The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs

“But, I 'm already resigned to this fate / Looking over my life, I recall / If it hadn 't been / for the loneliness / I 'd have no companion at all. ” This stanza from “Loneliness”, by Lora Colon evokes the negative impact a lonely fate has on a person. Words like “resigned” and “loneliness” establish a sense of depression and resignation. During the times of the Great Depression, many people felt similar feelings of melancholy and stoicism. Jobs were hard to come by, and realistic dreams of success were scarce. John Steinbeck’s novel, Of Mice and Men, allows readers to see the life of the Great Depression. The two main characters, George and Lennie, search for jobs, like many other migrant workers. They dream of owning their own land, however, Lennie’s habit of getting in trouble prevents their dream from being reality. After he accidentally causes more trouble at their new job, George is forced to kill him out of mercy. Throughout the novel, Steinbeck shows that even if one meticulously plans out the road to their American Dream, fate will inevitably intervene and lead one to desolation and loneliness.

Charles Chesnutt’s “The Doll” is a story of seeking truth, facing discrimination, and making bold choices for the sake of one’s own livelihood. Through Tom Taylor’s slow-building narrative, Chesnutt reveals the complications keeping the barber from exacting his revenge on the man who murdered his father, Colonel Forsyth. Despite having the perfect opportunity to do so, Tom remains steadfast in the face of the colonel’s taunts, ultimately deciding to stay silent. Aside from highlighting Tom’s emotional turmoil throughout the tale, “The Doll” also ponders how black Americans are to advance and protect themselves, especially as individuals within a societal system built against that very idea of social mobility. The story therefore

The stories, “The Monkey’s Paw” and “What, of this Goldfish, Would You Wish,” are both based on the idea of what someone would do with three wishes. “The Monkey’s Paw” is a short story based on a family which acquires a monkey’s paw that is magical. In the end, it causes many problems for the family. “What, of this Goldfish, Would You Wish” is a legend about an Israeli boy,Yoni, who is shooting a documentary about what would people wish for if they had a magic goldfish who grants three wishes. One of the interviews goes wrong, and Yoni is killed, but he comes back to life because of a wish granted by a magic goldfish. Although the stories, “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W.W. Jacobs, and “What, of this Goldfish, Would You Wish,” by Etgar Keret, have different settings and the last wished used are contrasting, the magic talisman grants three wishes in both stories.

While both short stories can be considered entertaining, W. W. Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw” does an overall better job at using characterization, irony and foreshadowing to create the long-lasting effect of suspense. Throughout the story, Jacobs creates a theme which can be interpreted in many ways such as: “Be careful what you wish for.” or “Evil can come in the most unexpected forms,“ (such as the paw). If the theme of evil and regret is present before the story is even introduced, the reader is automatically pulled into this preconceived idea that there will be a great amount of suspense. This idea continues to be confirmed as the story develops.

“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.

W.W. Jacobs creates suspense using a mysterious monkey’s paw. Ricky Lewis Jr. attempted to create similar suspense using different techniques. As told in the story in the book,”He took the paw, and dangling it between his forefinger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire. White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off. ”Better let it burn,” said the soldier solemnly. “If you don’t want it, Morris,” said the other, “give it to me.”.”I won’t said his friend doggedly.”I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don’t blame me for what if happens. Pitch it on the fire like a sensible man.”(Jacobs,108) Therefore, W.W. Jacobs fundamentally builds suspense with the dialogue between Morris, who owned the paw initially, and Mr. White, who was interested and curious on what the paw had to offer.

Would you like to know where and how loneliness can occur through characters in novels and in reality? Well, in the book Of Mice and Men, by Jerry Steinback a commonly occurring central problem is based off of many forms of loneliness occurring through many, if not every character besides sub characters where we do not get a deep enough of an insight to create ideas or inferences about them. Of Mice and Men, is a story mainly focused on two characters, one named Lennie who’s mentally ill and who’s incapable of anything except the needs of physical strength. And another named George, who is smart but caught in the guilt of Lennie’s needs. Meaning, he was and got stuck with Lennie because Lennie ‘s guardian who was George’s friend died so Lennie had no one except his friend George. They together travel as poor migrant workers, and what makes things worse is that Lennie doesn’t know how to stay out of trouble. George works hard in trying to keep a steady life with Lennie, but it’s literally impossible with a man like Lennie. George can’t always be with Lennie to keep him from doing things he isn’t supposed to do. Eventually they get going on a new ranch after an incident with Lennie, and Lennie 's troubles bring him to killing the Master’s son’s wife of their new ranch, where George is later forced to kill Lennie. Loneliness is displayed throughout the book through certain characters who experience it

