Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe

966 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Edgar Allan Poe writing

Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe In this essay, I will be answering all the aspects of the question above, with my views and beliefs. I will then finish with a conclusion, stating who has created more suspense than the other through their stories. The monkeys paw is set in a typical horror story setting, an isolated, lonely place with no one around. The story is based around a talisman given to a family which can allegedly grant wishes. This of course has consequences, and it leaves the family who received the paw heart broken. The black cat is about a man who through various courses of action ends up killing a black cat that he cherished. The cat then comes back to haunt and distress him. Both stories are Gothic horror stories that build up suspense and tensions in different ways. The setting that is established in 'The Monkey's Paw,' is typical of the genre. A lonely house on a lonely street, no one else around. There is not a lot of civilisation around. If something were to happen, the family involved will have no where to run or anyone to call for help. In the mind of the reader, a scary place is created. We the readers, start to expect something to do with ghosts or phantoms. We know that later on, something will happen. Darkness, the candles lit loneliness all lead to the build up of tension. In the black cat, we are not quite sure from where the writer is telling, but it appears to be a prison. The house that is used sounds like a fairly normal detached house. In terms of suspense and tension, the location used in 'The Monkey's Paw' is more of what a reader would suspect for a horror st... ... middle of paper ... ...cter of horror stories. This adds a unique point to the story that makes us the reader want to read on. The common thing between the two stories is that they have both left us wondering what would probably happen next. We would read sequels if they existed, to clear up any questions, and that's why it builds up suspense. W.W Jacobs uses short, frantic sentences to build suspense and tension. Edgar Allen Poe uses long-winded sentences to build suspense with not a great deal of detail. I personally feel that both stories don't pack the suspense needed to scare us nowadays. But out of the two, I would have to say that Edgar Allen Poe is probably the closer of the two to scare us nowadays. We have seen too many zombie related films, but the twists and differences in the Black Cat probably make's it feel the better story.

Show More
Related

  • Edgar Allan Poe And Ray Bradbury Compare And Contrast

    412 Words  | 1 Pages

    You can use a compare and contrast format to figure out the similarities and differences between these two classic American authors. Edgar Allan Poe, born Jan 19 1809, was better at writing suspenseful stories, usually with a twist at the end. In the story, “The Pit and the Pendulum”, Poe describes an unnamed narrator telling the story of a man who was put in prison, drugged, and sentenced to death by a very sharp scythe like pendulum, but when the man sees food and rats he puts the food on the strap that is holding him down and then the rats chew through the strap, releasing the man and giving him another chance of life.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe's The Cask of Amontillado and Joy C. Oates' Where Are You Going Where Have You Been

    935 Words  | 2 Pages

    People who are unaware of their situations and don’t question anything are easily lured in by their foes who use their weaknesses to cause their downfall. The main character in “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”, is drawn in from her need to rebel against her family, only to find herself in an unfortunate situation she could not control. In Edgar Allen Poe’s, “The Cask of Amontillado”, the main character lures his foe in for revenge, choosing to murder him in secret instead using legal channels and giving no evidence to the outside world that his foe is dead. Arnold Friend and Montresor lure their victims to them in a similar way: by pretending to be friendly and succeeding in leading to their down fall by using their weaknesses (men for Connie and wine for Fortunato) against them.

    Read More

  • Miss Polly Baker Analysis

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allen Poe was known for his annoyance of allegories, his literary works and his alcoholism.” (Elbert) Poe writes that Hawthorne has "high imaginations gleam from every page” but needs to develop more in his writing. (Elbert)

    Read More

  • Comparison: "the Jade Peony", "horses Of The Night", Masque Of The Red

    492 Words  | 1 Pages

    Allen Poe. I enjoyed this story mainly because like i said it was easy to read

    Read More

  • Night by Elie Wiesel and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

    1726 Words  | 4 Pages

    The chaos and destruction that the Nazi’s are causing are not changing the lives of only Jews, but also the lives of citizens in other countries. Between Night by Elie Wiesel and The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, comradeship, faith, strength, and people of visions are crucial to the survival of principle characters. Ironically, in both stories there is a foreseen future, that both seemed to be ignored.

    Read More

  • Dolan's Cadillac, by Stephen King and The Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allen Poe

    748 Words  | 2 Pages

    "For the love of God", is a saying usually used when something goes wrong. However when writers Stephen King and Edga Allen Poe use it in their stories, the meaning going from that of exasperation, to something more along the lines of vengeance, success and finite. That is because when King and Poe use it, the protagonists in their stories have just finish burying their respective victims, leaving them to die of suffocation, dehydration or any number of horrible aliments. King's story is "Dolans Cadilac", a tragic tale of a man taking revenge on his wife's murderer. While Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" is a sinister tale of a man exacting his revenge on his friend for insulting him, though the reader never learns what the friend did to deserve such a grizzly fate.Overall both are interesting in a twisted sort of way and have unique characteristics so they are great stories, one writer is clearly better than the other, Stephen King. Though nobody can deny than Edgar Allen Poe is a good writer. "The Cask of Amontillado" does boasts a sense of darkness "Its walls had been lined with human remains" and madness "I reechoed (his screams) and surpassed in volume". Yet it lacks the emotional color-wheel of "Dolan's Cadilac" which displays sorrow "'She was in pieces' I croaked 'I loved her and she was in pieces''" and that causes the reader to feel sorry for Robinson. On the other hand when crazy and sinister side of Robinson "'Whos there?' 'Me' I said 'But I'm not the help you need Dolan " so this forces the reader to feel either pity for Dolan or a sick sense of gratification because Robinson's plan is working. Thus from sorrow to sinister to a sense of calm when the story ends with Robinson saying"". The emotional rol...

