In life, individuals possess two distinctly different feelings- the feeling of coveting and the feeling of nostalgia. Coveting, the desire of progress, drives people to obtain more than they already have- to pursue others’ belongings. Nostalgia, a desire of regress, pushes one to return to a former way of life. When placed side-by-side, these two conceptual feelings create an ironic contrast that seems to leave one in limbo. Thus the important question is born: to progress or to not progress? 

Naturally, mankind as a whole pushes for what seems to be improvement. Consequently, one could easily argue that the desire for progress is stronger than the desire of regress. However, before such an argument can be made, the effects of progress and regress on an individual must be analyzed in further depth. To analyze the said effects on individuals, the desire of progress and regress will be examined in W.W. Jacobs’ The Monkey’s  Paw. More specifically, the feelings of coveting and nostalgia will be examined through the main characters- the White Family. Within this paper, one will first find the concepts of coveting and nostalgia broken down in order to analyze the relationship between the concepts in the story and the concepts in real life. From here, the reader will find how the concepts in the story can be applicable to their own life.  Before examining how the feelings of coveting and nostalgia affect individuals though, the concepts must first be clearly defined.

Coveting, the desire of progress, is a result of living in a materialistic society where there always seems to be “bigger” and “better.” Since society creates a hierarchy based off of the “have’s” and “have-not’s,” individuals inherently are raised with a drive to pursue things they do not have. It is important to establish this is not necessarily a bad feeling. Such a hierarchy encourages people to remove themselves from mediocrity thus allowing individuals to progress for the betterment of life. However, the sense of the hierarchy becomes dangerous when individuals begin separating themselves from the other group simply because of possessions. Such a separation induces both a feeling of superiority and a feeling of envy. As evident in society, these feelings of superiority and envy are unavoidable. As a matter of fact, every individual with some sort of possession has felt, at least once, superior to others. In addition, every individual has felt jealous of another person’s superiority and possessions. The result of having both feelings is a complicated system because an individual suddenly becomes both the “have’s” and the “have-not’s.” Consequently, it can be argued that since every individual falls into both categories, every individual not only covets but is also coveted. Even worse, it can be argued the vicious cycle cannot be simply broken. Humans innately are raised to progress by society. Catchy slogans like “just do it” inspire individuals to pursue what they do not have without any regard for the consequences of such actions. This is why stories such The Monkey’s Paw cannot be put away on a shelf. Stories as such teach people about the consequences of coveting.  

Nostalgia, the desire of regress, is ironically also a result of living in a materialistic world. Since society creates the impression that one must continuously progress, there is no emphasis on enjoying the things one already has. As a result, once time has passed, individuals realize how good things were before they progressed. The resulting feeling is that of a desire to go back in time. While it cannot be said that nostalgia is not unhealthy, the desire of regress usually employs an individual to take a step back and to appreciate what they have, thus creating a healthy feeling of appreciation. Stories such as The Monkey’s Paw allows readers to “zero in” their focus on their current way of life by putting them in the shoes of characters who, like all humans, cannot go back in time. 

It has already been briefly stated what causes coveting- a sense of hierarchy within society. To prove this theory, one can hypothetically travel back to the dawn of time when two men stood in a cave. Man A had a club while man B did not.  Noticing man A’s ability to kill a larger quantity of animals, man B also found a club for himself. Man B felt inferior and possibly jealousy because of Man A’s success. This feeling of jealousy caused him to find a club for himself. Thus, he coveted his fellow man. For man B, coveting equaled progress. Man B progressed both in his ability to kill and his ability to provide food- raising him to an equal standing with man A. In a more relatable sense, when your coworker is given a raise, you work harder to outdo them because you feel inferior and envious. This cycle is inevitable- it has always been around and will always be around. Due to adaptive instincts, humans simply go for what others have. If an individual eats something or has something different, then it must not only be safe but it also must be good in some form or fashion. In most situations of possession, the item that is good is often an item that offers a greater convenience. But to achieve the convenience, a sacrifice of some sort of capital must be made. When coveting, individuals will directly sacrifice either time or money to obtain the item of convenience. However, when obtaining a new item, individuals indirectly sacrifice simplicity. Meaning, people will sacrifice simple ways of life for convenience. 

