“The Monkey's Paw”, Exercises of Literature

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“The Monkey’s Paw”

By W.W. Jacobs

What is the story about?

A happy suburban family is destroyed when an old Sergeant-Major gives them a mystical monkey’s paw which allows the owner to make three wishes, and this leads to the tragic death of their son. It is part of the horror genre.

Techniques

Setting. Characterisation. Turning Point. Dramatic Irony. Foreshadowing. Tension/suspense. Motif.

Characterisation

“White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off”. Despite listening to the Sergeant-Major’s warning about how dangerous the paw is, Mr White desperately salvages the paw from the fire. He knows about the risks of using the paw, but he chooses to ignore them. He is convinced that the paw has magical powers and is determined that he wants to use it.

“I don't know what to wish for...It seems to me I've got all I want.“ Mr White acknowledges that that he already has everything that he could ever ask for. Despite this, he still decides to make a wish for money to pay off his mortgage.

“the old man smiled faintly, put out his hands like a sightless man, and dropped, a senseless heap, to the floor” An employee of Maw and Meggins informs Mr and Mrs White of the tragic death of their son, and the amount of compensation they are to receive. Mr White’s greed and selfishness, and his tendency to take unnecessary risks appears to have caused the death of his son. He was told of the dangers of wishing on the paw, but he persisted in his fascination and this seems to have led to the destruction of his family. He wished for £200 and he got it, but at the expense of his son’s life.

“Sometimes they hardly exchanged a word, for now they had nothing to talk about, and their days were long to weariness”. Mr White has become a broken man, filled with regret over his decision to use the monkey’s paw. He feels responsible for his son’s death. He and his wife have drifted apart as they have lost the one person who held the family together. Herbert was the source of their happiness and joy, and without him their lives are empty.

“Well, I don’t see the money...and I bet I never shall”.

• (^) He is also a very logical and sensible person. The opposite of his father.
• (^) He is unimpressed and very sceptical about the stories told by the sergeant-major. He almost mocks the idea that the paw has any magical powers.
• (^) He believes that his father is wasting his time making wishes and that there is not a chance that he will ever get the money that he wished for.

“The firm wishes me to covey their sincere sympathy with you in your great loss”

• The turning point of the story is when Herbert is killed in a horrifying accident at work which kills him instantly and leaves his body mangled and unrecognisable.
• Mr and Mrs White receive £200 compensation for his death, and it seems that Mr White’s wish has come true, but at the expense of Herbert’s life.

Herbert’s death has a literal meaning and a metaphorical meaning. Literally, Herbert died because he became entangled in machinery at work. Metaphorically, Herbert died after being caught in the machinery of fate, which went wrong after Mr. White interfered with fate by making his wish for £200.

Sergeant-Major

“It has caused me enough mischief already.” When he is telling the White family about the wishes that he made on the monkey’s paw his face turns very pale. It is implied that the paw brought him much pain and sorrow to his life and that he is uncomfortable speaking about it.

“I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw.“ The Sergeant-Major very solemnly tells the family about the man who owned the paw before him. It is clear that the paw ruined this man’s life somehow, as he used his final wish to ask for death.