Greed In The Monkey's Paw By W. Jacobs

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

Fate is a hidden, but unavoidable force that leads to certain consequences in people’s lives. The theme of fate plays a crucial role in the main characters of the play, Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet share a destiny that dooms them to tragic deaths immediately after the exchange of their zealous love. Despite their resolute attempts to challenge their destiny, the lovers still succumb to the inexorable powers of fate. In the Shakespearean play, Romeo and Juliet, the principle of fate propels the lovers together with infatuation, tears them apart through a bitter demise, yet, ensures peace in Verona for many future generations.

Society has thrived against adversity with virtues of hope, fueled by the belief of a higher power. In The Book of Martha, by Octavia Butler, the protagonist, Martha, seeks a solution to end humanity’s greed, which will eventually lead to their inevitable demise. For centuries, religion has had an impact in the way societies view ethical and moral issues. Human kindness has always been at the core of each act behind religious beliefs. These acts of kindness have been made with the intention to progress ourselves as a society and as a community. An interview with Father Jesus de la Tapia, from The Parish of Santa Rosa, highlighted the social impact that these acts of kindness can bring to our community. Although Martha’s actions are those set in a fictional story, her belief in God and ability to bring humanity together, are actions which can be seen in our community, making it a better place.

“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.

Greed is undeniably a characteristic of being human. Even two hundred thousand years ago, when the first examples of modern humans were in a competition for food and survival, they naturally had to be greedy in order to survive and contribute to the gene pool in order for further generations to evolve and adapt. Darwin proved this with his theory of evolution stating that the species that are better adapted to the environment would be able to spend less time looking for food and more time mating (contributing to the gene pool), while the species who are not as well adapted would die off. The play “Macbeth” and the motion picture based on the book “A Simple Plan” display these themes of greed profusely as the main characters from each are affected by the same characteristic that had previously allowed for human survival. Macbeth in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and Hank in the film “A Simple Plan” are both affected by greed as they both turn into murders who backstab their friends, they both ruin their relationship with their wives, and they both end up destroying their lives.

Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle discusses the evils of capitalism in a meatpacking sector of Chicago, also known as Packingtown. It was evident that Sinclair did not support a capitalist form of government. His socialist political beliefs certainly impacted the style and content of The Jungle. Sinclair strived to exploit the Chicago meatpacking factories and educate his audience of the dangers that a capitalistic government could have on European immigrants and public safety. While Sinclair was exposing the evils of capitalism, the public was disturbed by the gruesome details, “I aimed at the public’s heart, and by accident I hit in the stomach.” By exposing the despicable methods of food production and lack of personal hygiene within the factories, Sinclair unmasked the effects of a capitalist government during the early 1900s, revealing his socialist opinion and forever changing the nature of meatpacking industries.

Upton Sinclair showcases the evils of capitalism and wanted people in the United States to reject it. Through his book, he depicted how capitalism destroys the lives of innocent workers. He wanted radical change and adoption of socialism where the government owns the means of production and controls large enterprises. Instead, most people who read his book were outraged by the filthy conditions in the slaughterhouses. Public outcry and media frenzy focused on the meat safety and not the labor rights and evils of capitalism. His book eventually led to the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act of 1906 (686). Although he was disappointed that he could not bring about an improvement in the lives of meatpacking workers, he did help

In the book, “The Jungle” by Upton Sinclair, we read about a family that comes to America Hoping to have their wishes become a their reality. Sadly to no avail their new american life is nothing like what they wished and hoped it would be like. The family went through way too pain, disaster , loss , and hardship. It was a rude awakening all over america to the hardship and adversity that the lower class had to endure. It depicts corruption and crime in large food companies and on the streets. The book is mainly about a man named Jurgis Rudkis as he and his wife, Ona and their family travel to America with hope and determination during the time period referred to as “The Gilded Age.” Upton Sinclair Wrote this book to bring forth attention, to push socialism, but instead enlightened readers to what was really going on behind the scenes in the places that consumers get their well payed for food from.

“Kansas work” – an unsuccessful slave revolution led by John Brown in 1859. The author describes John Brown as a “radical abolitionist” native of Ohio who “has passion for justice” and “equality between the races.” (Smith 50) In April of 1848, Brown arrives to Peterboro, New York to find Gerrit Smith, a philanthropist and “peace-loving abolitionist” whom he aims to convince to finance his plan. He succeeds in recruiting people to join him in his mission to abolish slavery in the South. in an attempt to take over a federal armory, Brown and his group attacks Harpers Ferry, Virginia on October 18, 1859. Brown’s plan fail, however, as he was captured by the U.S. Marines under the command of Col. Robert E. Lee while members of his group dies during the excursion. In October 20,1859, the Herald newspaper editorial published an article accusing Gerrit Smith and Frederick Douglas of being an accessory of Brown’ rebellious act. By the end of October 1859, Brown was convicted of murder, treason and for sparking a revolution. Frightened that he may also be indicted, Smith destroyed all evidences that links him to Brown, and sends his son-in-law Charles Miller to obtain any evidences that Brown’s family may be keeping. For this reason, a group of New York Democrats by the name of Democratic Vigilant Association published a fake investigative report accusing Smith of being a “dangerous man” and “key figure in a

“Gluttony and idleness are two of life’s great joys, but they are not honorable” (Burchill). This quote helps describe one of the themes in The Pie by Gary Soto. It is about a man reflecting on a memory from his childhood, on how boredom had made him do something he had never done before. The Pie by Soto is centered on the themes greed and guilt of the young man.

In the two short stories, “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs and “The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World” by Garbriel Márquez, the authors demonstrate why society should evolve, Jacobs and Márquez achieve this similarly through characters performing egotistical acts; however, the authors’ strategies diverge as Márquez’s characters are dynamic whereas Jacobs’ are static, and Jacobs’ employs fear whereas Márquez uses hope.

“Money provides the best motivation for success”. This quote was said by Russell Baker (Author of No Gumption)and many might agree to this, but many people don’t agree to this. MONEY IS NOT THE BEST MOTIVATION FOR SUCCESS!!! There are many reason why and, the book (written by the person who SAID this quote)even shows this to be true. To catch you up “No Gumption” is about a boy who is living through the great depression and his mom is upset that he isn’t pulling much work around so she meets with a person who sells newspapers and he gives him a job at selling papers.

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 ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ by W.W. Jacobs best fits the horror genre because of the unknown, unbelieveable, and the unstoppable. The unknown is the suspense that drives our imaginations to start drawing conclusions and, begin forming an ending to the story. The unbelievable is how beyond belief something is such as a man saying a giant frying pan will crush the city in one hour, it's beyond belief and doesn’t fit our expectations. The unstoppable is where you cannot change anything so you try to avoid it as much as possible, such as death, humans cannot escape death so we try to avoid it as much as possible, like height, drowning, planes, car crashes, etc. The elements of horror go on but these three are what makes this scary story.

The Confessions of an Economic Hit Man by John Perkins is a well-known book in the past and even more well-known book in the present. To have experienced and lived through the hardship of being an economic hit man is astonishing. This novel contains knowledge and informative information, that even one who is not that knowledgeable about this field of study can understand and become further informed of how corrupt the major organizations in this global economy are like. Additionally, it can further inform those who already are in this field of study and suggest possible solution, that could lessen the impact and the control on an economic and political science standpoint. This SWOT analyse paper will provide informative points to show how the strengths of this novel outweighs the weaknesses, as well as how the author discuss the opportunities that can improve development outcome that outweighs the possible threats that can arise from such opportunities.