Fictional Narrative Mashup of “A Monkey’s Paw”, “The Elevator”, “The Hitchhiker”, and “Tell-Tale Heart” It’s been a year. Yes, a year since I ended that evil eye once and for good. I still get nightmares of it; staring directly at me as I sleep, striking its fear into my body. To celebrate the event, Wallace has invited me to join him on a camping trip. So, the next day, we headed for the woods. The ride was long and tedious– not to mention the fact that Wallace was a horrible driver. Unlike I, Wallace lost his mind during his trip several years ago. He claims to have seen the same hitchhiker many times, each at a different stop. As we were approaching the bright lights on the bridge, I noticed a familiar face. “I-It’s Elizabeth!” …show more content…
“I wonder where she’s going at this time and day..”, replied Wallace “Get her attention!”, I urged.
And so, we screamed her name numerous times. Wallace even honked at her but that made no difference. At last, she noticed us. “Darlings! How are you? Drive to that gas station and we’ll catch up!”, she said. After a good 20 minutes of talking, Elizabeth decided to join Adam and me on our trip. It was getting dark. The sun that once shone so brightly above was now retreating back into its house beneath the sky. We left the roads and ventured into the woods. While Elizabeth and I were setting up our tents, Adam left to gather sticks for a campfire. When he returned, curiosity filled his face as he showed us a leaf. But, it wasn’t just any leaf, it was a glowing one. “My! What a beauty! Are you sure it’s real, Wallace?”, questioned Elizabeth. Nodding his head, Wallace replied. “Why of course it’s real. I would not have shown you if it weren’t. I found it by the river.” “I do not see the big deal; it’s merely a leaf that emits lighting.”, I said. With a look of distaste, Wallace explained, “Legend has it that a glowing leaf can turn your dreams and nightmares into reality. In other words, when someone has a dream or a nightmare with this leaf in their possession, the scenario will come true. It’s rumored to have only 2 owners and 1 event for each
owner.” “Let’s test it. Martin, you usually have dreams, right? Why don’t you sleep with it tonight and we’ll see if the legend is true?”, suggested Elizabeth. “Then, I suppose we’ll see the truth when morning arrives. Oh, it’s getting late, we should be sleeping by now.”, Wallace answered. It was now a new day, the sun appeared back in it’s usual position. It beamed like a lamp in a cavern. Or.. at least I thought it did. I crawled out of my tent to expect the usual shine, but was greeted with darkness. The branches casted ominous shadows beneath my feet, sending chills down my spine. Trying to see with the fog in my way was like trying to look through a dirty window. I called out for my friends. “Elizabeth? Wallace? Are you guys awake?” “Shh! You’ll wake him! Come over here. And crouch while you’re at it.”, Elizabeth beckoned. I stealthily walked over to her while keeping my head low. She asked, “Do you see that?” “See what?”, I replied, still confused. She pointed to what looked like a giant mushroom, “That. I woke up 10 minutes ago to find that creature pacing back and forth, circling our tents. You don't think its…”. Her voice trailed off, but I knew exactly what she was referring to– the leaf. “Nonsense, such a thing is purely fictional. A magic leaf? I’ll believe it when I see it.” “Well, real or not, that suspicious thing is still there and Wallace is nowhere to be seen. I assumed he was off picking berries or some sort, but his sleeping bag seems untouched. It’s giving me quite the spook.”, Elizabeth responded. And that’s when everything that appeared fine transformed. In a snap, the creature sprang at Elizabeth, locking her in its tough grasp. The critter I mistook for a mushroom turned out to be a.. a..doll. I couldn’t believe it, the menacing figure that was currently strangling my friend was a kid’s toy. Suddenly, Elizabeth stopped moving. Her body lost all motion and aimlessly flopped to the ground. She was dead. In that same moment, darkness from the forest confined me in my own bubble. I was alone, except for my friend, fear. Then, fortunately, the fog dispersed and I was able to see again. Both Elizabeth and the doll were missing, replace by a glowing leaf. I frantically grabbed the leaf, desperate to get rid of it. And with it, I ran. I ran as fast as I could to the river. Using my ears as my only tool of navigation. At length, I reached my destination. Out of breath, I took the leaf and flicked it into the rapid waters. I watched it with curiosity as the leaf was swept up and carried far, far away from me in a matter of seconds. Relieved, I walked back to my tent and started to pack my belongings. I must get out of this hell, I thought. I sorted my items and began my journey home. As I left deserted roads and joined other cars on the highway, I heard a calling. “D-Don’t go. Please don’t leave me here with it..” I was horrified and questions started to occupy my mind: Who said that? Where did it come from? Why did I hear that? Should I turn around? Even so, I continued driving. I was now calm, free of my fear. My mind was clear of worry, so I focused on getting home. I was in the vicinity of the bridge that Wallace when I spotted Elizabeth. I thought I was hallucinating; for there she was– Elizabeth White– standing near the railings. Was my mind playing tricks on me? It couldn’t be, I told myself. Once again, I continued driving. Everything was fine until I rounded the corner of my street. She, Elizabeth, stood there on the road ahead. In a panic, I stepped on the brakes, causing the materials in my trunk to jump with alarm. Hesitantly, I opened the car door and stepped out. With a step each minute, I managed to make my way towards the figure awaiting my arrival. I extended my arm, reaching for her, only to be met with smoke. After she evaporated, I found myself in a bed. I inspected the room closely; it was my room. I was in my house, safe and sound. It was all a dream.