    Read More

  • Black Like Me, by John Howard Griffin and To Kill A Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee

    1621 Words  | 4 Pages

    In Black Like Me, author John Howard Griffin’s uses his real life account of his experience of temporarily transforming himself into a black man for six long and intense weeks to experience black oppression first hand. In To Kill a Mockingbird, author Harper Lee uses the point of view of Scout Finch, to learn about her father Atticus Finch, an attorney who hopelessly strives to prove the innocence of a black man that was unjustly accused of rape in the southern United States in the 1930s. Black Like Me and To Kill a Mockingbird shows that prejudice originates from ignorance or a person’s unwillingness to understand others. Both Novels present the idea that the only way to bring equality and empathy in society is through courage, knowledge and compassion.

    Read More

  • To A Mouse, by Robert Burns and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    2011 Two Different Mice and Two Different Men To the average reader, “To a Mouse” by Robert Burns and Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck may initially look very similar, but after carefully critiquing and comparing their abundance of differences, their opinion will change. Steinbeck found his inspiration for writing the novel after reading that poem. His novel is set in Salinas, CA during the 1900s and is about migrant farm workers while the poem is about the guilt felt by one man after he inadvertently ruins the “home” of a field mouse with his plow. Even though they are two different genres of literature, they share a similar intent. The poem is written in first person, while the novel is written in third person.

    Read More

  • Words to Describe Edgar Allen Poe

    1678 Words  | 4 Pages

    Even though a good number of critics despise Edgar Allen Poe with a passion, almost all who read his creations gave him credit for being a genius. He was the first to write a detective story and tales that dealt with split personality or divided consciousness way before the matter was well known by the common people. He managed to capture the imagination of the public by exploring the mysterious psychological world of the individual -- madness, despair, pain, inner chaos, etc. His works, which lack a sense of right or wrong, had great influence upon some types of popular fiction, with a detective story on the lead. Ranging from French symbolists, like Rimbrad and Mallarme, to American writers, such as Bierce, Melville, and Faulkner, were influenced by Poe's writings. He even inspired well-known Philosophers like Frederick Nietzsche and George Bernard Shaw. Just to mention a few, gothic architecture, psychological abnormalities, hidden...

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, And Edgar Allan Poe

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    They are the ones that with their unique styles managed to impress people from their society, and more importantly, continued to influence writers many years later. Although some of their works are considered a little out of tone with their time, perhaps controversial, one cannot deny that they are outstanding pieces of work because of their topic and theme. From satire to fiction, Washington Irving created a reputation for being the first American to transcend in America and England. Hawthorne used the events in his life as a source of inspiration, and better yet, his perspective of society and mankind, helped him write great novels Finally Edgard Allan Poe, a man with a troubled soul, managed to write entrancing works full of mystery, crime, and gothic themes. All three men were successful writers and no doubt their works will keep being an inspiration for many more

    Read More

  • Night by Elie Wiesel and A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

    2148 Words  | 5 Pages

    The autobiography Night by Elie Wiesel contains similarities to A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway. These works are similar through the struggles that the main characters must face. The main characters, Elie Wiesel and Lieutenant Frederic Henry, both face complete alterations of personality. The struggles of life make a person stronger, yet significantly altering identity to the point where it no longer exists. This identity can be lost through extreme devotion, new experience, and immense tragedy.

    Read More

  • The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

    532 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the American literary movement known as Transcendentalism, many Americans began to looking deeper into positive side of religion and philosophy in their writing. However, one group of people, known as the Dark Romantics, strayed away from the positive beliefs of Transcendentalism and emphasized their writings on guilt and sin. The most well-known of these writers is Edgar Allan Poe. Poe was a dark romantic writer during this era, renown for his short stories and poems concerning misery and macabre. His most famous poem is “The Raven”, which follows a man who is grieving over his lost love, Lenore. In this poem, through the usage of tonal shift and progression of the narrator’s state of mind, Poe explores the idea that those who grieve will fall.

    Read More

  • Edgar Allan Poe's Impact on American Literature

    1370 Words  | 3 Pages

    Edgar Allan Poe is one of the most influential writers of the horror genre in American history. His horror stories have impacted numerous authors and their stories over the years. Various people have tried to copy his way of writing style, but they have failed to achieve the success he did. Even though Poe is no longer living, his impact on American literature can still be felt today.

    Read More

  • The Raven and The Haunted Palace by Edgar Allan Poe

    1479 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,” (“The Raven” 1). “The Raven” arguably one of the most famous poems by Edgar Allan Poe, is a narrative about a depressed man longing for his lost love. Confronted by a talking raven, the man slowly loses his sanity. “The Haunted Palace” a ballad by Poe is a brilliant and skillfully crafted metaphor that compares a palace to a human skull and mind. A palace of opulence slowly turns into a dilapidated ruin. This deterioration is symbolic of insanity and death. In true Poe style, both “The Raven” and “The Haunted Palace” are of the gothic/dark romanticism genre. These poems highlight sadness, death, and loss. As to be expected, an analysis of the poems reveals differences and parallels. An example of this is Poe’s use of poetic devices within each poem. Although different in structure, setting, and symbolism these two poems show striking similarities in tone and theme.

    Read More

  • The Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    American Author, Edgar Allan Poe, wrote short stories that were completely different than any of the other stories you would hear during the nineteenth century. They did in fact though, have a great impact on people’s lives. Poe’s stories were mysterious, dark and sinister. People credit Poe with the invention of Science Fiction and Mystery genres. Poe had an impact on not only American Literature, but also on many writers through the years and even singers today. Those are some reasons why Poe should and is included in a school’s curriculum.

    Read More

More about Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe

Open Document