The Monkey's Paw

588 Words3 Pages
The Monkeys Paw by W.W Jacobs and The Third Wish by Joan Aiken are both similar and different in many ways, but there is one thing about these two short stories that makes them comparable and that is the theme of three wishes. Each of these stories has differences either through the characters or through the message each story brings. But, these stories also share some of the same elements such as the theme of three wishes. Each of these stories has qualities that make them the same and qualities that are unique to the story alone. Wish both have characters that are unique to their story and define the course the story takes, though for each of these stories the characters take on different traits however some they share. In The Third Wish the main character, Mr. Peters, is a wiser man than The Whites who are the main characters of The Monkeys Paw. This is showed when Mr. Peters remembers that people who wish generally don’t become happy ,but in The Whites case the family was warned yet they wished anyway causing their son to die. The characters however are both greedy, for Mr. Peters demanded three wishes from the swan after he saved it. Mr. White took the paw out of the fire after he was warned solely for the three wishes the paw granted. These characters both determine the stories direction for example; The Whites wished for 200 pounds though their son dies because of it. If they had never wished for the money the story may have been very much different. Mr. Peters determines the path the story takes when he rescues the swan. If Mr. Peters had never done that or wished for a wife then the story may have never taken place. The characters in these stories take on different character traits whether they are the same or different, but they also play major roles in the story. Both of these stories tell entirely different messages to the reader, and the messages are
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