The Monkey's Pow Comparison

The main factor in the different ways that the two authors got the theme across was the craft moves. In “The Monkey’s Paw” W.W. Jacobs uses revealing actions to get the main theme across. In the story one of Mr. White’s friends tried to throw out a mummified paw of a monkey because he claims it was cursed. Disregarding that it was cursed and can cause consequences if he uses it he asks for money which he would regret later in the story. W.W Jacobs shows this when he writes, “‘I wish for two hundred pounds,’ said the old man distinctly.”(1.5) this quote is just the first action of where he wishes for the money the revealing part comes later when the Whites obtains the money. The revealing action is when the Whites hear about the death of their son that goes back to their wish for money,

     If one is making a wish then it must be a smart one or don't make one at all. Weeks after their son’s death Mrs. White thinks to use the monkeys paw. She suggests that her husband wish for their son to be alive again with their second wish. He raised his hand "I wish for my son alive again" (Jacobs 8). He made his son come back to life in the same way he was killed. To bring his son to life was a mistake because he does not know what he will be like when he's brought back. The first wish had a negative effect to getting the wish granted so it is only natural that the others will have some kind of consequence to them. To use the monkey's paw again to wish for Herbert to be alive after the talisman had killed him was the biggest mistake. Wishing their son back from the dead will probably result in he not being the same person that he once was. Making a reckless wish to try and make up for the mistake that had been caused by the first wish was a total and utter waste. If Mr. White had listened to the warning that was given to him he wouldn’t have had so much anguish.

The last wishes in both stories are used in drastically different ways. After Mr. White finds the paw, which he dropped, he wishes and “the knocking ceased suddenly…” (Jacobs). Since the knocking stopped, Mr. White’s last wish was to make is now alive son go away, which means that his last

White wishes for two hundred pounds, Herbert says that he doesn't see the money and he bets he never will. This was used to hint at what will happen later in the future, and it might lead the reader to question what Herbert means.

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

From ending up dead to killing your own son, wishes can have some extreme consequences. After reading “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Third Wish” it is clear that they are similar and different in many ways. Both Characters learn lessons that are very important to their current situation. However, the two characters get their wishes in two different ways. Although they are two different stories, we can still easily compare and contrast them.

Imagery is used very often in “The Third Wish”. Joan Aiken frequently uses imagery in his writing piece. Imagery can describe how the man wants things he does not need and takes things others do not want. Joan Aikens shows his use with Imagery in certain ways that help prove his theme and help readers get a better understanding of the theme and purpose of his writing. One piece from the text on page (105) is, “He stooped down and kissed her goodbye, then took another leaf from his notecase, blew it out of the window, and used up his second wish. Next moment instead of Leita there was a sleeping swan lying across the bed with it’s head under it’s wing,” This piece of evidence from Aiken’s piece shows that not everybody wants what you want, and just because you want it does not mean you need it. The wife that the man was granted with, was living a miserable life while she was his wife as a human, because that time was spent doing whatever the man wanted her to do. Another piece from the text that shows imagery is, “But I miss the old life in the forest, the cool grass and the mist rising off the river at sunrise and the feel of the water sliding over my feathers as my sister and I drifted along the stream” (105). This piece of evidence shows that not everyone around the man wants exactly what he does. His unwilling wife was miserable while doing exactly what Mr. Peters asked for. The man did

Stories share both similarities and of course differences . In the story, "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs, the character Mr. White ends up wasting the three wishes he got by changing things back to the way things already were after his first wish. In the story, "The Third Wish" by Joan Aiken, the main character, Mr. Peters, wishes for a wife and it comes true, but he wishes her back to a swan, which is what she was before. These stories share both similarities and differences between the motifs of the story and the resolutions of the story. The motif of each story, the use of magic, is used similarly and used differently as well.

White’s fault for Herbert’s death. It says on (page 36) “I wish for 200 pounds” said the old man distinctly. This shows that Mr. White is the one that made the wish so he’s responsible. This also shows that Mr. white is crazy for making the wish because he said he had everything he

Jacobs allows many elements, actions, and quotes to show the true theme of the story. Two themes of this story are, again, to be careful of what you wish for, but also be grateful for what you do have rather than what you don’t. For example, after being told to wish for something sensible, the author allows Mr. White to wish for 200 pounds, or 200 dollars, to pay for his house. Little did he know, he would receive the money, but it will cause his only son to be killed in an accident. Another quote W.W Jacobs uses near the end of the story is “He was caught in the machinery...He was badly hurt, but he is not in pain.” This quote shows that the first but most extreme consequence has been made over a wish that was most likely

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs is a short story filled with mystery and tension as a small family of three are given an object that grants their wishes. Jacobs uses a lot of foreshadowing in the story by bringing Sergeant Major Morris into the story to warn the small family of three about the dangerous ancient object. The family is unaware of the dangers that come after they grant their wishes.     In the first section of the story, the family of three is introduced in the very beginning. Mr. White, the father, and his son, Herbert White, are playing a game of chess while the mother, Mrs. White, is watching them play.

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

Each of the men were granted three wishes, however, both men were told ahead of time to be wise about their decisions. In “The Monkey’s Paw,” Mr. White’s first wish was to gain 200 pounds to pay off his mortgage (page 91). Consequently, Mr. White paid a very high price for his wish. He lost his only son, Herbert 9page 93-94). Mr. White’s second wish was to bring his son back to life (page 95-96). Well, Herbert died in a machinery malfunction, so if he was to bring his son back to life, he would be distorted (page 95-96). Mr. White didn’t want his son mutilated; therefore, he wished a third time. This time he wished for his son to stay dead (page 98). Due to that wish, the White couple had to live a life without their son. However, in the “The Third Wish,” we have a different case. In this story, Mr. Peters was very careful about his wishes. Mr. Peters' first wish was to have a wife as beautiful as the forest (page 103). He got the wish, but he later realized that his wife was a swan and could not be happy as a human. His wife, whose name was Leita, did not want to leave Mr. Peters, but truly missed her swan sister (page 104). Mr. Peters, being the kind gentleman that he was, used his second wish to benefit his wife. Mr. Peters wished his wife into the swan that she was once before (page 105), Since Mr. Peters wished for his wife to be her normal self again, he had no companion. Now,

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

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs and “The Third Wish” by Joan Aiken are similar stories because of their characters, and contrasting stories because of the wishes. The characters both receive wishes in a similar way, but the main characters use their wishes in different ways.