Being Thankful Is not Always Easy: Monkey’s Paw “You oughta be thankful, a whole heaping lot, for the people and places you’re lucky you’re not”-Seuss. In Monkey’s Paw the White family did no such thing and instead were greedy for more money, a gory- chopped up- dead son, and eventually death to the father, Mr. White. They used their wishes with great intentions of money and to bring back the dead, but for every wish it ended horribly wrong. Only one man, Sergeant Major Morris, had tried to stop them by throwing the monkey’s paw into the fire and warning the family to let it burn. Had they had listened to him, their son would be alive and the father would be alive; possibly thriving. Being thankful for what you have is an ideal that has been …show more content…
Herbert had not known he was going to go to work at the factory and be caught in the machinery and die, but was led to believe his family were to become rich and pay their mortgage (WW Jacobs Pg 4). He was, however, correct about the family collecting 200 £ but was brought upon it in the utmost awful way; the death of Herbert. If the family were to be grateful for what they have and still had their mind before the spell was cast, “It seems I have all I want currently” (Pg 4), the son would still be alive and burgeon at his workplace. The family was positively despondent and disheartened, all the mom wanted was her son back. Thus, the second wish was born; Herbert to be brought back to …show more content…
He did not want to see his ground up fleshy son who had been brought back from the dead, but instead would kill himself rather to see the monster. If the dad were to be thankful that his son were alive, he would have at least stayed to see him. The dad, in the beginning, could have used the captain's advice by throwing the monkey’s paw into the flame and continuing their lives the way they had. They should have been thankful and listened to him as he had warned them, but yet again they had been
In the short story, "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs, I came to the conclusion that Sergeant Major Morris was responsible for the sorrows that resulted from the monkey's paw. For instance, he was the one who owned the paw in the first place, allowed Mr. White to keep it, and even told them how to use it, stating on page 377, "Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud."
the name of a poisonous plant. This is quite scary as the home of the
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
... younger kids are used to relying on adults. If the younger ones didn’t believe in the beast then the older boys wouldn’t either. This would stop a lot of the problems that arise. If the pilot had been on the island with the boys, he would be able to comfort the boys and the children would not be scared of the beast.
“[He] looked across at his father and wondered just how he was going to tell him. It was a very serious thing.” This point of view demonstrates how nervous the boy is to tell his father that a close friend, Bill Harper, was arriving the next day to fish with him. The boy sits next to the fire and parries the idea of divulging his innocent plan. He knows that things are changing in his life and that eventually he must leave his father and create a new life with new social requirements, demonstrated by this quote: “He knew it was something that had to happen sometime. Yet he also knew that it was the end of something.” The boy goes on the wonder, “It was an ending to a beginning and he wondered just how he should tell his father about it.” The boy’s thoughtful attitude exhibits a bond between father and son and a relationship of respect. The boy wonders if it is also a relationship of
person. The story is more emotive if in first person, as it is as if
The father often uses the phrase “carrying the fire,” to suggest the knowledge the son must inherit from his father in order to one day continue the father's legacy. The father tries to educate his son in goodness, survival, and decency even though all such humanity has been extinguished. His efforts to preserve civilized manners reflect his nurturing and give purpose to his existence. Before the father dies he tells his son that all this fire—warmth, instinct for good, and knowledge—lives inside him: “You have to carry the fire. I don't know how to. Yes, you do. Is the fire real? The fire? Yes, it is. Where is it? I don't know where it is. Yes, you do. It's inside you. It always was there. I can see it” (McCarthy 278-279). The fire has multiple symbolic meanings for the man and the boy. For the man the fire represents the love he has for his son because his son is his reason for continuing. It is also the man’s moral code, his way to refrain from turning evil and committing murder or cannibalism. For the boy the fire symbolizes the kindness he carries even when he has been exposed to evil. Since the boy was born after the catastrophic event, he embodies a sense of purity, an untainted fire within him. Consequently, the son is more naïve and trusting of others than his father. McCarthy's “carrying the fire” functions as a metaphor of knowledge and hope for humanity, the natural instinct to keep going and hope for something better along the
We can see throughout the movie that Jim¡¯s father is cowardly and afraid to stand up for himself even to his own wife. There are multiple scenes in the movie where this is quite evident, but the scene that stands out the most is when Jim comes back from the ¡°chicken run¡± and looks for reassurance from his father. Yet, what he gets is not a father giving him guidance and support, but someone who tries to please his son and agrees with everything he says. Instead of standing up for his own beliefs and standing behind what he tells his son at first, he continually switches what he says to find the easy way out of the situation. Jim¡...
