We all want to believe in Something...

Magic is something EVERYONE wants to believe in but they know that it’s certainly untrue. The thought of having something happen to you that resembles the superstitious questioning of a bizarre curse makes many readers uncomfortably adjust in their chair. Would you, if you could, bring back someone who is dead with this one wish that could be granted? “The Monkey’s Paw”, a short story by W.W. Jacobs, contains a man who stops this wish to come true for his own son, why you may ask? The way the author makes the readers ask these intriguing questions is just another way to set up the possibilities of new symbols. Traveling off the page, the questions give you hints with every symbol imaginable to try to give you the aspect that love and family are the closest thing to magic.

The soft paw looks dead and hoveringly lifeless in Morris’s hard hand as he gives it to the old man. Thinking of the curse that is embedded in this small hand of the monkey is unrealistic and hard to believe. Warnings are repeated hysterically not to use the paw itself for the symbol of it was about to unravel.
“If you don’t want it Morris,” said the old man, “give it to me.”
“I won’t,” said his friend doggedly. “I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don’t blame me for what happens. Pitch it on the fire again, like a sensible man.”
The other shook his head and examined his new possession closely. “How do you do it?” he inquired.
“Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud,” said the sergeant major, “but I warn you of the consequences.” Because of this small conversation, the symbols of the words and actions of each person represent fright and hesitation from the paw. Shaking his head, the old man inquires that he doesn’t care about what might happen for he thinks it is all fake. The small words of, “Don’t blame me for what happens” also gives a new look on what might lead to the future of this old man’s son Herbert because of the tiny symbols that W.W. has laid out cautiously throughout the story of this tale.

You can learn a lot about a person just by what he or she is wearing. A light blue sundress shines the words HAPPY and FREEDOM. A dark black pair of baggy pants embedded with shiny jewels formed in the shape of skulls tells the viewer TOUGH or SCARY. When seeing a man in this book “well dressed (with) a silk hat of glossy newness” automatically the symbols fly out to greet you with the words BUISNESS and IMPORTANT. Jacobs describes this person as anxious because of his pacing back and forth before the house of Herbert’s parents that afternoon he was at work. Finally with the horrible, devastating news that the man eventually gives, the wish of Herbert’s came true… but with a deadly cost. Noticing, just by what the man was wearing and how he was acting, Jacob’s gave an insight on what might be lurking around the corner that sends this short story into a untamable twist.

The stiff bolt represents safety. Safety from the outside world of danger. Safety from harassment that gives you privacy. Safety from having your son come back to life so your wife is happy? This is a different question filled with unexpected ways to absorb and understand why someone would go against having someone come back alive. The bolt for the lock on the door not only represents safety, but somewhat shows that maybe you’re a coward. The old man in this story has some type of regret about taking the monkey’s paw from his friend. He has some type of regret that maybe if he didn’t have let his son make that wish, he would still be alive. Knowing this guilt that this man has, adds effect on which shows that the fright of taking another chance to wish for him to come back. The lock on the door symbolizes fright which asks “Why would I want to wish for something again that once turned out horribly wrong?” Jacobs’ shows strong symbolism in this story and a weird, uncharismatic ending so readers can ask strong questions and figure out this story for themselves.

You can never replace the ones you love. You can never wish for something so amazing and endearing and have something that means so much to you, replace it . The hardship of what this old man is going through is hard to understand in this story, “The Monkey’s Paw”. Many believe that it was not only interesting, but a refreshing repetition to show that what you really wished for was love. The 200 pounds of cash would have never bought out his life. Jacobs shows why everyone wants to believe in love and family…. Because it is the closest thing we have to magic.