Fate: the development of events beyond a person’s control, regarded as determined by a supernatural force. Fate has ultimate control of the future, and it should not be interfered with. All characters in stories must learn this lesson. Throughout W.W. Jacobs’ short story, “The Monkey’s Paw”, foreshadowing and symbolism are used to exemplify the theme of interfering with fate leads to sorrow and misfortune. Foreshadowing is often used in “The Monkey’s Paw”, and is used to display the theme of the story. The Whites’ troubles all began with their first wish. Herbert, the Whites’ son, suggests that they wish for two hundred pounds to pay off their house. Mr. White does just that, and when the money does not appear, Herbert exclaims, “‘Well, I don’t see the …show more content…
money,’ said his son, as he picked it up and placed it on the table, ‘and I bet I never shall’” (Jacobs 5).
Herbert says he will never see the money, and his exclamation is foreshadowing his death and how the Whites’ first wish will be granted. The company Herbert works for is providing compensation for his services, at the precise amount of two hundred pounds. Although their first wish was granted, there came an unintended consequence, which ultimately led to the sorrow of Mr. and Mrs. White. The foreshadowing used in Jacobs’ short story illustrates the theme of interfering with fate leads to sorrow and misfortune. There are particular objects in “The Monkey’s Paw” that are symbolic and are used to reveal the theme. The importance of the monkey’s paw is brought up throughout the entirety of the story. The paw represents how fate controls people’s lives, and how interfering with it leads to the sorrow of those who did. “‘The first man had his three wishes, yes,’ was the reply. ‘I don’t know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That’s how I got the paw’” (Jacobs 3). Although a wish may appear to be something simple, the consequences are difficult, and the sorrow and grief as
a result of the consequences are much more difficult to bear. The monkey’s paw symbolizes the sorrow and misfortune it brings upon those who wish, and those who interfere with fate. Not only is the monkey’s paw significant, but the faces in the dying fire are as well. These faces symbolize Herbert’s death and the consequences of conflicting with fate. After Mr. White makes his first wish for two hundred pounds, and he and Mrs. White go up to bed, Herbert sits downstairs in the parlor, gazing into the fire. “He saw faces in it. The last face was so horrible and so simian that he gazed at it in amazement. It became so clear that, with a nervous laugh, he felt on the table for a glass containing some water to throw over it. His hand found the monkey’s paw, and with a little shiver, he wiped his hand on his coat and went up to bed” (Jacobs 6). The simian face in the fire is symbolic, in that it reveals that the Whites’ wish will be granted, but not in the way they intended. The faces in the fire are, somewhat, sending a message to Herbert and telling him that there will be consequences. Herbert becomes unnerved and uneasy after he sees the simian face in the fire, and he realizes that he and his family should have listened to the sergeant major, who gave them the paw and warned them of the outcome. Throughout “The Monkey’s Paw”, symbolism is used to exemplify the theme. Both foreshadowing and symbolism are used in “The Monkey’s Paw”, to illustrate the theme of interfering with fate leads to sorrow and misfortune. Many important lessons can be learned from reading W.W. Jacobs’ short story. One lesson is that fate should not be interfered with, and that it is beyond the control of a single person. Another is big things come in small packages. But most importantly, be careful what you wish for.
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."
In the story The Monkey's Paw the foreshadowing creates tension and suspense because during the story there was so many things going on and you didn't know what was going to happen next. I say this because in the Monkey's Paw the author writes He raised his hand. "I wish my son alive again." This quote explains foreshadowing by suspense because when he wishes for his son to be alive again it gives the audience suspense if he is going to actually be alive again or if it's not going to come true and they are going to be disappointed.
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
In the book, The Pearl, by John Steinbeck, and the short story “The Monkey's Paw” by W.W. Jacobs, both authors would agree that in these stories, if you intervene with your destiny/fate, a bad outcome is sure to happen.In The Pearl, Kino finds the pearl of the world. Kino wants to sell the pearl, in return for money, but the pearl ends up bringing the opposite of prosperity and brings bad fortune. Also, In “The Monkey's Paw”, Mr.White also wishes for money, but as he is warned, terrible things come when u interrupt with your fate.