The Simpsons episode “The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror II” is about a magical monkey’s paw bought by the Simpsons, a modern day family that lives in a town called Springfield. The family uses the paw to grant themselves four wishes. The wishes, they soon find out, all include repercussions that harm the family in some way. The book “The Monkey’s Paw” is about a family that is given a monkey’s paw by a friend that says it can grant three wishes. The family’s home in this story is Laburnum Villa, sometime in the past. At first the family is skeptical of the friends claim that the paw is magic saying, “If the tale about the monkey’s paw is not more truthful than those he has been telling us, we shan't make much out of it.”(Page 4, W.W. Jacobs). They then proceed to use the paw and are surprised to find that what they wish for is in fact granted but comes with terrible consequences. While “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror II” both share similar plots, the settings of the stories and the
“I didn’t see—anybody. There wasn’t nothing, but a bunch of steers—and the barbed wire fence.” (94) His desperation and loneliness overpowering all, Adams takes up his initial idea of running down the hitchhiker, but his momentary traveling companion does not see the victim, claiming he was never there. Now in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the hitchhiker doesn’t wait for Adams to make a stop before appearing; his form and face flit by every other mile. (96) Learning of his mother’s prostration and the death of Ronald Adams, the protagonist leaves the audience with his last thought: Somewhere among them, he is waiting for me. Somewhere I shall know who he is, and who . . . I . . . am . . .” (97) Alone, without the willpower to fight for survival, the main character fades into a mist of doubt and helplessness.
talks to his son. ‘Hark at the wind’, tells us that Mr White is very
It was a spring afternoon in West Florida. Janie had spent most of the day under a blossoming pear tree in the back-yard. She had been spending every minute that she could steal from her chores under that tree for the last three days. That was to say, ever since the first tiny bloom had opened. It had called her to come and gaze on a mystery. From barren brown stems to glistening leaf-buds; from the leaf-buds to snowy virginity of bloom. It stirred her tremendously. How? Why? It was like a flute song forgotten in another existence and remembered again.
“One of the most sincere forms of respect is actually listening to what another has to say.”(McGill). The short story The Monkey’s Paw by William Wymark Jacobs has many instances of characters not giving their full attention when somebody was attempting to speak to them. When the sergeant came to the home of the White’s and showed them the monkey’s paw, the White’s did not listen to the sergeants warning of the monkey’s paw of it bringing great consequences whenever they made a wish. Mrs. White did not listen to Mr. White when he tried to explain why they should not wish for their son to be alive. Mrs. White rushed down the stairs ignoring Mr. White’s warnings of opening the door to let their son into the home. Listening more to people other than someone’s self is an ideal that has been lost in society.
The “Monkey’s Paw” reveals an intriguing story of destiny and death. The Theme challenges the classical ideas of destiny and fate.
“Not if you don’t know it isn’t real, it isn’t yuk.” Orson sighed but continued. “The funny thing to this day is…my brothers didn’t care once they found out it was me.”
...e wind had stripped a maple of its red and yellow leaves and scattered them over the grass and the water. Since it was midsummer the tree must be blighted..." Neddy can not see the sign that change has occurred because he has over-rationalized a reason for why the tree appears in such a way during what he believes is midsummer, when it is clearly not.
put on it by an old fakir. The story continues and then Mr.White and the
Once I woke up I called Alavee to make sure he was awake. I'm glad he was because he saved me some time by calling Priya and Rigo to make sure they were getting ready to go. About an hour and a half later we all met up in the school parking lot at about the same time. The exception was Priya who had to take extra time to bring the camper which we hardly used in the end, but it was still better than trying to cram into one car to sleep. Anthony brought his new jeep so we thought it would be a good idea to hook the pop-up camper to the jeep and take the jeep on our journey. Now that we were ready and had double-checked everything, we were ready to begin our journey. First, we were well stocked with food and gas we were underway for our trip. We headed toward the interstate, and turned left on I-90 west.
The stories of Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" and William W. Jacobs "The Monkey's Paw" have several different degrees of symbols and themes that warn the characters of emitted danger or bad outcomes in their stories that can be mirrored of each other. In, these stories the characters do not follow the warnings from these symbols and themes from the clues that are presented to them. From these terrible choices that are decided, they find themselves in situations that could have been avoided, but they did not proceed with. My analysis of these symbols and themes will demonstrate what they are and show the obvious of what to look for. So, let us begin on this analysis and see how the symbols and themes could have
As the day came close to an end, the setting sun also displayed a work of art through this tree. The light, that bravely beamed through the V, created a heavenly aura. I felt as if angels were gracefully dancing on the colored droplets of water. The colors had changed somewhat and consisted mostly of a transparent-white mixed with brilliant oranges and yellows. Soon afterward, my little piece of Heaven was broken up by the shouts of our counselor telling us it was time to return to camp.
Buzzing insects and a slight breeze rustling the leaves of an ancient tree only added to the lonesome melody the earth played for me. A large scar where lightening had struck the tree had left part of the trunk burnt to a crisp black, and yet it showed no signs of dying anytime soon. But all too soon I was yanked out of my daydreams, by the illuminated window, casting its mechanical glow on the pavement near the ...
Then, slowly at first, but with ever increasing intensity, a small glimmer appeared on the glossy leaves. Through the whispering blades of grass, a brilliant fire arose from the depths turning the lingering water droplets into liquid silver that dripped from expectant leaves and flowed gurgling into shallow puddles, bathing the young trees with the succulent taste of a new day.
It was late summer. The weather was gradually changing to autumn, which was noticeably seen on the leaves that were starting to turn orange. The sun was out, but it wasn’t too hot or too cold outside. In fact, it was actually soothing; the cold wind blowing, paired with the warm sun shining above.