Core Competency Self-Assessment

critical/reflective thinking (Short story project)

short story.docx (sharepoint.com)

My short story’s core competency is critical thinking because the inspiration of my story is too much of a good thing. It got inspired by the story of the monkey’s paw. The Monkeys’ Paw is a short story written by W.W. Jacobs. The Monkey’s Paw is a story about taking wishes for granted, and in the end, they pay the price for it. The characters are Mr. and Mrs. White, and their sons, Herbert and Sargent Major Morris. Sergeant-Major Morris explains that the paw will grant any three wishes. However, both Morris and the owner before him regret using the paw. Mr. White wishes for money to pay off the mortgage… The distraught Whites then wish to revive their son, only to reverse the wish upon realizing the potential implications.

For my story, I increased my critical thinking. It is a different setting than the monkey’s paw, and the back story of the cursed object and how it works is also different from the monkey’s paw. Mr. Smith, the main character of my story, was a well-known billionaire until he lost it all, ending up on the streets of London. While in the streets, he meets an old man who owns a kiosk. The two of them make a trade: Mr. Smith’s penny for a good luck charm. The kiosk owner tells him to choose his swishes wisely and not out of greed. After the encounter with the kiosk owner, Mr. Smith wins the lottery just by “luck”. At the end of the story, his good luck turns to bad after using the good luck charm daily, abusing its power. Mr. Smith ends up on the streets of London once again. There he encounters the kiosk owner. He then offers the penny back to Mr. White (he agrees).

When I first thought of this story, I decided to keep the message the same meaning as mine, but add more ideas to include with my story. These ideas required a lot of time and critical thinking.