Many factors of similar and diverse characteristics are common between Edgar Allen Poe's The Black Cat, and W.W Jacobs The Monkey's Paw. Poe and Jacobs use more of an old, matured form of writing. For instance, the first word in The Monkey's Paw is without. In today's use of language, without is used as a form of possession. If I was going to use without, it would be in the sense that I am without an object, such as my book for class, or a passport at an airport, etc. However, Jacobs used it to explain the night, or the existence that exceeds ourselves (“Without, the night was cold and wet”). Poe uses the same form of writing, that even in his time(1800's) was considered old fashion. For example in the beginning of The Black Cat, Poe writes “Hereafter, perhaps, some intellect may be found which will reduce my phantasm to the common-place”.…show more content… However, Poe liked to use rhythm when writing, especially in combination with older words that people today even have trouble understanding. Jacobs however, did not use rhythm when writing, instead he typically wrote in a humorous tone. Other differences include Jacobs using symbolism and foreshadowing in the Monkey's Paw, and despite that Poe included symbolism in The Black Cat, Jacobs was more obvious on the surface of his writing. In my reading, I could easily tell that the monkey's paw had a long story and background to it. Although Jacobs did not give us the entire history of the mysterious object, he sets the story up in a sense that we can tell this object from India that was brought over from a war veteran had a dark and obscured past. While in my own reflection in reading these two distinct stories, The Black Cat seemed to have more of a sense of imagery and allegory then