Life Lessons in The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs and The Third Wish by J

Life Lessons in â€Å"The Monkey’s Paw† by W.W. Jacobs and â€Å"The Third Wish† by Joan Aiken What would a typical person do if they had three wishes and knew that there would be a price that they would have to pay in order for them to fulfill their wishes? This is the question that overcomes the main characters, Mr. White and Mr. Peters, in the stories â€Å"The Monkey’s Paw† by W.W. Jacobs and â€Å"The Third Wish† by Joan Aiken. In these two stories, two men were allowed to create three wishes each and had consequences that followed, therefore, they learned a valuable lesson about life. The men in the two stories were distinct in their own ways, one being very greedy and the other very cautious. In â€Å"The Monkey’s Paw,† our main character was Mr. White. He was very discerning. When he is first introduce in â€Å"The Monkey Paw,† he asks many question and is very curious (page 88-89). Mr. White is also very greedy. He was not content with hat he had, and he then, out of all the wishes in the world, asked for 200 pounds for his own conveniences (page 91). On the other hand, the main character of â€Å"The Third Wish† is Mr. Peters. Mr. Peters is a kind-hearted, cautious man. The reader can tell that those are his traits for number of reasons. First of all, the reader can tell that Mr. Peters is compassionate because of his reaction towards a swan trying to extricate itself from a branch. He quickly rushes over and tries to free the bird (page 101-102). Another reason why the reader knows that Mr. Peters is kind is because they see how h e wants his wife to be happy more than himself. This clearly shows how â€Å"warm his heart† is (page 104-105). The reader can also learn that Mr. Peters is cautious by observing the way he thinks about his three wishes. Ever... ... original was created (page 106). The last clue given was when people ask Mr. Peters to just find another wife. Mr. Peters replies in favor of Leita and says he will always be faithful to her (page 107). This suggests the true love between the two and the loyalty they share between each other. Mr. White and Mr. Peters both were eligible to wish for three things and, therefore, they encountered some consequences. Due to their experiences, the reader learns a valuable lesson about life. All in all, these two stories were very interesting. They way the authors set the mood of the stories based on character traits, wishes, consequences, and theme was very intelligent and well-though-out. Both stories had great themes that helped a reader understand the story and life better. I thought â€Å"The Monkey’s Paw,† and â€Å"The Third Wish,† were both marvelous pieces of literature.