How do greed and grief tear close relationships apart? In “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W Jacobs, the White family shows love and amazing experiences as well as Herbert’s mother's observations of the knock on the door and whether it is her son alive, dead, or not her son at all. Throughout a short story, “The Monkey’s Paw” shows a day in the life with the magic monkey paw, with a normal family like yours and mine. During the day, Herbert turns from dead to alive, the mother freaks out trying to follow a rat to help by running to the son, but the father who was playing chess with his lovely child Herbert, from pulling his wife away from her own son. The mystery “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W Jacobs shows how greed and grief, tears apart family and close relationships. The theme of magic first appears in the house of Mrs. and Mr. White. First, they were playing chess at a table, they found the monkey paw, the general said it was magic and told all of the tales of the monkey …show more content…
The first paragraph shows us how he relationship of the family is close by playing chess, they found the monkey paw and the White family got the monkey paw. In the second paragraph, it shows us how the monkey paw is magic and can grant any wish wanted and how much the mother and father wanted their son back right at that second. In the third paragraph, it shows how the son got caught in the machine, how much the father cared about the mother, and lastly how much greed and grief can tear apart family and close relationships. The reason this author included this theme in this short story is to show how much family should and could mean to you, the monkey paw can grant any three wishes and the mother and father used a wish on their lovely son, Herbert by wishing for him alive again, and then after he had died for the second time they wished for their lovely son alive
A Primate’s Memoir, written by Robert Sapolsky, documents the author’s time in Kenya while he studied the various behaviors of a troop of baboons. One of the key aspects of the book was the social rank that developed within the troop. Female baboons have a social hierarchy that is fairly cut and dry. The eldest baboons in the troop are considered the higher-ranking females, and as the baboons get younger, so to follows the string of dominance. The ranking for males was essentially from the strongest baboons to the weakest baboons. The baboon at the top of the social hierarchy was considered the alpha male. This social rank has huge implications for the troop in regards to which baboons mated with each other. If another baboon wanted to become the alpha male, then he would have to challenge the current alpha male to a fight, and win. The baboon’s distinct personality mixed with their instincts are the primary factors for where one lands on the social hierarchy. Another key aspect of the book was the strategies that took place when the baboons wanted to mate with another baboon. Similar to humans, the baboon males tried to impress the female baboons in a way that would make them want to mate. The rank of the male is considered to be one of the greatest factors contributing to what mate they end up with, because there is nothing more impressive than becoming a high-ranking baboon. Also, there were instances of lower-ranking baboons strategizing and forming teams with other baboons to become a higher ranking baboon for the mating possibilities. The baboons in the group are considered a patch-work of different troops, as it is common for one baboon to move to different groups frequently.
Ren’s story begins in St. Anthony’s Orphanage where he has no biological family. Ren is surrounded with the other young boys where he views Brom and Itchy as “his only friends” (Tinti 8). Ren’s one dream living at the orphanage is to one day be adopted and have a family. He knows that his chances are limited because of his lack of an arm. Once Benjamin comes into the orphanage and chooses Ren, he is surprised that he will finally have the family he’s been dreaming about. As Ren and Benjamin travel to a destination unknown by Ren, Benjamin paints a picture of Ren’s past. He tells him about their mother and father and how “they were murdered” (48). Ren believes that Benjamin is his brother and because his dream has come true it makes him vulnerable and willing to do whatever Benjamin wants him to do. Ren ends up helping Tom and Benjamin take dead, “fresh”, bodies from a cemetery to Doctor Milton “at night, to the door that leads to the basement” in exchange for money (134). After this scene, Ren’s morals begin to vary significantly from where he began. Tom, Benjamin, and other people he comes in contact with affect the way he views life and how he judges others. Ren becomes a different person because of his environment and his expectations in life change, making him an unhappy boy in the end. Hannah Tinti gives an analogy at the end of the novel comparing Ren’s search for a family to a game