David Kherdian’s novel Monkey: A Journey to the West, begins with the creation story of Monkey. On the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, a magic stone is fertilized by the seeds of Heaven and Earth and is impregnated by divine inspiration. Following the embryonic stages of development, a stone egg is revealed. The stone egg instantly undergoes a physical transformation. “Once the egg was exposed to the elements, the wind soon transformed it into a stone monkey, complete in every way in all aspects of its being”(Kherdian 1). The stone monkey soon comes to life, explores his surroundings, and makes friends with other monkeys and other mammals. Monkey and his friends fool around in the forest and spot a curtain of water flowing from a waterfall.

Freud and Frodo are Fifi's sons. Freud was the first-born, and he enjoyed a relatively social infancy. Freud liked to hang around Flint. They did almost everything together, and Freud looked up to him. Later, Flint died. When he died at 8 and a half years of age, Freud not only lost his principal playmate, but also his adolescent male role model. After that, Freud looked up to his family members. Later on, Frodo followed around. Frodo was fascinated by almost everything that Freud did. Then, just as Freud looked up to Flint, Frodo looked up to Freud. They began to

Every year movies come into theaters that are based on popular books and stories. In these movie blockbusters, the general ideas are the same as in the written stories, but the details may contrast from the original plot in the text. In the short story, “The Monkey’s Paw” written by W. W. Jacobs, circles around the idea that this paw of monkeys' holds a special capability to grant three wishes to the person who receives the paw. Coming from India, Sergeant-Major Morris visits the White family and brings the intriguing paw with him. Explaining its purpose and use to them, they are all very fascinated with the idea of what potential power it holds within. Disregarding the warning Sergeant-Major Morris supplied, Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds in the short story, and 300 pounds in the cinematic production.. The consequences would soon become known and affect the White’s stable lives forever. Two other wishes are made to try to reverse the repercussions of the first wish, leaving the White family in despair. When comparing two tellings of the same story there may be many similarities and differences that emerge, providing distinct examples of what is relatively the same and what is definitely not.

Monkey Beach was a good novel to read; it was challenging because the novel goes back and forth between the past and the present, and hard to interpret. The author, Eden Robinson captures the essence of Northern British Columbia indigenous people, the Haisla. Also, shows a beautiful vivid portrait of what Kitamaat looks and how Haisla Nation lives. I got to learn some of the language, culture, food and mythology. I like how it is in two places the physical and spiritual world. Also, the novel tells us about her childhood, her family and school problems that she has dealt with in the past. The theme of the novel is spiritual awareness because Lisa father does not understand her gift and mother has some of the gifts, but denies. Lisa has a bad

The authors of both stories, last but not leastly, use suspenseful moods, the feeling that the story creates within the reader, and dangerous/mysterious tones, an author’s attitude toward the subject or audience of the story, throughout the story. In The Monkey’s Paw, the author says, “...The clock tick.s. A chair creaks. Finally, a quiet knock is heard. Mrs. White jumps up.” This is an example of a suspenseful mood and mysterious tone. In the

The “Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Monkey’s Paw” both convey suspicion and growing fear of what will happen “The Monkey’s Paw” is about a monkey’s paw that grants three wishes, but in the worst way. The “Tell-Tale Heart” is about a man who murders an old man, but his guilty conscience betrayed him by making him hear the old man’s heart after he died. "The Monkey's Paw" creates suspense through a slow paced timeline, and "The Tell-Tale Heart" creates suspense throughout the plot, the murder, and finally the heart beating after death causing him to surrender and confess.

The story begins on a rainy evening with Mrs. White, Mr. White, and their son Herbert gathered in the parlor. Mrs. White is sitting in her chair knitting as she looks on as her husband is losing to Herbert in a game of chess. From the inside, Mr. White can hear the footsteps of someone walking along their walkway and onto their porch. Mr. White immediately gets up to answer the door and is happy to see his longtime friend Sergeant-major Morris. Mr. White introduces Sergeant-major Morris to his wife and son and invites him into the parlor where they could have drinks. After a couple of drinks, Sergeant-major Morris begins entertaining the family about his adventures in India, when Mr. White

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