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Literary Analysis Of The Monkey's Paw

Decent Essays

Sarah Barnett
Ms. del Rio
10th Grade Literature and Composition
24 October 2017
Final Response to Literature “The Monkey’s Paw,” is a supernatural short story written by W.W Jacobs. The main character of this story is a man known as Mr. White. Mr. White is a rather old man, who becomes the owner of a cursed object that gives the story its name, the Monkey’s Paw. This paw that Mr. White finds himself in the possession of is one filled with amazing powers. This paw has the ability to grant the owner of it three wishes. These wishes of unlimited power, also have equal, or even more sinister consequences Mr. White struggles with the power of this paw throughout the story, to the point where it becomes the cause of his son’s death, and …show more content…

The way the author describes the outside of the cabin that the White family lives in, to the outside where everything is dark, shows this discoloration. It even shows that the life of the family was happy before they decided to mess with fate. It’s a sad tale, but there is not a second in the story that goes by after the family is given the Monkey’s Paw, where horror is not lurking around every corner. It’s a perfect example of how to write a story where the victims are also the perpetrator. I enjoyed this story more than I probably should’ve. I found it to be very relatable in more than just a few aspects. Ever since I was little I wondered what I would do if I had three wishes. Maybe I’m the only one, but I’ve never really thought about if my wishes would have consequences. This really made me put more thought into what I was wishing for, to the point where any wish is really not worth making. It really made me scared of making the wrong wish, since there are probably a million different ways to make a better wish than what I was originally thinking, and even now, after giving more thought. I did enjoy how the author left the ending of the story a secret since it allowed me to use my imagination of what was behind that door. If it was really the Herbert we knew or not, made for a good discussion point with my friends, something that I really enjoy about stories like this. Personally, I thought immediately that the thing behind the door wasn’t Herbert, but

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