In this essay, I will be describing the similarities of the moods, main characters, and resolutions between two short stories, The Monkey’s Paw, and The Third Wish. The Monkey’s Paw, by W.W. Jacobs, is about a family who obtains a magical monkey’s paw that has been cursed. They use the wishes and each wish comes out with a consequence. In the Third Wish, by Joan Aiken, a man frees a swan in distress and the swan grants him three wishes. Each wish turns out with a consequence starting with his wish for a lovely wife. They both have struggles in each short story and I will be comparing them to each other.
The first point that I will be comparing is the mood in each story. In the Monkey’s Paw, the mood is very peculiar. It feels like a very heavy, depressing weight is upon the family. That weight feels like it is lifted at the end of the story when he wishing for his dead son to be back in the grave after wishing him alive again. It also starts to feel peaceful. It also has a magical feeling because of the monkey’s paw and the wishes. These moods also appear in the Third Wish. In the Third Wish, the mood is magical in the beginning because of the magical leaves and the lovely wife that came for him. But as the wife starts to become unhappy and sickly, the mood changes to a peculiar and depressing mood in the story. Towards the end, he lives happily with his wife as a swan and his wife’s sister. It feels peaceful at the very end when he dies with a smile on his face.
The Essay on The Monkeys Paw By W.W. Jacobs And The Third Wish By Joan Aiken
Wishes can be good, and wishes can be a huge disaster. The story of “The Monkeys Paw” by W.W. Jacobs and the story of “The Third Wish” by Joan Aiken tell us the effects of wishing for something and everything that comes afterwards. In the rising action of both stories they both have a lot in common. The main characters use their second wish to make their wife’s happy. The themes for both stories ...
The next point is comparing the main characters. In the Monkey’s Paw, the main character is Mr. White. He is an old man with a wife and son. He is curious about the monkey’s paw he obtains and wonders if it actually works. He wants something to make his life better even though he feels it is perfect. He wishes for money for his first wish. When he gets the news that his son is dead and he gets the same amount he wished for from the insurance, he realizes that each wish comes with a consequence. In the Third Wish, an old man named Mr. Peter’s wanted a wife and he gets three wishes for rescuing a swan. He wanted something in his life just like Mr. White wanted money. Mr. Peter’s also realizes that the wishes have consequences. Mr. Peter’s realizes this when his wife starts to get sick and wants to be changed back into a swan. These are similarities between Mr. White and Mr. Peters.
The last point is the similarities between each stories resolution. In the Monkey’s Paw, Mr. White has to use his last wish to wish his supposedly alive son back to the dead. In the end, they have gained nothing from the wishes. In the Third Wish, Mr. Peters uses his first wish to wish fir a wife as lovely as a forest and he used the second wish to change her back into a swan. He doesn’t use his last wish but even though he dies happily, he really hasn’t gained anything from the wishes either. These are similarities between each stories resolution.
So in conclusion, The Monkey’s Paw and The Third Wish are almost the same. In both stories they wanted a happy life, in both stories they undo their wish, in both stories somebody is unhappy after the first wish, and in both stories the theme is different. Wishing does not always bring a happy life.
