The consequences of making a wish in Jacob’s “The Monkey Paw”. W.W. Jacobs is a British author, who is mostly known his macabre short story “The Monkey’s Paw”. Jacobs story is structured around a pattern of three, and is tapped into several associations that is common in Western culture. The most relevant to this story is the saying “bad luck comes in threes”. Jacobs uses the monkey’s paw as a symbol for desire and greed. The possessor of the paw has the power to wish for anything they desire in the world and are given the unrestricted ability to make that wish come true. The author also uses chess to symbolize life in the monkey’s paw. For those who play a risky game of chess, will lose, such as those who take unnecessary risks in life will
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Jacobs story, “The Monkey’s Paw contains an abundant amount of foreshadowing, such as the way the father plays chess. The father takes (“radical chances”) putting his (“king in peril”) so that his son loses to him in the game. These chances that he takes, show that the father is prepared to take any kind of risk, such as the mysterious monkey’s paw to grant three wishes. The descriptions of the paw that are given by the Sergeant-Major provided more examples of foreshadowing in the story, such as when he tells the family that the monkey’s paw (“has caused him enough mischief”). Another example that he uses is when the first owner of the paw had used his last wish for death. From hearing this, it is to be believed that the three wishes only cause misery and sorrow for whomever uses the monkey’s paw. One other element of foreshadowing is after Mr. White makes his first wish, he begins to shiver from seeing faces in the fire. After, making the first wish another element of forshadowing can be seen when Mr. White sees a mysterious looking man outside of their house, who seems to be indecisive and walks back forth three times, until finally knocking on the door. The man who is outside the house, is made to believe that something terrible has happen to their son. Jacobs uses foreshadowing the story to make the reader believe that the monkey’s paw may give the user their wish, but in return they lose someone who is
Jacobs story, “The Monkey’s Paw contains an abundant amount of foreshadowing, such as the way the father plays chess. The father takes (“radical chances”) putting his (“king in peril”) so that his son loses to him in the game. These chances that he takes, show that the father is prepared to take any kind of risk, such as the mysterious monkey’s paw to grant three wishes. The descriptions of the paw that are given by the Sergeant-Major provided more examples of foreshadowing in the story, such as when he tells the family that the monkey’s paw (“has caused him enough mischief”). Another example that he uses is when the first owner of the paw had used his last wish for death. From hearing this, it is to be believed that the three wishes only cause misery and sorrow for whomever uses the monkey’s paw. One other element of foreshadowing is after Mr. White makes his first wish, he begins to shiver from seeing faces in the fire. After, making the first wish another element of forshadowing can be seen when Mr. White sees a mysterious looking man outside of their house, who seems to be indecisive and walks back forth three times, until finally knocking on the door. The man who is outside the house, is made to believe that something terrible has happen to their son. Jacobs uses foreshadowing the story to make the reader believe that the monkey’s paw may give the user their wish, but in return they lose someone who is