Monkey's Paw

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).

Greed is a sin of excess that every single human being has at least a little bit of. When someone has the opportunity to get as much of something as they possibly can, they will go to great lengths to get everything out of it. In the story “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W. W. Jacobs, the White family experiences a big test of greed, and they even tamper with their fate to get it. Before the Whites even knew about the paw, they were living a normal, but decent, lifestyle that got them by day-to-day without any troubles. Once they received this one idol in their life that could grant any three wishes that they could possibly think of, their mind set was altered and their greediness to change their fate kicked into play. Jacobs uses themes of

The story somewhat followed the moral because every time Mr. White wished using the monkey’s paw, he evidently created consequences for himself, which causes people to think that the old man should be more careful of what he wishes for. This could be a powerful theme, but it fails to account for some dialog from Sergeant-Major. On the second page of The Monkey’s Paw, it stated: ““It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow().”” Clearly, any wishes that changed fate in any way would damage the wielder him/herself. Therefore, the only type of wish that would not be damaging are wishes that would do nothing. Wishing for nothing is not really a wish so that implies that every single wish would lead to a repercussion. Under these circumstances, it is impossible to be careful for what you wish for if every single wish will be damaging. As a result, this moral cannot be implied within the story, making the original one more relevant within the

White wished for 200 pounds because Morris warned of the consequences so they wished for something that wasn’t insane but wasn’t small. This greed for money caused consequences. “Herbert says, ‘Why, we’re going to be rich, and famous, and happy. Wish to be an emperor, Father, to begin with; then you can’t be henpecked.’” In this sentence, you see that Herbert was already being greedy with the paw as soon as they acquired it. He was trying to use it to his advantage and abuse the power of the paw. The whites wish for 200 pounds and it came true which was good, but there was also a negative consequence. With the good there was also the bad. The wish for 200 pounds came true, but the money came because their son died. He had died from a machine accident at work that day and they got money because the company didn’t want them to sue so they payed compensation for his death. The wish they made with the Monkey’s Paw had come true, but killed

In “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs, Mr. White is most responsible for the sorrows that resulted from wishing on the monkey paw. He was most responsible for the following reasons: he took the paw, he made the wishes, and he was also careless about his wishes.

The story of “The Monkey’s Paw,” (1902) by W. W. Jacobs begins on a cold, wet, blustery night. The family inside, however, is cheery. Father and son enjoy a lively game of chess, while mother sits knitting by the fireplace. Their lives are about to change, however, and change for the worse. The tragedy and sorrow that follow are not the result of chance but the result of their own choices.

This evidence reveals that the paw is cursed by a fakir who wants to teach people a lesson about interfering with fate when they wish for things that are not destined to happen. Because the paw is cursed, the reader can conclude the wishes will not have the desired outcomes. Also in the text, when the White inquirer furthermore about the paw, Major Morris throws it into the fire, and warns them of the consequences after Mr.White quickly retrieves it off the fire(paragraph 39 and 44). The evidence reveals that Major Morris is scared what will happen to the White family. Also, Mr.White is so interested in the paw, he risks burning himself to get it. This indicates that he will probably make wishes. Next, when Major Morris was asked about the man who first acquire the paw, Major Morris said his third wish was for “death”(paragraph 33). The first two wishes of the other man must of been so bad that he wished for death, so the three wishes for Mr.White are probably going to be

While this story is unusual because of its content, it teaches us an important lesson on wanting for things. Blindly wishing for insignificant possessions will only lead down the path of demise. When the White’s wished-for money they didn’t consider the consequences. When you delve into the meaning of what Herbert and Mr. White wished for you will realize that it was very selfish. Wishing for money with a haunted puts the user and his family in grave danger. Putting family in jeopardy for the sake of profit is equivalent to stating that money is more important than family. Perhaps this is why the monkey’s paw punished Herbert. A man who wants cash more than his family is so infatuated with possessions that he loses sight of his goals. If something were to happen to his family he would be haunted with guilt because he paid

The theme of “ The Monkey’s Paw” written by William W. Jacobs is to be satisfied with the one’s life and not interfere with fate. “‘He was a very holy man and he wanted to show that fate ruled people’s lives, and that to interfere with fate only caused deep sadness. ’”(Jacobs 1) This example shows that fate should not be interfered with because otherwise bad things will come from it, like when someone makes a wish from the monkey’s paw. People who wish for something with the monkey’s paw always end up regretting it because by doing so they mess with fate and the consequences are inescapable.

When you make wishes, you have to pay for the outcome. Sargent Major Moris wanted to destroy the monkeys paw at the Whites house. he told them that the monkeys paw granted wishes at a huge price, but they decided to use it anyways ultimately paying the huge price. the suspense builds as the prices are paid for each wish. Herbert

The most important is an object that is able to grant wishes. In the short stories, both wish granting objects grant both well thought out and rash wishes. In The Monkey’s Paw, the paw makes sure the wisher knows by their last wish to be careful what they

In the beginning Mr.White was waiting a visit from a old friend who travels around the world. When he came over he showed him a magical paw that grants any man 3 wishes but it has a twist to it every wish you grant will be more bad than good. The man name was sergeant-major. The man told Mr.White and his family that the monkey’s paw was magical and does wonder with a very messed up twist every time he wishes. It’s like giving someone a cookies and telling them never drink it

W.W. Jacobs wrote “The Monkey’s Paw” in 1902. In Jacobs’s story, the White family has acquired a monkey’s paw from Mr. Morris, which he retrieved from his travels in India. One receives three wishes with the paw, but there are consequences involved. When Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds to pay off his mortgage, the money comes from the untimely death of their son from a tragic accident at the workplace. Left with two wishes, the wife demands Mr. White to bring their son back, but before he could let that happen, he takes the wish back. Through plot and conflict, the author illustrates the stories central idea, which is be careful what you wish for. The plot is set up in three stages which plays off the three wishes and the conflict is

With Jacob’s overall message of the dangers of greed throughout the story, someone might perceive the natural eagerness to make one's life better a positive trait instead of a negative trait. However, the first sentence of “The Monkey’s Paw” is the quote “be careful what you wish for, you may receive it” written by Anonymous can be inferred that people can wish for anything they desire, but they are advised to think strongly about their wish. This is because when a wish becomes true it can either make life better, solving current/potential problems, or create a newer and larger problem causing a negative effect on the lives of others in addition to their own. Human nature's natural greed is the root cause of the misfortunes of the White family. Intrigued by the possibility of gaining three wishes, the White’s salivate over the possibility of attaining the monkey’s paw by trying to persuade Sergeant Morris to give it to them. In Part One of the story when Herbert notifies the family of the arrival of Sergeant-Major Morris, Mr. White rises quickly from his chair to open the door and proceeds to offer the guest whiskey in the hopes of loosening him up and make him vulnerable. It can be inferred that Mr. White is interested in attaining the monkey’s paw Sergeant-Major Morris has in his possession. The use of courtesy is just a disguise to take

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