The Monkey's Death Research Paper

The monkey's paw was not the real cause of Herbert's death. His death was caused by machinery. But before I get into that, lets talk about superstition/magic. Believing in magic can then lead to obsession, which then can lead to psychosis. The text states in the New York Times, "At its worst, it can lead to obsession, fatalism, and psychosis." Symptoms of psychosis include confusion, hallucinations, and paranoia according to the Mayo Clinic. Most people would say that Herbert's death did occur from the monkey's paw, this is because a coincidence like this is impossible. They would also say he disappeared when the father made his third wish. If you factor in psychosis and grief, you can have crazy hallucinations. The mother could have been so overcome with grief,

that she could have thought she was hearing a knock. According to John M.

Grohol, a major in psychology, a symptom of grief can be hallucinations of that loved one. Now to the coincidence point, a crazy coincidence throughout history is that of the death of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. Both men were key in American history, and they both died hours apart of each other on July 4th, 1826. If that is not a coincidence enough, that was the 50th anniversary of American Independence. If a coincidence like this happened, who is to say another coincidence did not happen when Mr. White received 200 pounds in compensation. Let's say if I were to make a wish upon a star, and wake up and win the lottery. Is the star the one that made that happen, or is it I am very lucky and that is a coincidence. Most likely it is that of a lucky coincidence, but it all depends on what you believe in. Destiny and fate say you can't change them, but if I were to decide to drop out of school, that means I changed the course of my life. I am not saying I do not believe in a higher power, but I believe you can change your life. If you do something harmless, why would you die from that. The fact of the matter is Herbert died because of machinery not because of the monkey's

paw. Mr. White may have thought received the money from the monkey's paw, but either way Herbert would have died. Imagine if the monkey's paw wasn't even in the picture. Herbert still dies, and the family still receives compensation. The 200 pounds happens to be the coincidence. The text states in the story, "'Morris said the things happened so naturally' said his father, 'that you might if you so wished to attribute it to coincidence.'" This shows even in the story it states it will show up with coincidence. It talks about not magic in this part of the story. This is why Herbert's death was caused by machinery not the monkey's paw.