Junior sometimes had to go to bed hungry, but that wasn’t the worst thing about being in poverty. He made a diary entry stating, “Poverty= empty refrigerator+empty stomach. And sure sometimes my family misses a meal…and hey, in a weird way, being hungry makes food taste better (8).” This really puts the diary reader in his shoes about how many times he had to go without food and starve while trying to go to sleep, simply because his family couldn’t afford it. But to Junior, being hungry wasn’t necessarily that bad. What he felt was the worst thing about his poverty was that there was no money to save his beloved animal Oscar. Oscar became really ill and Junior wanted to take the animal to the doctor, but the family couldn’t afford it. When it came down to it, his father had to put the dog out of misery, and decided to shoot him. Visualizing someone having to shoot your best animal friend is heart wrenching. Most people have been in Juniors shoes where they have a sick animal, however they never imagine having to shoot it. This comparison of being hungry and losing an animal, shows Junior’s great strength at a young age about going through poverty, and sometimes even hope...
...The Monkey’s Paw”, is a rather dark story and leaves Mr. White and his wife heartbroken as they stare at an empty street, knowing they will never see their son again. “The Third Wish”, on the other hand, is rather peaceful, leaving Mr. Peters peacefully dead in his bed with a smile of great happiness on his face. Mr. White and Peters are very similar to human in general. If I asked myself and another hundred people if they would wish one aspect of their life, the majority would. I think these literary writings are great pieces, because they show that even a little change in one’s life can change everything, so people should be glad with what they have. Also, I liked that although “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Third Wish” had completely different moods and endings, they both shed light on the ultimate lesson – be glad with what you have, because it can get much worse.
The story develops through the narration of one of the children in the family. His recollection of the days which lead to his father's absence brings a clear image of the family structure he knew when he was a child. The narrator describes his father as "dutiful, orderly," and "straightforward"(200). He is quick to point out, however, who has the final say in the household: "It was mother, not father, who ruled the house" (200). When the father decides to order a boat, made specifically for him, the mother "carriedon plenty about it" (200). When the boat arrives, the father says goodbye to all, and the children expect their mother to carry on about this, but her reaction is mixed. The effectiveness of her orders to her husband, "If you go away, stay away. Don't ever come back," is weakened as she bites her lip and turns very pale. Her authority is reduced further when her son follows his father to the river, feeling "bold and exhilarated" because he risks the wrath of his mother and wins (200). The child feels so vindicated by his rebellious actions that he asks to accompany his father in the boat. However, his father gestures to him to return, and r...
put on it by an old fakir. The story continues and then Mr.White and the
Similarly this could be seen as Willy’s first ‘wrong’ dream. First of all Willy started to chase this dream with everything he has but came out empty handed. He is terrible at selling things and is an unsuccessful salesman. He is put onto to straight commission because he isn’t selling anymore, eventually gets fired from his job, and had to lend money from his neighbor Charley in order to pay the debts he had. He is also not content with his job because he came home and a “word-sigh escapes his lips.., “Oh, boy, oh, boy.””[pg.8]. The word “sigh” infers that Willy came ...
father would not allow this. He didn't want his son to be a ‘trained monkey, on
Everyone feels sympathetic or compassionate for another sometime in their life. It’s compassion for another person that provides us hope for our own life. In the short story Thank You ma'am By Langston Hughes, the author uses dialogue, inner thinking, and character motivation to show Roger’s reasoning for trying to steal the pocketbook. Mrs. Luella Bates Washington Jones feels sympathy for Roger because she understands what it's like to be a kid, to crave something, especially if you can’t have it. In the story, Roger wanted so badly to own a pair of blue suede shoes, that he tried to commit a crime to do so. Ultimately, even though the woman feels anger towards Roger for trying to steal the pocketbook, she mostly feels compassionate because she understands.