Writing Task
You have read “The Monkey’s Paw,” a short story about a family that is granted three wishes, but after receiving their wishes, suffer unexpected consequences. Write an essay identifying a theme and how it is developed over the course of the story. Be sure to use specific evidence to support your response.
Student Response
“I just want my son back.” This unforgettable line from the short story “The Monkey’s Paw” is written by W.W Jacobs where he tells the story of how the White family lost their son because of a wish upon a magical monkey’s paw. Jacobs describes how the White family was warned not to use the monkey’s paw or bad things would happen. The family figured nothing would, so they later faced the consequences of their son dying. The theme of the story “listen to others with experience” is developed over the course of the story.
At the beginning of the story, the author explains how the White family was informed that the monkey’s paw could have bad consequences. The author begins the story revealing that Sergeant-Major Morris came to see the White family, told them the story of the monkey’s paw, gave it to them, and discouraged them from using it. On page two the author describes, “Wishes are dangerous, said Morris, he looked afraid… “Better to let it burn.’” The White family thought Sergeant-Major Morris worried too much and didn’t listen to him about burning the monkey’s paw. They just thought if they made a simple wish no consequences would follow. Morris was a friend, not a stranger; the family should have believed him because he had the experience they did not.
By the end of the story, the White family was forced to deal with the death of their son and wished they had listened to Sergeant-Major Morris. The parents regretted their decision and Mrs. White wanted to reverse it. On page 7 the author wrote, “We can use the paw. Go and get it and we can wish for our boy to be alive again.” The Whites realized that they should have listened instead of just thinking that nothing would happen. When Mrs. White remembered that they still had two more wishes, she wanted to wish for their son to be back with them, but Mr. White knew it was a bad idea and didn’t want her to follow through with it. He had finally begun to realize they should have listened to Morris because he had experience with the monkey’s paw.
When one considers having three wishes and knowing that they come with consequences, it’s clear that someone should listen to others with experience. The White family didn’t believe that there were consequences to making a wish with the monkey’s paw. They did it anyway and there were bad consequences with the wishes that were made. They figured since it was a minor wish for money that nothing bad would happen, they should have listened when they were told they would face consequences.
Writing Details
To say my students were behind the 8-ball in writing skills this year would be an understatement. It is not all their fault. They’ve had some unfortunate luck. They missed an entire quarter because of the COVID-19 shutdown.
I’m sure they spent their whole Spring and Summer working on their writing because what student doesn’t do that.
With that being said, we have spent a lot of time in class working on improving their ability to respond to writing tasks.
To say that I’m proud would also be a huge understatement! This was a high-quality response by one of my 8th Grade 2020-2021 students. If you like this kind of content, you can follow me on Twitter or Instagram for other student examples, articles of the week, or blog posts.
