“The Fat Man” and “The Monkey’s Paw” Upon reading the two short stories, “The Fat Man” and ‘The Monkey’s Paw”, I have found many differences and few similarities. With the stories both being from the same genre, horror, I thought they would have more in common. Turns out, different subgenres really do make a difference. “The Fat Man” fits very well in the weird tales subgenre, while “The Monkey’s Paw” fits more into the gothic subgenre. Both very different subgenres. In the short story “The Fat Man”, the features of the horror genre and the weird tales subgenre are very much there.
The strange aspects of the story include: the oath on a dead cat, the Fat Man singing from the pit of his stomach, and his collection of marionettes. His collection of marionettes (being actual human beings) turned out to qualify for both genres. The prominent feature of the horror genre would be how the Fat Man’s halfmoon tattoo turns out to be the mouth to a terrifying carnivore. The Fat Man seems like a lonely, innocent man at first, until Harold and Joe found out his secret. Being both in the horror genre and the gothic subgenre, “The Monkey’s Paw” shows “classic” horror, and heavy emphasis on the supernatural.
The gothic subgenre is really emphasized as the story is opened on a dark and stormy night. In this short story, the supernatural seems to be the Monkey’s Paw that grants you three wishes, which leads to the death of Herbert White. The death of Mr. and Mrs. White’s son led to a drastic transformation, from the happy, loving White family, to the family who live among death and misery. This transformation was very noticeable with the help of the change in tone and character’s emotions.
The settings in the two stories are contrastive; “The Monkey’s Paw” being very dark and gloomy, while “The Fat Man” starts off pleasant and warm, then taking a turn for the worse into a cramped house with no electricity. In “The Monkey’s Paw”, you can sense that something dreadful could occur at any moment; while in “The Fat Man”, you don’t get that feeling till you’re more towards the end of the story. The plots are on separate ends also, not relating in any ways. “The Monkey’s Paw” is based around a supernatural, mummified monkey’s paw that wreaks havoc on the White Family and leaves the reader with the moral: be careful what you wish for and to live a more fulfilling life.
Flip the page and you have “The Fat Man”, a story in which the plot is very strange and leaves the reader with curiosity. Both stories share a moral in a way, don’t tempt fate. The characters in “The Fat Man” include: Harold, Joe, and the Fat Man. Looking through the lens of the horror genre, the Fat Man has a pronounced position in this story. Being the strange character he is, the weird tales subgenre is the perfect spot for him. Like the story says, “And everyone wondered about the Fat Man. “; his character has a blend of curiosity, mad-man, and innocence to it.
At first glance he seemed innocent, later to find out, he was actually crazy. On the other hand, Joe and Harold’s characters were just investigative, wanting to know more about the Fat Man. Examining the characters in “The Monkey’s Paw”, I found all five of them had a definite stance in the story. The three main characters all go through dramatic alterations. Herbert White (the son of Mr. and Mrs. White) went from a gentle, happy, and devoted young man into a monster due to his incident with machinery.
Mr. and Mrs. White’s transformations were far less dramatic but still effective. Mrs. White goes from an intelligent, collected woman into a frenzied, shrill, weeper. Mr. White is in distress as he reviews the death of his son and his decision to wish on the paw in the first place. He goes from a humorous, light-hearted character to a distraught, ashamed man. Both Mr. and Mrs. White seem to feel trapped internally from the tragic accident. Sergeant-Major Morris is a mysterious and possibly corrupt figure. He warns Mr. White of the consequences of the monkey’s paw and even tries to burn it.
Mr. White then grabs the paw from the fire and is instructed by Sergeant-Major Morris on how to make a wish. The representative’s job was to inform the Whites of the death of their son. He stresses that he is not showing any of his own feelings, just following orders, and gives Mr. and Mrs. White two hundred pounds from Maw and Meggins. The conflict in “The Fat Man” is between the Fat Man and Joe and Harold. Joe and Harold enter the Fat Man’s house with curiosity about the Fat Man. They end up stumbling upon his marionettes of people they know.
The Fat Man then chases Joe and Harold, kills Joe and most likely Harold. In “The Monkey’s Paw”, the conflict resides internally between Mr. and Mrs. White and themselves. The grief from Mr. White’s wish killing his son, really bothers him. He tries to rid his sins by wishing what’s left of his son away after he has wished him back. Mrs. White is devastated by her son’s death and goes as far as having her husband wish her mangled son back to life. Her transformation is an upsetting change and makes her crazy. “The Fat Man” has a theme that somewhat goes along with it’s moral: don’t tempt fate.
Joe and Harold tempted their fate by going into the household of a man they didn’t know the cance of. Going into a stranger’s house is not smart in the first place, let alone the Fat Man’s house. Still, Joe and Harold put aside the dangerous outcomes and took their chances. There are two significant parts to the theme of “The Monkey’s Paw”, the danger of wishing and the battle between staying at home and the outside world. The Whites’ breakdown is the result of wishing for more than what they actually needed.
Mr. White was already content with his life as he said in “The Monkey’s Paw”, “I don’t know what to wish for, and that’s a fact, It seems to me l’ve got all I want. ” Mr. White then wishes for money he doesn’t really need. That wish then leads to the death of their son, Herbert. The basis of this theme is be careful what you wish for because it may just come true. The battle between staying at home and the outside world was another part of the theme to this story. The Whites’ home is illustrated a safe place detached from the dangerous world outside. The chess board symbolizes life.
Those who play a risky game of chess will lose, just as those who take unnecessary risks in life will die. The risks and errors Mr. White makes while playing chess resemble the risks and errors he makes wishing on the monkey’s paw. Their safe place was agitated when Sergeant-Major Morris arrived with the tales of the monkey’s paw. The monkey’s paw symbolized the outside world. Again the safe atmosphere of their home was disrupted when they let the representative in, bearing the news of the death of their beloved son. Herbert is the final intruder of the home.
Mr. White’s horrified reaction to his mangled son knocking at the door shows anyone coming from the outside is treated as a dangerous threat to the sanctity of their home. In conclusion, these stories are both very intriguing. Being on opposite sides of the horror genre made these two stories very hard to compare, but very easy to contrast. Whether it be the internal battle between Mr. and Mrs. White v. s. their grief, or the conflict between the Fat Man and Joe and Harold; each story had it’s own characteristics of the horror genre, making them two very appealing stories.
