Foreshadowing in The Monkey's Paw Essay Example

📌Category: Books
📌Words: 442
📌Pages: 2
📌Published: 10 April 2022

Have you ever heard of Nostradamus? He was a French astrologer who predicted future events, such as Hitler’s rise to power. The foreshadowing used by W.W. Jacobs in “A Monkey’s Paw” has the effect of being Nostradamus-like. The foreshadowing in “A Monkey’s Paw” predicts future events in the story. Authors use foreshadowing in stories to create suspense and tension throughout the story. W.W. Jacobs did exactly that. The foreshadowing used by W.W. Jacobs in “A Monkey’s Paw” creates suspense and tension as the story progresses. 

In “A Monkey’s Paw,” suspense and tension were created throughout the story because of foreshadowing. The quote, “ ‘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,’ ” foreshadows future events, in doing so, creating suspense, moreover, adding tension to the story. This quote creates suspense and tension by leaving the reader wondering what misery is to come. The reader does not know what will happen later in the story, other than that something bad is bound to happen, leaving the reader curious and in suspense. Therefore, it can be concluded, based on the feelings of the reader, that foreshadowing creates suspense and tension in the story.

The foreshadowing in “A Monkey’s Paw” creates suspense and tension. The foreshadowing in the story left the reader in suspense because the reader did not know exactly what sorrowful events were to come, but they knew something bad was going to happen. For example, in the text, it says, “In mental connection with the two hundred pounds, she noticed that the stranger was well dressed and wore a silk hat of glossy newness. Three times he paused at the gate, and then walked on again.” This reveals that the stranger is hesitant to enter the property and that he is connected to the two-hundred pounds. This foreshadows that he has terrible news to tell the Whites. It does not explicitly state what he has to tell the Whites, leaving the reader to wonder and feel tension and suspense as the story progresses. Based on the effects of foreshadowing, it can be concluded that suspense and tension were created.

There is suspense and tension in “A Monkey’s Paw” because of the foreshadowing. Throughout the story, there were various accounts when the reader felt that the story had become suspenseful and the tension rose due to the use of foreshadowing. The reader feels suspense as they wonder about future events and the clues they are given. While the building of tension and suspense is important to have in a story, it’s also important to know where it comes from, and in the case of “A Monkey's Paw,” it came from the use of foreshadowing. Most authors use foreshadowing to create suspense and tension throughout the story.

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