The Monkey’s Paw, a short story written by W.W Jacobs, has concepts that relate to a common theme: fate. One of the main themes in the story is fate, but another theme is don’t mess with fate. Throughout the story The Monkey’s Paw, there are instances of fate, and what happens when you mess with fate. An example in the story that relates to fate is when Mr. and Mrs. White mess with fate when they wish for 200 pounds. Another example is when they wish for Herbert to come back to life and then they wish for him to leave again. Really anytime the paw is used, it's messing with fate.
There are multiple examples of foreshadowing in story the Monkey’s Paw. The example I am choosing is at the beginning of the story when the father and son are playing
Writing prompt compare and contrast the theme in “The Monkey's Paw and “The Tell- Tale Heart.” Theme teaches a life lesson that can be used in your everyday life. Theme can also change throughout a story. In"The Monkey's paw”by W.W. Jacobs and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, the authors show us many themes. The themes have many similarities and differences.
Fate is the deciding factor in our lives that we cannot fully control. It is the happening upon opportunities for better or for worse. Fate is ironic in that it is one of the most random things in our lives, but it is also one most important. Though faith can be a very important thing, it sometimes blinds us to the unavoidable randomness in our lives that can our worlds in a second. In Amy Tan’s “Half and Half,” fate has power over the lives of Rose and An-mei when their good luck proves to be a temporary blessing rather than a result of faith.
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.
I found this contrast to be distracting from what author Wes Moore was trying to convey. It was harder for me to determine Moore’s motives, because I had thought that the use of fates in the title meant that there were predetermined destinies for the characters. Moreover, the theme Moore portrays is similar to my view of life. I always believed that poor choices lead to bad consequences. Author Wes Moore explains a helpful approach to those struggling to find an identity.
In the short story, “The Monkey’s Paw”, author W.W. Jacobs portrays the human condition by utilizing the literary devices of foreshadowing, symbolism, and conflict.
He then tells the story. Morris says that the paw was evil, and that fate could rule people s lives if they toyed with their fate. He throws the paw into the fireplace, only for Mr. White to immediately take it out, ignoring the story. The fakir s point was proven when Herbert was brought back to life, Mr. White wanting to change his life by making a wish on the monkey s paw, and finally, Sgt. Major Morris: The story about the talisman coming true.
Have you heard of the crazy new books called “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Monkeys Paw”. In both stories, each one has a conflict, and in “The Monkeys Paw” they found out that with each wish comes a consequence. Also in “The Tell-tales Heart” the man is filled with such grief he rats himself out. The cause and effect relationships in the "The Tell-Tale Heart" and "The Monkeys Paw" the old man rats himself out and for each wish that was granted came a consequence.
When people act impulsively, they can make decisions that cause unexpected outcomes. In the stories “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs and “The Third Wish” by Joan Aiken, wishes are used to move the story forward. Both stories have characters who make wishes that lead to undesired outcomes. Similarly, both authors use mood to hint at the greater lesson. On the other hand, there are also notable differences in how the characters use their wishes and the lessons learned by the story’s characters.
Fate to most people is something that will inevitably happen in their lives, something that they are destined to have or to be. According to Dictionary.com, fate is defined as something that unavoidably befalls a person, but to others, fate is merely coincidence. The debate whether fate is apart of our everyday lives have been going on since the ancient greeks to today. The movie Crash parallels to the play, Oedipus the King, in that both of the characters experience some form of fate in their lives. Henceforth, this essay will discuss the media's portrayal of fate and how it is indeed, a part of our everyday lives.
In this essay, I will be describing the contrast of the moods, main characters, and wishes of two short stories. The first story is “The Monkey's Paw” by W.W. Jacobs. The second story is “The Third Wish” by Joan Aiken. Both of these stories are about wishes, and the consequences that come with the wishes.
Don’t attempt to change your fate, I’m warning you. “The Masque of the Red Death” and “The Monkey’s Paw” are examples of why not to mess with your fate. In both stories, the characters attempted changing their fate and ends in a very bad outcome. The characters, both learned that if you try changing your fate there is going be a horrific consequence.
In numerous short stories, luck has played a very important part of the story depending on the different situations the characters of the stories are in. The titles of the three stories this essay will be examining are "The Bamboo Trap", "The Side Bet" and "The Most Dangerous Game". All three stories have many similarities. They were all very suspenseful and exciting. The setting of all three stories were also alike. For example, they all took place in desolate, dangerous areas. However, this essay will be focusing on another similarity of the short stories, the role in which luck played in the them. Luck has helped the characters in numerous parts of the stories to overcome even the most impossible scenarios. It was one of the key factors contributing to the plot, as luck decides if the main character will survive… or not. Most importantly, it created a surprising conclusion.The role of luck played a critical and important part in the stories because it saved the main characters' lives creating a surprising conclusion in the stories.
In the short story, “The monkeys paw,” Mr. White finds out there is this paw that can grant you three wishes. Mr. White remembers the strange tale of a monkey’s paw that Morris recently told him. Morris tells the old man that he should know, the paw brings disasters upon the wisher in the process. Mr. White instead of listening to Morris, takes the paw and looks forward into using it. His first wish was to get two hundred dollars.
People often say the phrase “You get what you deserve.” to others that had fallen to unwanted outcomes. People also say the phrase “What comes around goes around.” to justify someone's results of their actions. Both of these phrases relate to the same thing, destiny. Although it is said that someone cannot control their destiny, the actions and choices people pick to do affects their destiny. Not only what we do determines who we are, but also what is done to us. Throughout the story the theme character determines destiny is developed as the characters pick their choices and how the effect of fate plays out.
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?