The short story “A Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs creates a single emotion of fear on the reader. This single emotion allows the story to be called a short story because it create a single emotional effect. This then shows that the story follows Edgar Allan Poe's definition of a short story; a brief prose narrative so constructed in plot, character, and setting as to create a single emotional effect. The plot of the story helps to develop this single emotional effect. A main example of this would be the climax of the story. The climax of the story is when the white family finds out that their son had been killed at work. “ ‘Is he hurt?’ Demanded the mother wildly. The visitor bowed in assent. ‘Badly hurt,’ he said quietly, ‘ but he is …show more content…
not in any pain’ “(Jacobs 6). This moment creates fear in the reader because they don't know what happened to him or why he died. It makes the reader question if the monkey's paw had anything to do with it. However, when the man from the company who came to give them the news told them that they would compensate the family for the services, Mrs. White asks how much and he says “ ‘Two hundred pounds’ ”(Jacobs 7). This again creates fear in the reader because it is clear this is an act of the monkey's paw because Mr. White wished for 200 pounds from it. Mrs.
White is a major component in helping to develop fear in the story. She was never very brave in any of the situations with the paw which would cause the reader not to be brave as well. For example, after Mr. White made his wish to the paw, “A fine crash from the piano greeted his words, interrupted by a shuddering cry from the old man. His wife and son ran toward him”(Jacobs 4). It can be seen here that she goes running to her husband when she is frightened, however he too, is scared. Also, her impatience may cause the reader to become impatient as well, causing them to be even more frightened in a frightening situation. For example, when the visitor from Herbert’s work comes to their house, Mrs. White says to him, “ ‘Is anything the matter?’ she asked breathlessly. ‘ Has anything happened to Herbert? What is it? What is it?’ “(Jacobs 6) The reader may not have even thought this visitor meant something happened to Herbert. Her jumping to conclusions and being nervous would instill fear in the reader because they too do not know what is going on. Also when her son is knocking on the door and she yells “ ‘WHAT'S THAT?’ “(Jacobs 9) Her fear would transfer to the …show more content…
reader. The setting is also a main factor in creating fear in the reader, The setting of the story is mainly dark, cold, and snowy winter nights.
“He sat alone in the darkness, gazing at the dying fire, and seeing faces in it”(Jacobs 5). The descriptive language Jacobs uses to tell the reader the setting also helps to create the single emotional effect. The words such as dying and darkness do not create a happy setting. The setting being in old times in many situations indirectly creates fear. The main reason for this being their lack of electricity. “The candle-end, which had burned below the rim of the china candlestick, was throwing pulsating shadows on the ceilings and walls, until with a flicker larger than the rest, it expired”(Jacobs 9). In this situation, the White’s are put in complete darkness when their mutilated son is at the door. This darkness and suspense would create even more fear in the
reader. Fear can be felt throughout the whole short story in the reader because of the mood W.W. Jacobs creates with his descriptive language. the plot, characters, and setting are also used by Jacobs to create this fear. Poe’s definition of a short story can clearly be seen in context in “A Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs.
Wilson, Kathleen, ed. Short Stories for Students: Presenting Analysis, Context and Criticism on Commonly Studied Short Stories. Vol 2. Michigan: Gale Research, 1997.
Another form of fear that is later introduced is the concept of the boys humanity slowly becoming strayed. In the novel there is a great amount of foreshadowing towards this topic. An example coul...
Last but not least, O’Connor confirms that even a short story is a multi-layer compound that on the surface may deter even the most enthusiastic reader, but when handled with more care, it conveys universal truths by means of straightforward or violent situations. She herself wished her message to appeal to the readers who, if careful enough, “(…)will come to see it as something more than an account of a family murdered on the way to Florida.”
