The Monkey's Paw (Questions and Answers)

 

1. What is "The Monkey's Paw" about and who are the main characters?

    "The Monkey's Paw" is a classic, even amazing, story of supernatural suspense. The monkey's paw is a magical artifact. Anyone who owns it gets three wishes granted. They come true—but never precisely as you wish so that you get what you want at great cost to yourself. In this story, the Whites get the paw from Sergeant-Major Morris. When they wish for wealth, they get money from the company where their son works…because he was killed in an accident. Mrs. White wishes for their son to be brought back. They hear him coming back…from the dead, clearly lurching, zombie-like. The third wish sends him back to the peace of the grave.

2. What are the elements of horror, mystery and the supernatural in "The Monkey's Paw"?

    There are many different aspects of this excellent short story that you could focus on to bring out the mystery, horror, and elements of the supernatural. The key to focus on is the way that W. W. Jacobs, in this story, gives us a horrific retelling of the traditional "three wishes" tale that can be found all over the world. The difference between this tale and its many variations in the way that it incorporates terror and suspense in its narration. One key element that makes this story terrifying is the description of the monkey's paw and the way that it is given a life of its own. Note what happens directly after Mr. White makes his wish for money:

        A fine crash from the piano greeted the words, interrupted by a shuddering cry from the old man. His wife and son ran toward him.

        "It moved," he cried, with a glance of disgust at the object as it lay on the floor. "As I wished it twisted in my hand like a snake."

    Note the way in which the sound of the piano is used to foreshadow the disaster that is going to befall the White family. The crash is emotionally jarring, suggesting that something bad will happen. The crash is also surprising, indicating that the money will be provided but in a way that nobody can foresee. Note the way that the monkey's paw twisted "like a snake." Snakes are creatures that we associate with evil, and so horror is injected through this comparison.

    Through this example and many others, mystery, the supernatural, and horror are introduced into this excellent tale.

3. What was the message or theme in "The Monkey's Paw" and how the author gets the message across to the reader?

    "The Monkey's Paw" is rare in that Jacobs essentially states the theme in the text. Sergeant-Major Morris tells the Whites that "fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow." This is Jacobs' direct theme: that one cannot control his/her fate, no matter how hard one tries to manipulate it.

    One clear example is the White family's first wish. Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds: an attempt to change their fate. They think they're being reserved and rational by not asking for more, but the result of the wish shows that they have failed to change their destiny. They do indeed get their 200 pounds, but at a price, they would never be willing to pay.

    A second example is, of course, the climax of the story. The tension-filled moments before Mrs. White opens the door on nothingness are particularly powerful. Although the Whites have used their second wish to have their son back, Mr. White realizes just in time that they are attempting to control something that cannot be controlled. Thus, his last wish returns their lives to the path that destiny has chosen for them, not necessarily the one they would want themselves.

4. Who is the main character in "The Monkeys Paw?"

    The main character in this spine-chilling short story is without a doubt Mr. White senior, the father of the family who we are presented with on the "cold and wet" night when Sergeant-Major Morris enters their lives with the story of the monkey's paw that comes to dominate the rest of the narrative. Interestingly, the first paragraph shows Mr. White's risky nature and his love of experimentation, which perhaps reflects why he is so eager to try out the monkey's paw with a wish:

        Father and son was at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire.

    Mr. White, then, is established as a risk-taker in the very first paragraph in the story - something that foreshadows his trial of the monkey's paw and the tragic consequences. The rest of the story, on the whole, focuses on him and his gradual understanding of the power of the monkey's paw and how interfering with the fate that rules our lives only bring us sorrow - as the fakir created the monkey's paw to show us.

5. What is the rising action in the play, "The Monkey's Paw"?

        The introduction and the history of the talisman is the initial rising action in the W. W. Jacobs short play, "The Monkey's Paw." The Whites inherit the paw from their acquaintance, Sergeant-Major Morris, who reveals the mysterious past of the shriveled hand. When he throws it into the fireplace, Mr. White retrieves it. Morris warns them to wish wisely before leaving for the night.

        The rising action continues as Mr. White makes his first wish.

            "I wish for two hundred pounds," said the old man distinctly.

    Mr. White feels the paw move, and a depressing feeling of uneasiness falls upon the family for the remainder of the night. The next morning, Mr. and Mrs. White are paid a visit from the company where their son, Herbert, works. He has been killed in a grisly accident--"caught in the machinery"--and the Whites are offered a compensation of 200 pounds. Although it could be argued that this is the climax to the story, the action actually continues to rise a bit longer as the Whites exercise their second wish--for Herbert to be alive again. The rising action peaks when the Whites realize that their less-than-specific wish has an alternate possibility--that Herbert may be revived but in his deathly, crippled state.

6. How do you explain the three wishes in the short story The Monkey's Paw"?

W. W. Jacobs' short story, "The Monkey's Paw," revolves around the three wishes granted the owner of the shriveled paw. After gaining possession of the paw from an old friend who warned them about its evil, magical powers, the white family decided to test the paw's possibilities. The first wish is made by Mr. White "for two hundred pounds." The next day, the wish comes true when the family receives 200 pounds compensation--for the gruesome death of their son, Herbert. Mr. White makes a second wish, " 'to make my son alive again.' " The reader never knows for sure about the final wish, but when the Whites hear a sudden knock at the door, they believe it to be the mangled Herbert returning from the dead. The third wish is never uttered, but we can only assume that the final wish is for Herbert to return to the grave, for when Mr. White opens the door, no one is there.