It has the power to fulfill 3 wishes to 3 owners, making the use of it tempting to the person who owns it. As an instance, in the beginning of the story, Mr. White is very eager to have the paw when sergeant Morris takes it out; it is in human nature to continuously desire more that the possessions that one already owns which is caused by temptation and greed (the paw). The paw is also symbolically related to the snake in Adam and Eve as it leads Adam and Eve to destruction by using temptation to make them greedy. The message that is conveyed through the paw is that temptation to change one’s fate will end badly, no matter how small the wish might be (in the end the White family loses its only son).
The W.W. Jacobs version, and the Simpson’s version of The Monkey’s Paw were both similar and different. For example, one difference is, in The Monkey’s Paw story by W.W. Jacobs, the wishes made all had bad outcomes. Specifically, In the W.W. Jacobs version, a man comes to their house and tells them Herbert died and they would be given, “[t]wo hundred pounds...” (Jacobs 174). This evidence proves, how the White family wished for two hundred pounds, then the received the two hundred pounds, at the cost of their son’s life. On the other hand, in The Simpson’s version, they became rich and famous from their wish. Overall, In the W.W. Jacobs version of The Monkey’s paw, the wishes all had very bad outcomes; but the Simpson’s version had fairly good
“The Monkeys Paw” is a heavy gothic short story that teaches a grave lesson. This story is jam-packed with foreshadowing and irony. It also teaches the important lesson on being grateful for what you have, and to be careful for what you wish for.
White after being given the power of the monkey’s paw. On page three in the story, the writer drops a small clue that describes Mr. White’s thoughts by showing his external facial features. “His father, smiling shamefacedly at his own credulity, held up the talisman, as his son (Jacobs 3)...” The description “shamefacedly” shows that Mr. White had a feeling of guilt for his doing, suggesting that there was a slight internal battle before his abuse of power that granted him his wish. This is all happening a moment before his first wish, showing that he had thought about the idea of exploiting the power coming from the talisman. Provided that Mr. White has not used the talisman yet, it can be seen that he does not feel wrongdoing from completing an action. Instead, the man is incorporating thought into his future actions. The character's thinking can only point to two different directions in the category of the monkey’s paw; he can use the monkey’s paw to wish or he can listen to Sergeant Major’s words and abstain the wish for 200 pounds. This is an internal conflict. The two sides consist of scruples and desire for power. The scruples is the moral consciousness inside of Mr. White’s head telling him to stay away from the monkey’s paw. Opposing this force, is the desire for power that is telling the old man that his inclination is to wish for something greedy. Given all these points, the conclusion can be
The day after they conversed about the paw, Herbert and his mother teased his father about making a wish about money and that they would have to disown him for his greed. Herbert jokingly urged his father to make a wish for £200, to pay off the mortgage of their house. The mother and son continued and insinuated as she followed Herbert to the door, as he went to work. As the story unveiled, the mortgage is paid off with the granted wish of £200. Much to Mrs. White’s chagrin, her son had died due to him being caught in the machinery at work. Her son’s death yielded them the £200 that they had originally wished for.
Greed is a terrible thing that can tear family and friendships apart. The Whites’ greed killed their son, Herbert, because of their greed. But they didn’t know that their actions would cause his death. They family wished for 200 pounds (277.74 American dollars). In the short story the Monkey’s Paw, the Whites learned that greed can bring consequences that both are good and bad. And the thrill of horror is a great thing that some authors can bend to their will and create a suspenseful story, "It took me an hour to place my whole head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed."
White makes a wish he thought would be innocent and would benefit the family without listening to what Sargeant-Major Morris warned him about the deadly monkey´s paw. Later after he makes the wish, he finds out the monkey´s paw indeed worked, and the thing he wished for costed the life of his beloved son. Mr. And Ms. White, terrifies of the monkey´s paw, decide not to try it ever again. But Ms. White, inconsolable with her only child´s death, decides to take a risk and wish for her son to come back to life. Later at night, someone knocks harshly on the door and Mr. White, full of terror, uses the very last wish to disappear whatever was outside the door
Mr. White took the paw out of the fire when Sergeant Major Morris threw it in the fire. Morris told him, “Better let it burn.” Mr. White insisted on keeping the monkey’s paw. Morris explained all the possible things that could go wrong. He tried telling Mr. White that the paw would literally give him what he asked for, even if it is not what he wanted. Even though he took the paw, he also made the wishes.
The Monkey’s paw by W. W. Jacobs is an eerie short story about a son who dies in a horrific way and a family who wants to bring him back. It focuses on an enchanted monkey’s paw that grants three wishes. The paw was enchanted by an old fakir that wanted to prove that fate controlled life and going against it would only lead to regret and sorrow. This plot point can be noted as an underlying theme, but the main theme is “be careful what you wish for, because you might get it”. While this story is superb, a question comes to mind: Would could be learned from this short story?
An anonymous author once said, “Be careful what you wish for, you may receive it.” The Monkey's Paw is an unnerving and frightful short story because of the realistic idea of fate's consistent consequences, the unnaturally natural way the wishes come true, and the surprisingly fearful stress of being able to make anything happen. The strangeness that thrives in this story literally proves it “creepy”. Although little has been studied for the type of fear that is terror (creepiness), the principles behind are prevalent in The Monkey’s Paw. Fate, being determined, would seem comforting and decided, but if a supernatural type of power is added upon fate things truly become frightening. Wishing is a dominant theme in the story,
Taking place in a countryside home, W.W. Jacobs’s short story “The Monkey’s Paw” illustrates the White family’s two-day interaction with a seemingly innocent mummified monkey's paw. Each character presented in the short story represents natural human traits that can prove to be negative when greed and curiosity are involved. The use of symbolism throughout the story proves to be vital to the reader, as it allows him or her to understand the importance of every action done to the monkey’s paw has an opposite consequence. This correlates to everyone on Earth’s predetermined fate and the problems that an individual could face when greed overcomes their needs, even when it is for a better or worse life. When individuals are consumed by greed, like the White family, they must accept the consequences no matter how severe it is when it is something they truly seek in life.
The story begins on a rainy evening with Mrs. White, Mr. White, and their son Herbert gathered in the parlor. Mrs. White is sitting in her chair knitting as she looks on as her husband is losing to Herbert in a game of chess. From the inside, Mr. White can hear the footsteps of someone walking along their walkway and onto their porch. Mr. White immediately gets up to answer the door and is happy to see his longtime friend Sergeant-major Morris. Mr. White introduces Sergeant-major Morris to his wife and son and invites him into the parlor where they could have drinks. After a couple of drinks, Sergeant-major Morris begins entertaining the family about his adventures in India, when Mr. White
Next, I will be contrasting the differences between the way the characters use their wishes. I think Mr. White uses his wishes in a curious kind of way because he isn’t really sure whether The Monkey's Paw is real or fake. First Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds, and isn’t taking the paw seriously, so consequences are his son dies in a machinery