The Monkey's Paw
by W. W. Jacobs
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At a glance:
- Author: W. W. Jacobs
- First Published: 1902
- Type of Plot: Horror
- Time of Work: The late nineteenth or early twentieth century
- Setting: An English suburb
- Characters: Mr. White, Mrs. White, Herbert White, Sergeant-Major Morris
- Genres: Short fiction, Horror literature
- Subjects: Magic or magicians, Nineteenth century, England or English people, India or East Indian people, Miracles, Fate or fatalism, Soldiers, Monkeys
- Locales: Europe, England, United Kingdom
The Story
One rainy evening, Mr. and Mrs. White and their son, Herbert, wait at their home, Laburnum Villa, for a visitor who knew Mr. White before going to India as a soldier twenty-one years earlier. When Sergeant-Major Morris arrives, the Whites serve him whiskey and seat him before the fire as he relates his experiences in the exotic British territory. Eventually Mr. White returned to the subject of the monkey’s paw that Morris mentioned earlier, but the old soldier tries to put him off, which only excites the family’s curiosity.
The sergeant-major produces the...
(The entire page is 1450 words.)
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Recommended Questions
- In "The Monkey's Paw," how do you know that the Whites' decision to make a wish proves that fate rules people's lives"?
- How did the relationship between the characters create their motivations in "The Monkey's Paw"?
- What made the monkey paw move in Mr. White's hand in W. W. Jacob's "The Monkey's Paw"?
- Would you call “The Monkey’s Paw” primarily a plot story, a character story, an atmosphere story or a combination? Give reasons for...
- At the end of "The Monkey's Paw," what does the father understand that the mother does not?
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