Fate, Chance And Foreshadowing Essay, Research Paper

The story “The Monkey’s Paw” shows how playing with fate can result in harmful doings. This book also has many examples of foreshadowing that the White family refused to recognize.

I personally believe that there is no plan set out for our lives, I think that whatever happens, happens, and there is no reason for its occurrence. I think that higher beings set choices for us along the way, but there is no right and no wrong decision. In this story I believe that the family did believe in fate but they refused to see what they were doing. Mr. White asked for 200, in return he lost his son in an accident and as compensation for the family, his sons company gave them 200. The family tried to receive the money but it obviously wasn’t supposed to happen that way. So their wish was granted, but they had to sacrifice something; their son. Whereas the father thought that it was fate that was suppose to take his son then and that their wish had not come true, because everything was supposed to happen that way.

Later on in the story, Mrs. White wants to use one of their wishes to bring back their son from the dead. So one night there was a knocking at the door, Mrs. White rushed to open it but for some reason Mr. White tried to hold her back. She broke free of him and rushed down to the door she tried to open the bolts but she couldn’t reach them. While she was struggling, Mr. White ran to the monkey’s paw to reverse the wish. I think that he reversed the wish because he realized that his son was not supposed to die, it was all because the humble, little family tried to change things. He might have thought that maybe his son would come back looking like a zombie considering that he had been crushed in a heavy-duty machine and he was also buried for a week. Mr. White, in my opinion, didn’t want his wife or himself to go through any more emotional pain and suffering. I believe that they still will because his wife will never forgive him for reversing the wish. She could not see the dangers that lay ahead. She could only see that her son was coming back to her.

In this story the family is told many things that could have saved them but they refused to acknowledge the foreseeing of the future that would drastically change their lives. Mr. Morris told the family of the last person who had the paw; his last wish was of death to himself. If the monkey’s paw was so wonderful then why would someone want to die after having all of their wishes and dreams come true. He also tried to throw the monkey’s paw into the fire. He wanted to destroy it so no one else would have to go through the torment of having the paw in their presence. The family refused to see how bad the monkey’s paw was. Mr. White even stopped the paw from burning to ashes by diving to catch it. In some ways I do not blame the family for being curious about the paw but the fact that they were warned so much about it and yet the continued to ignore that shows that the family was somewhat selfish. I feel that the family only wished for 200 to see if it actually worked, later on they would wish of long life or gold and riches.

In conclusion, I feel that there can be many interpretations of this story. I felt that foreshadowing and fate were the most important themes. I do not have the same believes about fate that the family did. They believed in fate and I don t. Them playing with fate had resulted in bad occurrence for them and they will always remember what happened. They may now realize the foreseeing that they so confidently overlooked. However nothing will compensate for their losses and grievances