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Bad decisions can adversely affect our lives
Implications of making wrong choices
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Think about the worst personal choice you have ever made. It is likely that your worst personal choice has affected you more than your best. From the selections I have read in the first quarter, it is evident that personal choices can lead to devastating results. In three examples, The Landlady, a story by Ronald Dahl, The Monkey’s Paw, a short story by W.W Jacobs, and Escaping Peril, a novel by Tui. T Sutherland, the main characters made bad choices, which led to severe consequences, and in some cases, death. In the first example, The Landlady, Billy is a 17-year old boy looking for a place to stay in a new city. He initially wanted to go to the Bell & Dragon, but he instead went to a Bed & Breakfast that caught his eye. The landlady’s place was riddled with suspicious objects, yet Billy chose to stay anyway. As a result, he was poisoned. There were numerous warnings from the beginning, and Billy could choose to exit at any time. At first, the nightly cost was inexpensive, which flashed warnings that the price may be too good to be true. Afterward, the sign-in sheet was nearly empty - all the guests who previously attended never returned. In fact, Billy knew that the names on the sign-in sheets were connected to a news article, but chose to ignore them anyway. If Billy chose not to come to the Bed and Breakfast, he would not …show more content…
He warns Mr. White not to take the paw, as there will be severe consequences, and attempts to burn it. However, Mr. White ignores his precaution and takes the paw. He then makes a wish for two-hundred pounds. To his dismay, the wish comes true - with a catch. Mr. and Mrs. White’s son, Herbert, dies in machinery. The company Herbert works in, Maw and Meggins, gives them a financial compensation of two hundred pounds. The Whites were aware of the consequences, but they chose to the paw anyway - which led to their Son’s
Your fate is not based upon anyone’s actions other than your own. Both Wes Moore’s experienced a circumstance in which they required a second chance. The decision of how to use that second chance is the vital part to succeeding, for the difficult part learning how to “distinguish between second chances and last chances” (Moore 67). Wes— The author— was given a second chance after joining military school. Although it was originally an unfortunate turn of events, Wes quickly learned the opportunities that surrounded him were to fade rapidly if he did not improve his way of life. This experience is an example of how a single person can set themselves up for success or failure based upon their individual
Bed and Breakfast, Bed and Breakfast, Bed and Breakfast. The Landlady by Roald Dahl begins with a man looking for a place to stay when a sign catches his eye. The Bed and Breakfast sign is one of the many clues that hint at what is going to occur later in the story.
In the story, Mr. White wishes that he could have 200 pounds from the Monkey's Paw. In the text it states, “I wish for two hundred pounds," said the old man distinctly…."He was caught in the machinery… Mr. White dropped his wife's hand, and rising to his feet, gazed with a look of horror at his visitor. His dry lips shaped the words, "How much?" "Two hundred pounds," was the answer.”(“The Monkey’s Paw”). This piece of evidence leaves the reader in suspense because the reader doesn’t know how much destruction the paw is going to cause in the future. The White family is suddenly given the 200 pounds for their son's death which is never expected. The reader doesn’t know what might happen in the future and could be even more devastating for the family. Furthermore in the “Monkey's Paw,” the reader infers Mrs. White wished for Herbert to come back from the dead but did not realize the possibilities of the outcomes. Moreover, Jacobs develops suspense by incorporating cliffhanger to the story. In the text, it states “The knocking ceased suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair drawn back and the door opened. A cold wind rushed up the staircase, and a long loud wail of disappointment and misery from his wife gave him courage to run down to her side, and then to the gate beyond. The street lamp flickering
Everyone has grown up in an environment that has shaped who they are as a person. Poverty-stricken areas shape a person's identity and how they value certain things in life. Sandra Cisneros's character Esperanza is shaped through her struggles with poverty and identity. The novella tells a story how hardships and penury have affected Esperanza as a person and how she yearns for the need of liberation from her poor life on Mango Street. Cisneros's novella The House on Mango Street has taught me that identity is shaped through a person's environment.
In the stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart”, “Lamb to the Slaughter”, and “The Landlady” there are creepy murders that killed people. The murders all had different ways of committing the crime, from planning it for weeks or to just a sudden outburst of passion that caused it. Even though all of the murderers were very vicious and frightening, the landlady was the most vicious because of how she knew the man was coming and had everything set up for the victim. The three murderers are Mary Maloney from “Lamb to the Slaughter”, the mad man narrator from “The Tell-Tale Heart”, and the landlady from “The Landlady”.
An important lesson the author tries to get across is trust. Billy puts his trust in the landlady when he barely knows her and trust is something to be developed over time. This trust is unexpected as the landlady does not present to be a normal person. One example of this is “Now, the fact that his landlady appeared
In both stories each main character is granted three wishes, but later pays a price. Mr. White’s first wish is for two hundred pounds so he can pay off the mortgage. However, he receives the two hundred pounds as c...
