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Monkeys Paw Essay

Decent Essays

In the story The Monkeys Paw by W.W Jacobs the central theme of the story would be do not tempt fate. This central message is shown by the tragic plot structure, the interpretation of the author’s message which is let fate decide; do not mess with fate and decide for it and lastly that bad fate leads to evil.

The plot structure interpreted that the author was using was the tragic plot. The tragic plot starts out with a sympathetic protagonist, they are responsible for the misfortune. One instance where the protagonist interpreted to be Mr. white is responsible for a misfortune is when he takes the paw from Sergeant- Major Morris and makes his first wish for two hundred pounds. The quote “I wish for two hundred pounds” shows that he has used …show more content…

The first instance where this is shown is the number three that comes up multiple times in the story. The number three is a major archetype that represents evil and perversion. It starts when Sergeant – Major Morris introduces the monkey paw to Mr. White. He clearly explains “ He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it” this relates back to topic of bad fate leads to evil because since the monkey paw has come into play nothing good has happened to that family. Another time three comes up is when Sergeant- Major Morris throws the monkey paw in the fire and warns Mr. White three times that it is bad luck and fate. The first warning he says, “better let it burn” meaning it is for the benefit of everyone if it is gone. The second warning says “I threw it in the fire. If you keep it, don’t blame me for what happens” and the last quote states “but I war you of the consequences” this shows the number three once again meaning a sign of evil. The most important time three comes up is near the end of the story when Mrs. White hears three knocks on the door after Mr. white made his second wish to get his son back. This relates back to the topic because it could be sign of evil for bringing someone back from the

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