Power of a wish
What if people had items that could grant everybody their wishes? There could be dangerous and serious impacts on wishes made. When people hear about granting wishes, they think that just because one has positive intentions, their wishes will result in more happiness and improve their lives. Be careful what you wish for, lest it comes true is a quote made by W.W. Jacobs in his book Monkey Paws. The quote is used to show the consequences of greed and ambition in Mr. White's family. Mr. White is the main character in Jacob's book, who lives with his wife Mrs. White, and their son Herbert. Sergeant Major Morris gives the family a paw that is capable of granting wishes. Morris talks about the paw's magical power, and throws it into the fire. Mr. White takes Morris's story as a joke, but retrieves the paw. Second, Mr. Whites greed makes him pay Morris for the paw. The Whites did not believe in the paw, but curiosity leads them into to making wishes. This paper will examine the consequences of greed in Monkey Paws and wishes in real life.
The first wish that Mr. White makes is to attain 200 pounds. Herbert comes up with the suggestion because he knows the amount is enough to pay their house's mortgage (Kirk 12). Mr. White thinks that if the wish is granted, his problems will be over. However, the consequences of the wish are if they attain the money, their son would have done. Herbert is involved in a machinery accident at his workplace and does not survive. The company offers to give 200 pounds to Herbert's family as compensation for his death. Evidently, while making the money wish, Mr. Whites thought he was solving his problems, but a bigger and painful problem emerged.
The next paw wishes result from the first wish. Herbert's death left Mrs. White traumatized and she could not get over the death of her son. Herbert's mother realizes that there are two more wishes to make, and she pressurizes her husband to bring their son back. She pushes her husband until he gives in to her demands. According to the story, "He raised his hand. ‘I wish my son alive again.' (Jacobs et al 32). The wish did not happen immediately and Mr. White is relieved. However, some hours later, there is a knock at the door. Mr. White does not believe that their son would come back as a normal person, but a corpse. Consequently, Mr. White warns his wife against opening the door, however, she does not listen.
The third wish occurs when Mrs. White is struggling to open the door for her son. She gets a chair in order to reach the door’s bolt that is too high. On the other hand, Mr. White is busy looking for the paw, to make whatever is knocking at the door disappear. As soon as Mrs. White managed to reach for the bolt, that Mr. White makes his wish. The knock suddenly stops, but echoes are still heard (Jacobs et al 39). Finally, Mrs. Whites manage to open the door, but sees no one. Mr. White accepts his son's death and wishes for him to remain dead. As a result, they live a sad life without their only son.
Personally, if I'm granted three wishes, I would focus on the thing that is naturally significant. First, my main dream has always been for the world to be the most peaceful place. The number of conflicts between countries has tremendously increased. The world experience racism and tribal wars which results in loss of lives, destruction of properties, and increased hatred amongst the involved parties (Reardon 16). A wish for world peace means that the world should be a global village where people exchange resources and share development ideas. Also, people should eliminate racism in society in order to reduce the tension between different races. When the world today promotes peace, generations to come will emulate and the world will be a better place.
Second, I would wish for equal educational opportunities for every child in the world. Education is the key to success in many parts of the world, and lack of education results in increased poverty. Illiterate people see violence as the only way to solve conflicts, and third distracts the world's peace (Reardon 20). Also, education for both genders would promote gender equality where women are given equal opportunities as men. Additionally, education involves sharing of information amongst countries which promote world peace and cooperation.
Finally, I would wish for a permanent cure for cancer. Cancer is a monstrous disease which has continued to take peoples' lives over the years. Statistics show cancer as the second leading cause of death in the world (Siegel et al 25). Research about cancer is very costly, which lead to a country's financial constraints. An end to cancer would doctors time to focus on curing other non-communicable diseases. Also, many families would live happily knowing that their family members would not succumb to deaths caused by cancer.
In conclusion, it is important to be cautious about the thing one wishes for in life. Some people make wishes based on greed and ambitions, which results in negative consequences. Mr. White thought he was making the best wishes, but due to his greed, he ended up losing his son. In real life, people make wishes consciously and unconsciously. The power of our thought can either build or destroy us. Therefore, people should have positive thought and make wishes that are beneficial to others.
Works Cited
Jacobs, William Wymark, and Gary Hoppenstand. The Monkey's Paw and Other Tales. Chicago
Review Press, 2005.
Kirk, Robin. The monkey's paw: new chronicles from Peru. Univ of Massachusetts Press, 1997.
Reardon, Betty A. Comprehensive peace education: Educating for global responsibility.
Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, 1988.
Siegel, Rebecca, Deepa Naishadham, and Ahmedin Jemal. "Cancer statistics, 2013." CA: a
cancer journal for clinicians63.1 (2013): 11-30.