The author tugs on the reader’s heart strings more than once through this story. At the very beginning of the piece the reader feels empathetic towards the wife when she explains how her husband was good to her and their children. She is trying to prove to the reader that her husband was a good being and that whatever happened to him was not deserved. The reader also feels empathetic when the children are described as becoming fearful of their father. The father tries to blame the fear in his children on sleep-walking, but the reader knows that the children are genuinely afraid. As the piece progresses, more than likely the reader is feeling concern for the husband just as the wife is. The truth behind the story is foreshadowed rather early in the piece, but it is hard to pick out until the piece has been read all the way through. The wife mentions that whatever is wrong with her husband must be running through his blood because he always acts strangely in “the dark of the moon”. This phrase may not make sense at first, however in the next sentence it states “he gets up because he can’t sleep and goes out into the glaring sun…” (Guin,1982, p. 28). This shows that the family sleeps during daylight hours which is not so for most human families. From this the reader can conclude that this story is not about a human family but rather a different kind of family. As previously discussed, the truth is revealed through Guin’s use of imagery on page 28. The family is actually a family of werewolves. This means that the transformation that is occurring in the husband is from werewolf to human. After the husband was killed the wife was left in shock. She says that “[she] went up close because [she] thought if the thing was dead the spell, the curse, must be done, and [her] husband could come back-alive, or even dead, if [she] could only see him, [her] true love in his true form.” (Guin,1982,
After this event, the reader can really see that deep down, the protagonist loves and cares for his father. As he hears his father enter the house babbling gibberish, he begins getting worried.
“In twentieth-century America the history of poverty begins with most working people living on the edge of destitution, periodically short of food, fuel, clothing, and shelter” (Poverty in 20th Century America). Poverty possesses the ability to completely degrade a person, as well as a family, but it can also make that person and family stronger. In The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair, a family of immigrants has to live in severe poverty in Packingtown, a suburb of Chicago. The poverty degrades the family numerous times, and even brings them close to death. Originally the family has each other to fall back on, but eventually members of the family must face numerous struggles on their own, including “hoboing it” and becoming a prostitute. The Jungle, a naturalistic novel by Upton Sinclair, reveals the detrimental effects that a life of poverty exerts on the familial relationships of immigrants in Chicago during the early 1900’s.
This story speaks of a married woman who fell in love with a man who was not her husband. She bore this man a child and realized that she could not live without him. In the event, she decides to leave her husband to be with the child’s father. However, there is only one problem and that is that she has two other children by her husband. She has a daughter who is 9 years old and is very mature for her age, and a darling son who is 5 years old. As she leaves to restart her life again with this other man, the 5 year old son is left behind to stay with his dad, and the little girl is tragically killed by a pack of wolves. The little boy is devastated by his mom’s decision to leave him behind. He is constantly haunted by dreams and images that come to his mind surrounding his mother’s...
The author shows how the feelings of each character affects the story. The sentiment of the father throughout the story is his selfishness. He doesn’t care much about other people
The “Monkey’s Paw” reveals an intriguing story of destiny and death. The Theme challenges the classical ideas of destiny and fate.
...The Monkey’s Paw”, is a rather dark story and leaves Mr. White and his wife heartbroken as they stare at an empty street, knowing they will never see their son again. “The Third Wish”, on the other hand, is rather peaceful, leaving Mr. Peters peacefully dead in his bed with a smile of great happiness on his face. Mr. White and Peters are very similar to human in general. If I asked myself and another hundred people if they would wish one aspect of their life, the majority would. I think these literary writings are great pieces, because they show that even a little change in one’s life can change everything, so people should be glad with what they have. Also, I liked that although “The Monkey’s Paw” and “The Third Wish” had completely different moods and endings, they both shed light on the ultimate lesson – be glad with what you have, because it can get much worse.