These symbols of fate further show how fate is in control of people’s lives. In The Monkey’s Paw, the paw itself is a symbol of fate created by a spiritual man “to show that fate ruled people’s lives, and that those who tried to change it would be sorry. He put a spell on it so that three different men could each have three wishes from it” (Jacobs). The paw serves to punish the three men who wish upon it. When Herbert wishes for money it comes in the form of compensation for the death of his son. In “The Interlopers”, the wolves symbolize fate because even when the men have come to a peace with one another they think that they are safe but the wolves come before their men. The parallels between the wolves and fate show how the men are not in control, and that the men are powerless to save each other. Finally in The Book Thief, Zusak puts emphasis on the significance of books. These books can be taken as a symbol of fate because the books have already been written and are not subject to change. The motif of a book’s story is paralleled in the book of Liesel’s life in which it had been written before the story ever started.
Just like a genie, right? Wrong. Thesewishes come with an outstanding price. The story proves that interfering with fate can have a disastrous outcome. “The Monkey’s Paw” uses literary devices to create a story filled with both suspense and horror..
“A good story, whether it is true, made-up, or somewhere in between, reveals some truth about human experiences through its characters.” The main character in “The Monkey’s Paw” is Mr. White. He could be described as protective and caring due to his love towards his family. He is also curious, because he wants to have the magical monkey’s paw, despite the warnings given to him by Sergeant Major Morris. From the beginning, all Mr. White wants is to pay off his house mortgage. Also a man, the main character in “The Third Wish” is Mr. Peters. Mr. Peters, on the contrary to Mr. White, is a lonely man who desperately wants a companion. He is granted a wife as beautiful as the forest, Leita, for rescuing the forests king. Mr. Peters shows selflessness and kindness to Leita, when he wishes her back to swan form so she may be happy with her swan sister again.
In short, there are multiple similarities and differences in the characters, plot, and resolution in the short story and motion picture “The Monkey’s Paw” that clearly influence the audience. For instance, the difference in characters affects the mood. Similarities in the plot influence the tone, and the corresponding resolutions impact the theme. The director of the motion picture “The Monkey’s Paw” chose to stick to some aspects of the text as well as change some for numerous reasons, some of which include keeping the audience's attention, sustaining the author's tone in the text, and ensuring that the readers and viewers receive the same message.
will be price to pay for the wish and then the manager of "Maw and
"The Monkey" is a short story written by Isak Dinesen. The story was published in 1934. "The Monkey" is a form of gothic sublime. In this story, I encountered many elements that related to magical realism as well as the sublime.
The Signifying Monkey is an embodiment of the poor man’s values and dreams: He is weak and only has his speaking skills (slang ‘mouthpiece’) to survive on, and he uses it to play the powers of the jungle against one another. The same way a pimp survives on his ‘mouthpiece’ by using fast talk, sweet talk, jive, and jaw-blockin’.
At the bottom of the rung, rests the monkey who is lower than all of the other characters in the painting both socially and evolutionarily. He is like the serfs on a feudal manner who are expected to do the bidding of their master and unable to leave. The monkey’s lack of clothing and ignorance thereof also contributes to his subordination, thereby making him less powerful than humans. The lack of clothing is similar to the condition of Adam and Eve before they ate the apple. Their eating the apple allowed them to realize their nakedness, thus elevating them to an unignorant state. His contentment towards this disposition further exemplifies the blissful nature of his ignorance.
The “Monkey’s Paw” reveals an intriguing story of destiny and death. The Theme challenges the classical ideas of destiny and fate.
Primates have long been understood to have a distinct connection with other animals of its kind, perhaps one of the reasons why their behavior has been most often than not closely related to how humans interact in social groups. However, between different emerging species, it could be analyzed how competition becomes a vital part of the connection they share between each other. This is the reason why it was easier to preserve species of different kinds of primates even within the same locations of habitat. Cross-breeding was not that common among primates due to being highly territorial in nature. Male primates often direct their groups specifically having a distinct distance from other types of other primates. This is why preserving intact social groups among monkeys have been a distinct characteristic of the animal, giving them a greater chance of propagating and preserving their own groups surviving within a specific habitat. When instances of environmental imbalance occurs, primates often move as groups, hence bringing their whole clan and community along with them as they follow their leaders find viable locations to become their new home.
Primates are considered to be one of the most interesting mammals on earth to study due to their numerous similarities with humans and their complexities in life. Today we look at primates as our closest relatives, meaning that observations and research will not only give us information about non-human primates, but human primates as well. There were many primates to choose from, though I decided to observe two types of primates, the Western Lowland Gorilla, and the Tufted Capuchin Monkey. Both species of primates were observed at the San Diego Zoo. With my research, I will collect data from my observations, give background information from credible sources, and explain the interactions I encountered while observing the two different primates. Before attempting to understand ourselves and other species as primates, it is important to understand that scientific research is the basis for determining our origins as primates, understanding certain species of primates, and why we consider primates to be our closest ancestor.