The Monkeys Paw by WW Jacob The Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

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The Monkeys Paw by WW Jacob The Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Both of these stories have similar characteristics. They are memorable and well described. They are both original. Also locations are very isolated and mysterious. Each one keeps our interest up to the final twist. But there are some differences. The first and most clear is their genre. ”The Monkey’s Paw” is a horror type story, whereas “The Speckled Band” is a detective story. Other differences are the amount of locations within the story. “The Speckled Band” is set in many different locations some being the office and the Roylett house. On the other hand “The Monkey’s Paw” is only set in the family home. “The Monkey’s Paw” opens in a dark and gloomy setting. It becomes more mysterious when Mr. White bears a guilty grin, which makes us wonder what is going to happen. The mystery continues further when the Sergeant Major arrives and talks of wild scenes from distant parts, as he has served in the army in India for a long time and has picked up as strange talisman, which has been mummified called the monkeys paw. The monkeys paw is special because it can grant you wishes. Mr. White is very excited and wanted to know more of this mysterious talisman. The sergeant is trying to put Mr. White off, wanting to have the paw by saying, “the last man that use the paw used his last wish to be dead”. The sergeant eventually throws the paw on to the fire but so that it is easy to retrieve. Mr. White grabs the paw before it can burn. He makes his first wish and wishes for two – hundred pounds, which seems a safe sum. He sees an evil face in the fire and the monkeys paw moves as if it was alive. This begins to scare and concern him. When his son leaves for work in the morning he jokes about the wish and says to his parents that the money “might drop on his head from the sky” and “don’t break into the money before I get back”. This is ironic, as Herbert doesn’t return home as he dies at work due to the evilness of the wish. Around the time Herbert is due home from work, a man in a suit is outside the house that seems reluctant to enter it. Eventually when he does enter it is to break the news of Herbert’s death. The writer cleverly times this as he introduces a sense of tension into the plot when the amount of compensation is the exact sum

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