Writer's Blog: 2nd Body Paragraph

Here's a second body paragraph using the same parameters.


Three points to take notice of:

1. The ... represents that I edited out part of the quote.

2. When using a quote within a quote single quotations are used to signify where the conversational piece actually is within the quote.
For example "George handed the pump to him. 'Awright. You get him back there quick, and don' you take him out no more. You'll kill him the first thing you know'" (Steinbeck 43).

3. The [ ] within the quote means that is isn't an actual part of the literal quote from the source I pulled it from, rather it's information I inserted so the reader understands it better.


In Jacobs’ “The Monkey’s Paw” the gloomy and apprehensive mood was set up through the mystery of a talisman and the dark events that took place as a result of wishing upon it. Sergeant Major Morris, who had just returned to his home country of England, visited his old friends, the White family. During the period of colonization, Sergeant Major Morris was in India and obtained a mysterious, shriveled monkey’s paw that was cursed by a fakir, or magic man. Allegedly, the monkey’s paw could grant three men three wishes a piece. The Sergeant obtained the paw through controversial surroundings as he explained, “The first man had three wishes…I don’t know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That’s how I got the paw” (Jacobs 25). The looming presence of death foreshadowed the consequence of wishing upon the paw. Despite this warning, the foolish Mr. White’s desire and greed led him to cast his fist wish. “‘I wish for two hundred pounds,’ said [Mr. White]” (Jacobs 26). While he did gain in wealth, it came at the expense of his only son; it was compensation for the untimely death. The deaths throughout the story combined with the apprehensiveness of the Sergeant and eerie circumstances surrounding the paw helped create a dark mood that highlighted the severity of the situation.