Selfishness In The Third Wish By Joan Aiken

In the fairytale “The Third Wish” by Joan Aiken, a man named Mr. Peters has three wishes to use on anything he wants. He gets these three wishes by saving the swan king's life. The problem in this story is selfishness because all Mr. Peters does is think about himself. Using word choice and sensory details, Joan Aiken teaches readers that when people cannot get over themselves, they wind up hurting others and maybe even them.
The theme of selfishness is clearly shown by Mr. Peter’s actions. He wishes for a wife because he is lonely. He also only thinks about himself and not others. When he realizes his wife is actually a swan in human form, rather than have her immediately changed back, he selfishly keeps her. In the story Mr. Peters says “I