The Monkey's Paw

In part 1 of "The Monkey's Paw" the White family is visited by Sergeant-Major Morris, who recounts his adventures in India. At Mr. White's request, Morris reluctantly speaks about the magic...

One example of foreshadowing begins with Mrs. White's lighthearted reaction to Sergeant Major Morris's grave explanations of the powers of the monkey's paw: "Don't you think you might wish for...

While the first two answers portray the Whites as making the first wish in “The Monkey’s Paw” as a joke, I disagree. The Whites are driven by greed and ambition, just as most people are. It may...

The author of "The Monkey's Paw" uses the words and behavior of Sergeant-Major Morris as ominous foreshadowing of what is likely to happen to the person who possesses the mummified paw on which an...

It's worth noting that a story can have multiple messages or themes all at once. In any case, the message that really stands out for me can be expressed in the old adage: "be careful what you wish...

Initially, Herbert White has a playful, humorous attitude toward the monkey's paw. This is shown through Herbert's reaction when the sergeant-major tells the family about the fakir's spell, which...

Situational irony is when the outcome of a specific situation is the exact opposite of what people expected. “The Monkey's Paw” is built on situational irony in that the Whites believe that the...

Unfortunately you have asked too many questions here - remember, enotes specifies that you are only allowed to ask one question, so I have edited this question down for you to focus on the ending...

"The Monkey's Paw," by William Wymark Jacobs (known as W. W. Jacobs) is a gothic short story first published in 1902 in a collection of short stories entitled The Lady of the Barge. There's no...

In literature, the climax can be described as the most dramatic and tense moment of a story. In "The Monkey's Paw," this occurs when Mr. and Mrs. White learn of the workplace accident that led to...

Initially, Mr. White does not believe Sergeant-Major Morris's story about the monkey's paw and its magical powers. After rescuing the paw from the fire, Mr. White struggles to think of what to wish...

First things first: let's define rising action. This is the part of a story that happens after the exposition and before the climax. It is an event, or series of events, that creates suspense and...

The author does not spell out Mr. White's third and last wish, but the reader can easily imagine what the old man wished for. He wished for the knocking to stop and for the knocker to go away...

Actually, the last wish was only Mr. White's. Both husband and wife believed their son Herbert had come back from the dead as a result of their second wish. Mr. White was horrified at the prospect...

After Sergeant-Major Morris visits the White residence and leaves the monkey's paw at their home, Mr. White casually holds the paw and wishes for two hundred pounds to pay off his mortgage....

The setting creates suspense because the weather is stormy and the house is isolated. Suspense is the feeling that something is about to happen. Usually it means that something exciting or...

One more thing about the wishes, actually, three more things: The first wish is done mostly in disbelief, sort of as a joke. Mr. White holds the paw up... as his son, with a solemn face, somewhat...

If one were to search for meaning in "The Monkey's Paw," it could be argued that the story is meant to teach readers that the grass is not always greener on the side, and there are always certain...

While the concept of having three wishes is utilized in both short stories, "The Monkey's Paw" and "The Third Wish," there are few other similarities between these two stories. There is no question...

In the short story "The Monkey's Paw," an ominous mood is established at the very beginning of the story. However, even though the weather outside is "cold and wet," inside the White's house, the...

The biggest conflict would seem to be man versus the supernatural. The monkey's paw itself is endowed with magic powers the rational mind cannot comprehend or explain. While the Whites all seem to...

The White family is inside their home on a stormy night. Mr. White and his son Herbert are playing chess. They are waiting for a visitor to arrive. Their guest, Sergeant-Major Morris, arrives, and...

The resolution of a story occurs when the main conflict is worked out. A resolution usually coincides with a story's end. The conflict in "The Monkey's Paw" is between the danger the paw represents...

As was mentioned in the previous post, the climax of a story is the moment in the plot where tension reaches its highest point. Although it could be argued that the climax of "The Monkey's Paw"...

The author takes pains to establish that only Mr. White can make wishes with the monkey's paw. The Sergeant-Major tells the family: "He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have...