In order to identify coveting in The Monkey’s Paw, one must identify an imbalance of hierarchy and/or a sense of jealousy between the main characters. Since the paw is being traded from Sergeant Major Morris to the White Family, it can be argued that these are the main two characters within the beginning of the story.  Sergeant Morris is already given a sense of prestige by both the author and the reader because of his rank. As a sergeant within the military, he is already seemingly more special than the civilian White family. In addition, his tales of travel give him a level of superiority to the White family because they appear less fortunate and less-educated than Sergeant Major Morris. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg as the monkey’s paw is what causes the true imbalance. Having traveled to India and experienced different cultures, Sergeant Morris obtained a monkey’s paw that, to him, is a representation of nothing more than memories. However, to the White family, it is more than just a symbol of remembrance; it is a symbol of exploration, a symbol of opportunities, and most important, a symbol of superiority. The monkey’s paw itself is the source of jealousy between the White family and Sergeant Major Morris. This source of jealousy is the source of coveting in W.W. Jacobs’ short story. Had the monkey’s paw been a local item, specifically one that could be bought in surrounding shops, the White Family would not have been so attached to it. The paw would have only been a paw- not a representation of opportunities or superiority. 

In order to identity coveting in real life, one must find a common denominator between people coveting. To find this common denominator, a study was conducted to analyze envying and coveting. The results can be found in Sanders’ “Thou Just Cannot Help but to Covet,” where the neurologic phenomenon of envy is described as a plague that spreads from one person to another. Due to adaptive instincts, humans go for what other people have. As mentioned before, if other individuals eat a particular food or possess a certain item, then it must not only be safe but it also must be good. For example, an individual who possessed radioactive polonium would not keep the substance very long. Consequently, their neighbors would not be envious of the possession because the neighbors realize it is bad. On the contrary, relating back to the first example given in this paper, the caveman who coveted the other man with the club realized that the club was good. This realization and envy spread across the entire community until everyone possessed a club. In today’s world, coveting occurs in almost every aspect of life- from food possession to car ownership. To encourage coveting, social-media apps allow users to post their newest possessions. Such sharing creates a sense of envy in society that quickly spreads from one individual to another.

In W.W. Jacobs’ The Monkey’s Paw, the effect of coveting is simple yet detrimental. Due to the family’s desire to have something they did not previously possess, they lost their only son, Herbert. W.W. Jacobs’ used a dramatic consequence to emphasize a simple and ancient wisdom that humans are tending to forget- jealousy leads to destruction. Such implications of coveting hold true in today’s society as well. Envy is often the source of separation between people- whether family, friends, or significant others. This is why the Bible, Buddha, the Qur’an, and many other major sources of proverbs warn again jealousy, coveting, and envy.  The effects of coveting in today’s society are described best within Viviette Allen’s, “Covetous Sociopathy.” Within the journal, it is described that “it is well within human nature to notice differences, to make comparisons, to desire more, and to compete” (pg. 3). However, the effects of coveting go much further. People who covet are rarely satisfied with mere acquisition. Instead, domination or their rivals is the actual underlying goal (pg. 5). This is to say that the coveting is a result of the need to feel superior to others. Sergeant-Major Morris explicitly expresses that the paw has no value other than being a mummified monkey paw, yet the White family still desires to have it. As a result, in an effort to become superior to others or even Sergeant Major Morris, the family loses their only son. 

Within The Monkey’s Paw, nostalgia can be identified through the main characters’ appreciation or regret of something from the past.  In the short story, the only instance of nostalgia is the parents’ regret of the wish they made. Desiring money to pay off their debts, the White family uses the monkey’s paw to attempt to settle their dues. However, like most exchanges, the convenience is only a result of sacrificing simplicity. In exchange for money, the father and mother sacrificed their son Herbert. As a result of the sacrifice, days were “long to weariness” and the family was left with the complications and implications of convenience (W.W. Jacobs). But not just the reader understands this, the parents do as well. This is an important emphasis in the story is as the parents consciously recognize their greed killed their only child. While it is not directly stated within the story, we as human beings can reasonably assume the parents would go back in time to keep their son. As a matter of fact, a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research supports the idea that nostalgic feelings induce a desire to give money up. According to the Study ‘Nostalgia Weakens…,’ a “[nostalgic] signal can cause individuals to part with and value money more than otherwise.” Consequently, there is no doubt that if faced with the decision to give up money in exchange for not only their son but also anything else, the family would sacrifice their wish to pay off their debts. 