The fear of the unknown is what forces us to check under our beds, and in our closets. It keeps us from going for our dreams and experiencing new things, but in other cases it intrigues people even more.“He had never stayed in any boarding houses, and to be perfectly honest, he was a tiny bit frightened of them.” (Dahl 1.) In “Fear of the Unknown: How Can I Overcome it?” Mark Perry states,”The idea is to ensure you mind that there are no unwanted thoughts troubling you.” Billy puts this method to use, by coming to the conclusion that staying at the Bed and Breakfast after trying to decide between other two places, would be the most convenient. Although he ignores what he stated before describing a Bed and Breakfast as a “Rapaciast Landlandy, watery cabbage and powerful smell of kippers in the living room.” Billy disregards and rather tries to see the best of what the hotel has to ofter. As the book continues, the use of the fear of the unknown is used more, and more. An eerie sense gets stronger when Billy is told about the past 2 years of absolutely no service, the Landlady’s pets, and her need for him to stay with her. Why does she want this? Why does she embalm her pets? And why has there not been a guest in 3
It is clear that the author, Roald Dahl, utilizes a variety of literary devices in order to create an element of suspense in the text, “The Landlady.” An example of this would be Dahl’s use of foreshadowing in the text. The Landlady states in the text, “But my dear boy, he never left. He’s still here. Mr. Temple is also here. They’re on the fourth floor, both of them together” (Dahl 5). It is evident how this would contribute to the component of suspense for the reader. The use of foreshadowing throughout “The Landlady” is meant to hint towards Billy’s impending doom, and thus would compel readers to anticipate Billy’s fate, creating suspense. Foreshadowing contributes a great deal to the dark humor/mysterious aspect of Dahl’s style of writing.
The short story conveys the theme of the consequences of greed. The danger of wishing reveals consequences of desire and greed. Hebert dies because of the third wish Mr. White makes. Mrs. White wants to wish him back to life but then he soon regrets his wish. Mrs. White then realizes the danger of her wish. The monkeys paw had brought unhappiness at times and lead to even more desires for more wishes. As Sergeant Morris said “but I warn you of the consequences”, (Jacobs.2) already warning them once. Mr. White was concerned that the monkeys paw could be fake in some way. The monkeys paw had a downfall of wishing when the people wished for more than they needed. The characters should remain careful for what they have. The characters become greedy and desire so many things. The monkeys paw becomes intriguing to un...
he gibes them 200 pounds. The consequence of Mr. Whites first wish is the main
"Thank God for that! Thank—" She broke off suddenly as the sinister meaning of the assurance dawned upon her and she saw the awful confirmation of her fears in the other's averted face.” After the visitor told Mr and Mrs.White about herbert dying their wish came true because according to the text it says "I was to say that 'Maw and Meggins' disclaim all responsibility," continued the other. "They admit no liability at all, but in consideration of your son's services, they wish to present you with a certain sum as compensation." Mr. White dropped his wife's hand, and rising to his feet, gazed with a look of horror at his visitor. His dry lips shaped the words, "How much?" "Two hundred pounds," was the answer.” That piece of text was in section two of the monkey’s paw. The similarity for the film and story were that their was a consequence for the wish and in the example the first wish’s consequence was
Billy picked his own path to his death. He should have foreseen that this bed and breakfast was not a good idea because it doesn't matter how comfortable and warm the place is, it shouldn't feel like home because home will always be home and it cannot be duplicated. For example, when Billy and the landlady were talking about Mr. Temple and Mr. Mulholland is dead, she mentions “‘But my dear boy, he never left. He's still here. Mr. Temple is also here. They're on the third floor, both of them together.’” this shows that she has both of the guys and they are dead because she has killed and stuffed them to be kept forever. Obsession has completely controlled her mind into not seeing that these beautiful creatures are humans too, just like her and she does not have the right to take their lives for her infatuated obsession over beauty. In the story the landlady indicated that Billy looked familiar to Mr. Temple and Mr. Mulholland. When Billy said his age was seventeen, the landlady said, “‘Oh, it's a perfect age! Mr. Mulholland was also seventeen. But I think he was a trifle shorter than you are, in fact, I'm sure he was, and his teeth weren't quite so white, you have the most beautiful teeth, did you know that?’” in this, she finds Billy looking similar and same age as Mr. Mulholland but she found Billy's teeth better from Mr. Mulholland. There was more and more
Mr. White dropped his wife's hand, and rising to his feet, gazed with a look of horror at his visitor. His dry lips shaped the words, "How much?" Two hundred pounds," was the answer. " If the Whites hadn't tried to test fate, they wouldn't have used the paw. When the find out the compensation for their son's death a realization came over them, the paw did it.
In the play A Doll House, by Henrik Ibsen, Nora and Torvald’s marriage seems to have been torn apart by Krogstad’s extortion plot, but in reality their marriage would have ended even without the events in the play. Torvald’s obsession with his public appearance will eventually cause him to break the marriage. Nora’s need for an identity will ultimately cause her to leave Torvald even without Krogstad’s plot. Lastly the amount of deception and dishonesty between Torvald and Nora would have resulted in the same conclusion sooner or later. In this essay I will argue that Nora and Torvald’s relationship would have ended even without Krogstad’s extortion plot.