"The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs is written in the third person point of view. We can tell this because of the pronouns the narrator uses throughout. If he/she used the pronouns "I, me, we, and...

The experience of suspense, both in literature and in other contexts like film and theater, involves the process of waiting. As the feeling of waiting intensifies, the reader/audience members wants...

Mrs. White actually has no clue who the stranger is who comes to her door in Chapter II of "The Monkey's Paw." She had noticed the man lingering outside their home, and three times he had passed...

The following quote from "The Monkey's Paw" is a clue to the kind of factory in which the accident occurred. "I--was asked to call," he said at last, and stooped and picked a piece of cotton from...

While "The Monkey's Paw" is a story which has "Dame Fortuna" as its motif, the macabre paw and the outcomes of the wishes are what lend the suspense to the narrative.Despite...

"The Monkey's Paw" is a story all about fate and the destructive consequences that befall those who would wish to manipulate fate to their own self-interest. As the story opens, the White family is...

The Monkey's Paw is a tale of warning. The short story is a warning to us all about what is really important in life. It makes us question our moral values. The Whites have a good life. Once the...

Sergeant-Major Morris knows firsthand the disastrous effects of wishing upon the evil monkey's paw, which is why he throws it into the fire. From the moment Mr. White brings up the monkey's paw,...

W. W. Jacobs uses metaphors and imagery to help set the mood and tone of "The Monkey's Paw." For example, Mr. White describes the weather outside as "beastly, slushy, . . . [the] Pathway's a bog,...

The "it" Mr. White doesn't want in his home is his dead son, Herbert. One must remember that the previous wish Mr. White made—that he receive two-hundred pounds—went horribly wrong, since he got...

As the story opens, Mr. White and his son are playing a game of chess. We learn that Mr. White thinks playing the game involves "radical changes." We realize as well that he is a careless risk...

A great example of foreshadowing comes early on in the story when Sergeant-Major Morris consigns the monkey's paw to the fire. He's been telling the Whites about the malevolent power that this...

The arrival of Sergeant Major Morris, who has probably been in the English colony of India [this story was published in 1902], brings with him a monkey's paw that he has acquired from a fakir, or...

The details surrounding the monkey's paw contribute to the eerie and foreboding tone of the short story, and the sense of darkness surrounding the monkey's paw increases just after Mr. White makes...

Ten days after the Whites bury their son, Mrs. White suddenly demands that her husband make another wish using the monkey's paw in the middle of the night. She instructs him to grab the monkey's...

The narrator sets the scene in the story's exposition with a description of the weather and what the wind and rain have created outside the cozy cottage of the White family: "Path's a bog, and the...

The short story "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs begins on a cold, wet, and windy night. The White family is in the parlor of their home. Mr. White and his son Herbert are playing chess while...

Author W. W. Jacobs makes use of characterization, setting, foreshadowing, mood, and imagery to create tension and suspense in "The Monkey's Paw." Initially, the weather is foreboding as Mr. White...

I am struggling to come up with an example of dramatic irony in this excellent short story. It is certainly a brilliant example of situational irony, but I don't think we can identify any instance...

Unpleasant weather is always a sure sign that something bad is going to happen. We read that "the night was cold and wet." The reference to such unpleasant conditions is a portentous suggestion...

The resolution of "The Monkey's Paw" happens after the climax (in which Mrs. White wishes for the return of her dead son, Herbert). After the climax, Mr. and Mrs. White hear knocking at the door....

The elements of a short story include, setting, plot, conflict, point of view, theme and character. The setting of the story is England, the White's modest home in a rural part of the country. The...

When Herbert was killed at the textile mill where he was employed, his father had to come down and identify the body. Herbert was horribly mangled by the machinery. Mr. White tells his wife that he...

In the short story "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs, a family consisting of Mr. White, Mrs. White, and their son, Herbert, obtains a cursed talisman, a mummified monkey's paw, which grants three...

Direct characterization is when an author specifically describes a character's physical appearance or personality. In contrast, indirect characterization reveals a character's personality through...