Be Careful What You Wish For
"All get what they want in the end. They do not always like it." (Excerpt from, The Magician's Nephew) A common motif in literature is the granting of three wishes, usually resulting negatively and putting the main character in a worse position than they started off in, usually causing them to regret the decisions they made in the first place. Two examples showing this common motif include “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W.W. Jacobs and “The Third Wish,” by Joan Aiken. The two short stories share similar themes that both teach a valuable lesson; be careful what you wish for. Mood is the atmosphere of a story; the emotions of a piece of literature. The two stories “The Monkey’s Paw,” and “The Third Wish,” display …show more content…
The characters between the two stories, similar to the mood, are both very different. In, “The Monkey’s Paw,” the main characters Mr. & Mrs. Morris use their first wish for their own benefit, and give themselves 200 pounds. This implies they have a very greedy personality, and immediately decide to use their wish on themselves. “I wish for two hundred pounds,” said the old man distinctly. A fine crash from the piano greeted the words, interrupted by a shuddering cry from the old man.” (pg. 91) In “The Third Wish,” the main character is Mr. Peters, an old man who wishes for a beautiful wife. He later discovers his wife, Leita, used to be a swan and was turned into a human to satisfy Mr. Peters wish. To make Leita happy again, Mr. Peters uses his second wish on turning her back into a swan. This implies Mr. Peters has a very generous and giving personality, very much different from Mr. & Mrs. White. “Then he knew that it was hopeless and she would never be happy as a human. He stooped down and kissed her goodbye, then took another leaf from his notecase, blew it out the window, and used up his second wish.” (pg.
"All get what they want in the end. They do not always like it." (Excerpt from, The Magician's Nephew) A common motif in literature is the granting of three wishes, usually resulting negatively and putting the main character in a worse position than they started off in, usually causing them to regret the decisions they made in the first place. Two examples showing this common motif include “The Monkey’s Paw,” by W.W. Jacobs and “The Third Wish,” by Joan Aiken. The two short stories share similar themes that both teach a valuable lesson; be careful what you wish for. Mood is the atmosphere of a story; the emotions of a piece of literature. The two stories “The Monkey’s Paw,” and “The Third Wish,” display …show more content…
The characters between the two stories, similar to the mood, are both very different. In, “The Monkey’s Paw,” the main characters Mr. & Mrs. Morris use their first wish for their own benefit, and give themselves 200 pounds. This implies they have a very greedy personality, and immediately decide to use their wish on themselves. “I wish for two hundred pounds,” said the old man distinctly. A fine crash from the piano greeted the words, interrupted by a shuddering cry from the old man.” (pg. 91) In “The Third Wish,” the main character is Mr. Peters, an old man who wishes for a beautiful wife. He later discovers his wife, Leita, used to be a swan and was turned into a human to satisfy Mr. Peters wish. To make Leita happy again, Mr. Peters uses his second wish on turning her back into a swan. This implies Mr. Peters has a very generous and giving personality, very much different from Mr. & Mrs. White. “Then he knew that it was hopeless and she would never be happy as a human. He stooped down and kissed her goodbye, then took another leaf from his notecase, blew it out the window, and used up his second wish.” (pg.