Mrs. Mallard, in the story, had heart trouble and was carefully let down when they had discovered her husband’s death. Chopin said, “She sat with her head thrown back upon the cushion of the chair, quite motionless, except when a sob came up into her throat and shook her, as a child who has cried itself to sleep continues to sob in its dreams” (307). Throughout the entire story the reader is lead to believe she is sad over her husband’s death; when in reality she feels free again and she cries tears of joy. The story continues to tell the reader about Mrs. Mallard’s grievance, “She knew that she would weep again when she saw the kind, tender hands folded in death; the face that had never looked save with love upon her, fixed and gray and dead. But she had saw beyond that bitter moment a long with love upon her fixed and gray and dead. But her absolutely” (Chopin 307). Mrs. Mallard looked forward to being free from her husband even though she loved him sometimes. She kept whispering, “free! Body and soul free!” (Chopin 308). As her sister thought she was weeping tears of sadness, Mrs. Mallard was happy. As Mrs. Mallard collected herself, she and her sister walked down to the bottom of the stairs together. The door began to open, it was her husband Brentley Mallard, and Mrs. Mallard passed away from “hear disease- of joy that kills” (Chopin 308). The situational irony in this story is Mrs. Mallard
The entire story was a symbol of Needy’s life. The setting in the story was symbolic to the way Needy was feeling. Needy’s life was diminishing right before his eyes, and he did not realize it. The different changes in the story represented how much Needy’s life had gradually changed over time. By reading the story the reader can tell that Needy was in a state of denial.
The fictional life and death of a twelve year old little boy named Robert is vividly articulated in this moving tale by Thomas Wolfe. The reader learns of the boy’s life through four well developed points of view. The reader’s first glimpse into Robert’s character is expressed through a third person narrative. This section takes place on a particularly important afternoon in the boy’s life. The second and third views are memories of the child, through the eyes of his mother and sister. His mother paints the picture of an extraordinary child whom she loved dearly and his sister illustrates the love that the boy had for others. Finally, an account from the narrator is given in the ending. It is in the last section of this work that the narrator attempts to regain his own memories of his lost brother.
The father’s character begins to develop with the boy’s memory of an outing to a nightclub to see the jazz legend, Thelonius Monk. This is the first sign of the father’s unreliability and how the boy’s first recollection of a visitation with him was a dissatisfaction to his mother. The second sign of the father’s lack of responsibility appears again when he wanted to keep taking the boy down the snowy slopes even though he was pushing the time constraints put on his visitation with his son. He knew he was supposed to have the boy back with his mother in time for Christmas Eve dinner. Instead, the father wanted to be adventurous with his son and keep taking him down the slopes for one last run. When that one last run turned into several more, the father realized he was now pushing the time limits of his visit. Even though he thought he was going to get him home, he was met with a highway patrol’s blockade of the now closed road that led home.
Greed is a sin of excess that every single human being has at least a little bit of. When someone has the opportunity to get as much of something as they possibly can, they will go to great lengths to get everything out of it. In the story “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W. W. Jacobs, the White family experiences a big test of greed, and they even tamper with their fate to get it. Before the Whites even knew about the paw, they were living a normal, but decent, lifestyle that got them by day-to-day without any troubles. Once they received this one idol in their life that could grant any three wishes that they could possibly think of, their mind set was altered and their greediness to change their fate kicked into play. Jacobs uses themes of greed, the danger of tampering with fate, and horror to portray the terrible events that happen to the Whites.
Mrs. Mallard’s repressed married life is a secret that she keeps to herself. She is not open and honest with her sister Josephine who has shown nothing but concern. This is clearly evident in the great care that her sister and husband’s friend Richard show to break the news of her husband’s tragic death as gently as they can. They think that she is so much in love with him that hearing the news of his death would aggravate her poor heart condition and lead to death. Little do they know that she did not love him dearly at all and in fact took the news in a very positive way, opening her arms to welcome a new life without her husband. This can be seen in the fact that when she storms into her room and her focus shifts drastically from that of her husband’s death to nature that is symbolic of new life and possibilities awaiting her. Her senses came to life; they come alive to the beauty in the nature. Her eyes could reach the vastness of the sky; she could smell the delicious breath of rain in the air; and ears became attentive to a song f...