Unresolved Endings In The Monkey's Paw By W. Jacobs

In most cases, conflicts need to have a resolution. When it doesn’t, it leaves readers angry, unsatisfied, and frustrated. However, “bow wrapped” endings can be cheesy, boring, and expected and leave readers disinterested after the story is over. Many short stories have a reputation of ending the story without resolve with the purpose of leaving with lingering questions and having readers imagine and think about what could happen next. Endings could be fulfilling without a resolution. I believe that authors have a responsibility to have a conclusion but not a resolution. In “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs, the White family is presented with a mummified monkey’s paw that can give three men three wishes each. The last man who used it used his last …show more content…
Salinger. It ends with Seymour shooting himself in the head and it concludes without resolve. Yes, Seymour’s distress is relieved which is fulfilling to readers but no one really knows why Seymour killed himself. There are so many different theories as to why Seymour killed himself. Was it because he couldn’t take it anymore being surrounded by people he didn’t fit in with? Was it because of his PTSD from the war he recently got out of? Was it because he was sexually interested in Sybil? When you look up the answer on Google, so many different answers come out and many people give their opinions as to why they think Seymour shot himself. I think Salinger purposely ended the story ambiguously so that people would talk about it more. If there was a resolution and everything was explained, people may still talk about it but not as much as they do about it now. There is more to talk and think about because there are many different theories to be discussed about Seymour’s death. Salinger gave readers a conclusion but because he doesn’t give readers a resolution, it lets readers use their imagination to figure it out for