The Third Wish | The Monkey’s Paw
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An outline includes the main details of what
you will be writing about in your paper
Outlines should be short and to the point – it is
an overview of the topics you will discuss
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Write a six paragraph essay comparing and
contrasting “The Third Wish” and “The
Monkey’s Paw”. Show similarities and
differences between the plots of the two stories.
Support your ideas using words and examples
from the stories. Compare the moral of the two
stories.
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4 things we need to accomplish:
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Compare/contrast the two stories
Show similarities and differences between the plots
of the two stories
Use words/examples from the stories
Compare the moral, or message of the two stories
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Introduction
State the essay’s main purpose
 Explain similarities/differences you’ve found
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Body
Start by comparing/contrasting the plot elements –
expositions, conflict, rising action, climax, resolution, etc.
 Use specific examples to back up your statements
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Conclusion
End with a strong, but general statement about key
similarities/differences
 Compare the moral of the two stories
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Introduction
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What is the main purpose of this essay? To compare/contrast two stories.
Briefly introduce the two stories:
 Ex: The Third Wish tells the story of a lonely Mr. Peters who wishes for a wife, but soon
finds out that his wish was not everything he had hoped for.
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Body
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Exposition: Through reading these stories, I found that the expositions of the two
stories had many differences.
 Characters
 Time period
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Conflict and Rising Action: Although the expositions were different, the rising action
and conflicts of the two stories were somewhat similar.
 Detail
 Detail
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Climax: After reading the two stories, it was interesting to see that the climaxes were
very different.
 Mr. Peters had to make a big decision
 The Whites didn’t know who was at their door – it was scary
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Resolution: It was interesting that these two stories had many similarities but also
very different endings.
 Mr. Peters dies a peaceful death
 End of Monkey’s Paw left us with many questions
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Conclusion
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After analyzing the two stories, I conclude that while the expositions and climaxes
were very different, there were some similarities with the resolution.
Morals: Be careful what you wish for.
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Take out your chart from yesterday
Highlight key similarities/differences that you
want to use in your essay
Find specific parts of the story that support your
ideas
Make your outline (including topic sentences for
each body paragraph and at least 2 supporting
details)
Outlines and charts will be handed in with your
completed essays
Sample Body Paragraph
The Monkey’s Paw and The Third Wish both had very unique
expositions, and they shared some similarities, but also
some differences. At the very beginning of The Third Wish,
the author tells us that Mr. Peters is driving through an
“empty stretch of road”, and similarly, in The Monkey’s Paw,
we find out that they live in an “out of the way place”. This
shows us that both of these stories take place in lands that
are not well known. Although there are similarities, there
are also some differences. One specific difference in the
exposition is that The Third Wish takes place in more modern
times, whereas The Monkey’s Paw takes place a few
hundreds of years back. These examples show that the
expositions of the two stories had some similarities, but at
the same time also had differences.
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