Perseverance In 'Monkeys Pocket And The Monkey's Paw'

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Perseverance: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. There are two sides to such a way of work, the positive, and the negative. Some people tend to become obsessed with accomplishing a goal, bringing out the negative side of perseverance. “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket” and “The Monkey’s Paw” show the negative side of perseverance, causing obsession and disaster. To start, “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket” is an exceptional example of how perseverance can lead to disaster. The story tells about a man who is willing to risk his life over taking time to repeat the process of collecting the data he needs. Tom Benecke, the character followed in this story, has collected data for spring displays at his workplace. Knowing it’d only take two month to gather the data once more, he’d rather risk his life going on to ledge of his building outside his window to retrieve the important paper that had flown out the window. Tom made the realization, “The work could be duplicated. But it …show more content…

This story shows how a family that supposedly has everything they could want or need, takes advantage of a magic item. Little do they know, for every wish made with “The Monkey’s Paw” there is a consequence. Early in the story, Mr. White wishes for two-hundred pounds. The next day after his son has gotten to his job, a man comes with the two-hundred pounds that had been wished for. Mrs. White then interjects, “‘has anything happened to Herbert?’… ‘He has been caught in the machinery’” (30). In the wishing for the money, their sons’ life had been taken in exchange for the compensation. Mr. White was unaware of the consequences of wishing, although having been warned. This tragic event later causes conflict between Mr. White and his wife. Thus, proving that over persevering will have

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