Comparing Monkey's Paw And The Old Grandfather, By Shirley Jackson

In the short story “The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson” it states “They were ashamed because they had treated the old grandfather so meanly”. The two short short stories, “Monkey's Paw” and “Grandfather” tell us about consequences of choice in many ways. Characters in “Monkeys Paw” and “Grandfather” help me learn that every choice has its consequences even if they are good or bad. I see this with Theme, Characterization, and Mood. First I will tell you how theme supports my thesis.

I believe the theme of both of these stories is that we have consequences for our choices we make. In “Monkeys Paw” Sergeant Morris made the choice to introduce the monkey's paw to the white family setting up the entire story. In “Monkeys Paw” it states

In “Monkey’s Paw” the loss of Hubert, which was a consequence of wishing for money, made Mrs. White really depressed. In “Monkeys Paw” it states “ ‘it is colder for my son’ said the old woman and wept afresh”. The quote shows that Mrs. White has grew sad and depressed from the loss of her son made her change a lot and it affected the rest of the story. In “Grandfather” the wife changes when she realizes why her son is making a wooden bowl. In “Grandfather” the text states “the young peasant and his wife looked at each other and tears filled their eyes”. That statement shows that the wife and her husband are ashamed of their choices of their disrespect towards grandfather. Seeing their sons treating them the same way makes them realize that they need to change their attitude towards grandfather which they do. In analysis the choices that were made made the characters change because of the consequences. In the next paragraph I will tell you how mood fits into the thesis

For “Monkey's Paw” the mood changes every time a consequence happens making the story darker and darker. In “Monkey’s Paw” it states “she broke off suddenly as the sinister meaning of the assurance dawned upon her”. The evidence shows that when Mrs. White realizes what the man is saying the word choice gets darker affecting the mood of the story which is a consequence of the choice to wish on the paw. Another example in “Grandfather” is the mood changes to of a more happy mood when the wife changes and treats the Grandfather more kindly. In “Grandfather” it states “ They were ashamed because they had treated the old grandfather so meanly”. This quote shows that the wife changes her mood and overall changes the mood of the story because of the consequences of her choice. In analysis the choices that characters make the mood of the overall story