In life, nostalgia is usually caused by an increase in loneliness. According to Counteracting Loneliness, a study of four experiments, loneliness reduces the perception of social support but increases nostalgia. Nostalgia, on the other hand, increases the perception of social support. While no other characters are mentioned in the story other than the family and Sergeant-Major Morris, we can, by this study, infer that social interactions with others would have been increased. However, the family’s age and lack of resources limited their ability to interact with others. What is evident in this story though, is the relation between loneliness and nostalgia. Nostalgia is induced because of the loneliness felt by both the father and mother. That is, the family missed the old days and the simplicity because they felt lonely. Often times, grandparents or parents feel nostalgic because of a phase of loneliness. Thankfully, nostalgia is a healthy, natural way to counteract the feelings.

The effects of nostalgia in both real life and The Monkey’s Paw are both positive and negative. To begin, nostalgia increases a sense of appreciation for what one currently possesses. Such an appreciation can usually combat coveting and allow an individual to be happy with what they have. Without nostalgia, peoples’ sense of appreciation would be decreased. Also, as noted above, nostalgia decreases loneliness. This war on loneliness and coveting usually allows a person to be brought back to their senses and allows them to better engage in the events going on around them. On the contrary, the effects of nostalgia can be negative in the fact there is not much that can be down about the feeling. While one may feel nostalgic, the mere feeling does not allow them to go back in time to fix the issue. In The Monkey’s Paw, just because the family felt nostalgic did not mean they were able to return to their former way of life. Likewise, when one feels nostalgic, they cannot simply return to the former way of life. Consequently, it can be argued nostalgia is not an element of offense, instead, it is an element of defense. Nostalgia cannot be change current situations in a way that coveting can. Instead, nostalgia can only work in a defensive way to prevent certain elements from reoccurring again. 

Within this paper, the concepts of coveting and nostalgia were broken down in order to analyze the relationship between the concepts in the story and the concepts in real life. Afterwards, it was discussed how the concepts in the story can be applicable to one’s own life. Having analyzed the concepts, it can be said that the desire for progress is stronger than the desire for regress. However, the desire for progress acts more as an offensive feeling- attacking an individual’s current way of life. Nostalgia, the desire for regress, on the other hand, acts more as a defensive feeling- preventing individuals from becoming too envious. When placed side-by-side, these two conceptual feelings create an ironic contrast that seems to leave one in limbo: to progress or to not progress? But as seen, both feelings potentially offer a healthy standpoint for individuals at the time the feelings are felt. Naturally, mankind as a whole will push for what seems to be improvement. Coveting allows people to remove themselves from mediocrity thus working to improve the quality of life. Such a drive creates a hierarchy in society. However, the hierarchy becomes problematic when people begin classifying each other based off of mere possessions. This is unavoidable because people become both the “have’s” and the “have-not’s.”  Thankfully, nostalgia will sometimes interact with that feeling to keep society from moving forward too quickly. Nostalgia allows people to remember a time when they did not have as much. In addition, it works to allow individuals to place themselves in the shoes of others. This sense of empathy induces appreciation for the current way of living. Also, nostalgia helps fight off loneliness one feels. This is especially important in situations like the one in The Monkey’s Paw where the coveters felt lonely because of their coveting. 

While modern society encourages coveting and envy through social media or slogans such as, “just do it,” stories like The Monkey’s Paw cannot simply be forgotten. Though they appear bland and outdate, they emphasize the consequences of pursuing materials out of jealousy. These consequences are not usually discussed in the modern world but was frequently discussed in many ancient proverbs. Consequently, it can be said stories and ancient proverbs as such still have their place in our society. 
