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Tension and Suspense in Monkey's Paw
The writer is able to create tension and suspense through various
ways. In the opening sentence of the story we are given a brief
description of the surrounding area. In gothic stories, they are
usually set in a remote and isolated area, as in the ‘Monkey’s Paw’ it
is set in a remote village were there is only 2 houses inhabited.
‘Without, the night was cold and wet’ sets the scene of the story. A
gloomy background has been given to set the atmosphere. This weather
is similar to the feelings of the main characters. This technique used
is called pathetic fallacy, when the weather resembles a persons
feeling.
From the beginning, we can see that there is unease between the White
family, and tension, that is demonstrated through the way Mr White
talks to his son. ‘Hark at the wind’, tells us that Mr White is very
impatient with his son and we can sense that he is almost intimidated
by his son. Both the setting and the characters are described in
negative terms, portraying the image that there is something strange
about the family. ‘Knowing glance between mother and son’ suggests
that Mr White is not as connected to the family as the mother and son.
Another way in which suspense and tension is created is through with
holding information. When Sergeant- Major Morris enters, we are not
given much information about why he is there or for what purpose. All
that we do know is that he is a friend of Mr White. The adjectives
used to describe the sergeant are also negative. ‘Beady of eye and
rubicund of visage’ both give an image of someone who seems drunk or
is on the edge. We get the feeling that he has drinking problem or is
very violent. This helps increase the level of tension as we have no
idea as to how this man will act.
Suspense is created when the sergeant is reluctant to tell the Whites
about what he has in his hand.
the name of a poisonous plant. This is quite scary as the home of the
In Terry Kay’s novel, To Dance With The White Dog, the main character Sam Peek befriends a snow white dog. The dog, affectionately called White Dog by Sam, helps to save Sam’s life many times. She is spoken of throughout the book by Sam’s children as well as by Sam in his journal entries. The main question throughout the book asks if White Dog is in fact real or is she just an illusion? There are strong facts all through the book that support White Dog’s realistic nature.
person. The story is more emotive if in first person, as it is as if
At first, Walter starts as a man who does not have many traits and characteristics that a leader in the family should has. He feels frustrated of the fact that his mother can potentially support his sister, Beneatha, in her education career. Walter complains and feels depressed about his current life when he has many aspects that not many African men had during his time. Walter has a happy family, a loving wife, and an acceptable occupation. Unfortunately, Walter wants more in his life, and he feels hopeless and depressed when something does not go in his ways. Walter starts to change when he experiences and learns Willis’s betrayal, his father’s hard work, his son’s dream of becoming a bus driver, and his mother’s explanation about the Africans’ pride. Through many difficulties, Walter becomes the man of the family, and he learns the importance of accepting and living a happy life with his family. Like Walter, many African men had to overcome the challenges and obstacles. They had to face and endure through racism. These two ideas often led to many tragic and depressed incidents such as unequal opportunities, inequality treatments, segregation, and
As an innocent child Wright sees no difference between the blacks and the whites. Yet he is aware of the existence of a difference. " My grandmother who was as "white" as any "white" person, had never looked "white" to me.
...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.
The “Monkey’s Paw” reveals an intriguing story of destiny and death. The Theme challenges the classical ideas of destiny and fate.
put on it by an old fakir. The story continues and then Mr.White and the
The short stories ´´The Monkey's Paw´´ by W.W. Jacob and ¨The Third Wish¨ by Joan Aiken, both have similarities and differences. Some similarities are fiction, involved death and makes the main character think about consequences. They both have a third point of view. The themes for both stories is” You don't realize how much you love something until you lose it”. The loss of a loved one is one of the hardest things to deal with in life. In the “The Third Wish” it say “ This is my sister” she answered” and I can't bear to be without her. The Wife of Mr.Peters missed her sister a lot ,and couldnt live without her at all. In the “Monkey’s Paw” when Hubert, their son died and trying to bring him back to life.
In White, Richard Dyer discusses whiteness and the imagery it plays that unfairly privileges and paves a path of success for its European possessors, while blinding them to this fact in order to avoid feelings of guilt, because “other people are raced, we are just people.” While recognizing his own privileges as a white man in society and the normalcy his successes are characterized as, he only begins to become conscious to this as he became aware to the oppressions he faces as a gay man. He recognizes his hesitance towards centralizing around whiteness with this book, as society already does, but does so to “dislodge it from centrality and authority.” Dyer also struggles with choosing terminology to reference these discussed whites and feels
Have you ever wanted to make an important wish? One you’ve always wished to make. You thought it would change you, your life, your personality, your friendships into the perfect life. You’ve always wished for it, but didn’t think of the consequences behind that wish, consequences you can’t take back or repay. In “Monkey’s Paw “by W.W. Jacobs Mr. White makes a wish, not thinking of the horrible consequences that would follow, from that one wish. There are several reasons show how and why Herbert White to me was responsible for his own death. “Well wish for two hundred pounds, then that’ll just do. “said Herbert. Mr. White had nothing to wish for therefore Herbert decided to tell his father what to wish for. Herbert sat gazing at the fire alone
The two families were just some of those that really cared although all had different stand points and views they stuck to their beliefs and ended with more love for each other in the end than they ever started with. In the white family there was the conservative ex-marine father who loved his children dearly but wanted them to be well behaved and often was hard on them. The mother was more liberal housewife who stood up for her and her children’s opinions to her husband. The oldest son Brian was a football star in high school and later goes on to join the marines and fight in Vietnam. The middle child Michael was very liberal active anti war student who marched with the blacks in the Birmingham. The youngest Katie was a young 16 year old who loved to party and have a good time. The black family was a family of good hearts and lots of hope.
The stories of Joyce Carol Oates "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" and William W. Jacobs "The Monkey's Paw" have several different degrees of symbols and themes that warn the characters of emitted danger or bad outcomes in their stories that can be mirrored of each other. In, these stories the characters do not follow the warnings from these symbols and themes from the clues that are presented to them. From these terrible choices that are decided, they find themselves in situations that could have been avoided, but they did not proceed with. My analysis of these symbols and themes will demonstrate what they are and show the obvious of what to look for. So, let us begin on this analysis and see how the symbols and themes could have
This creates the image of just how ashamed she is of her heritage, she associates the ivory color of the soap with pureness and believes that once the soap is in her system it will purify her from all the wrong she believes is in her body. The title of the poem is also an important choice of diction “White Lies” are seen as small lies that don’t really matter, but as the poem ends it is shown just how these small lies have turned into a very negative part of her life and have affected what she truly believes about herself. The message of this poem is about how all types of lies can affect your life. White lies are seen as harmless but as time goes on and they keep being told over and over again they began to be believed as the
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.