She discusses both her reactions at the time to the atrocities and the lingering fear of the outdoors that still haunted her as an adult. By discussing the tragic incidents of racial prejudice from her past, White allows the reader to see the world from her perspective. She even draws comparisons between herself and her fellow faculty and students by showing how eager they were to explore the environment, while she was stuck in her cabin paralyzed by the fear of the wilderness. It is important to note that White doesn't fear nature itself but rather is terrified by the vulnerability she would have in the open rural areas. The main reason she brings up the two very brutal consequences of racial prejudice from her childhood is to show how in rural areas black people often become targets.
talks to his son. ‘Hark at the wind’, tells us that Mr White is very
Fear affects everyone's life no matter if it is fact or even fiction. When one is fearful of something, that person changes the way of living their life. In one of the first chapters of the book we see that the people of Umuofia are afraid to go outside during the night without moonlight. "Children were warned not to whistle at night for fear of evil spirits."(9) Once that moon, is up it seems that everything should be middling and the people of Umuofia fear of becoming snake dinner escapes their minds. Children have high pitched laughs. What if one of the kids during
Short stories are temporary portals to another world; there is a plethora of knowledge to learn from the scenario, and lies on top of that knowledge are simple morals. Langston Hughes writes in “Thank You Ma’m” the timeline of a single night in a slum neighborhood of an anonymous city. This “timeline” tells of the unfolding generosities that begin when a teenage boy fails an attempted robbery of Mrs. Jones. An annoyed bachelor on a British train listens to three children their aunt converse rather obnoxiously in Saki’s tale, “The Storyteller”. After a failed story attempt, the bachelor tries his hand at storytelling and gives a wonderfully satisfying, inappropriate story. These stories are laden with humor, but have, like all other stories, an underlying theme. Both themes of these stories are “implied,” and provide an excellent stage to compare and contrast a story on.
Pike, Gerald. “Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Short Fiction Writers.” Short Story Criticism. Ed. Thomas Votteler. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Research International Limited, 1990. 90. Print.
In Edgar Allan Poe's short story "The Tell-Tale Heart," the author combines vivid symbolism with subtle irony. Although the story runs only four pages, within those few pages many examples of symbolism and irony abound. In short, the symbolism and irony lead to an enormously improved story as compared to a story with the same plot but with these two elements missing.
Poe writes “The Tell Tale Heart” from the perspective of the murderer of the old man. When an author creates a situation where the central character tells his own account, the overall impact of the story is heightened. The narrator, in this story, adds to the overall effect of horror by continually stressing to the reader that he or she is not mad, and tries to convince us of that fact by how carefully this brutal crime was planned and executed. The point of view helps communicate that the theme is madness to the audience because from the beginning the narrator uses repetition, onomatopoeias, similes, hyperboles, metaphors and irony.
Harding, James. "The Monkey's Paw: Overview." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 20 Apr. 2011.
Edgar Allan Poe wrote that the single effect was the most important aspect of a short story, which everything must contribute to this effect. Poe’s gothic tale “The Black Cat” was written trying to achieve an effect of shocking insanity. In this first person narrative the narrator tells of his decline from sanity to madness, all because of an obsession with two (or possibly one) black cats. These ebony creatures finally drive him to take the life his wife, whose death he unsuccessfully tries to conceal.
A successful descriptive narrative displays the necessary information for a reader to explain or develop speculations within the material. Narrating the text of a story, told through one or more narrators, allows the audience to connect with the feelings of the narrator. A description includes imagery for the audience’s recognition. Furthermore, descriptive narratives have a purpose and are there for a reason. “Shooting an Elephant” and “The Lottery” are both descriptive narratives. Descriptive narratives show a clearer understanding of the passage; therefore, the stronger text is “Shooting an Elephant” because of its detail and the plot’s conflict.
Throughout “The Monkeys Paw” by W.W Jacobs he uses suspense in numerous ways to draw the reader to the story. One of his many suspenseful tactics was the simple fact that the monkeys paw contained three wishes. I do not think I could live in this period the weather was cold and desert roads seems kind of spooky. It reminds me of a dark and gloomy place of sadness. I think that W.W Jacobs’s point of view is his own, and his stories are a great way to see life in another way.
Short fiction stories are short stories that are not real. These stories are made up in the minds of the writers of the stories. Each story will have literary devices throughout it to enhance the story. These enhance literature because without them in the story, the reader would not be able to visualize the story and understand it as well as the author would like for the reader to. Strong short stories should have several literary devices throughout them to help the reader completely grasp what the writer is trying to unveil. Dynamic character makes the story in Anton Checkov’s story “The Bear.” The setting is important in Shirley Jackson’s “Lottery” and theme is important in Guy De Maupassant’s “The Necklace”.