Compare and Contrast Essay In literature readers can compare and contrast stories. Readers can compare and contrast The Monkey?s Paw and The Third Wish. In The Monkey?s Paw there is a magic monkey paw that grants three users three wishes and the main character?s son dies from a wish and he ends up using the next two to resurrect and kill his son. The Third Wish is about a man who wishes for a wife and uses his second wish to change her back into a swan and he never uses his third wish. There are similarities and differences when comparing and contrasting the protagonists of The Monkey?s Paw and The Third Wish.