The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs and The Black Veil by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens was one of the most popular writers in the history of
literature. He is most famous for his enormous collection of short
stories, which contains 'The Black Veil', this was a reflection of his
childhood and his observations of the world around him. W.W. Jacobs is
a lesser-known author; he had a fascination with sinister and horrific
themes, like many filmmakers today. His most famous short story is
'The Monkey's Paw'. Both author's stories were written pre-19th
Century. The atmosphere, when the stories were being read, was made
more mysterious and frightening because the century they were living
in held public hangings. Death surrounded them everyday; this made the
stories seem more real.
Both stories begin by setting the scene; they produce contradiction
between a threatening and cold world outside to a harmonious and warm
inside, like a shell protecting those within. Hostile environments are
displayed in both tales, 'The Monkey's Paw' is set on a 'cold and wet'
night in an isolated house, in the White family's road, only two
houses of which are occupied. The White family seems more vulnerable
within their living room, where a 'cosy' fire is 'burning brightly,'
this conveys a warm and happy family in an isolated and depressing
area. The setting of the doctor's surgery in 'The Black Veil' is like
that of the White's house, outside the surgery is 'wet and cold' but
is then contrasted by the security and warmth of 'the little parlour'
with it's 'cheerful fire'. The weather outside is described in an
onomatopoeic fashion, as the wind 'rumbles' in the ...
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... climatic end to the story. A 'perfect
fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house,' at this moment
the creaking of the bolt is heard and 'his third and last wish' is
granted. The knocking ceases suddenly and 'the street lamp flickering
opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road,' the suspense is lost and
the reader is left wondering and to an extent in a state of disbelief.
In conclusion, both stories achieve a sense of mystery, suspense and
foreboding. However, I think ' The Monkey's Paw' is more effective
because it achieves all three requirements to a superb level. 'The
Black Veil' isn't as successful and the ending is poor compared to the
dramatic suspense of W.W Jacob's story. More foreboding and suspense
is created around the paw whereas only a certain amount of mystery and
secrecy is made by the veil.
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
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Thomas Hobbs and John Locke have two very opposing viewpoints on human nature. Locke believes that human nature is innately good; Hobbs thinks that human nature knows right from wrong, but is naturally evil and that no man is entirely “good”. Nathaniel Hawthorne, author of the classic novel The Scarlet Letter, believes that every man is innately good and Hawthorne shows that everyone has a natural good side by Hester’s complex character, Chillingworth’s actions and Dimmesdale’s selfless personality.
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Normally when most people think of vampires, they envision a deathly, pale creature with fangs. But Thomas Foster seems to think differently, who argues that it is not necessary for a vampire to embody a stereotypical vampire. Surprisingly enough, even humans can be these types of monsters. From Foster 's perspective, being a vampire not only includes an individual 's aesthetics, but also their actions, personality, intent, and overall representation of personal identity. The classic novel, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, presents an excellent example of this occurrence, where the character Roger Chillingworth meets the criteria of a vampiric figure, based on Thomas Foster 's ideas of vampirism, found in his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
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