Questions and Answers for The Monkey's Paw
The Monkey's Paw
What is a brief plot summary of "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...
The Monkey's Paw
What are some examples of foreshadowing in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What are the three wishes & the consequences in "The Monkey's Paw?"
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 Monkey's Paw
How does the author of "The Monkey's Paw" use foreshadowing in the first chapter to suggest that the spell placed on...
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What was the message or theme in "The Monkey's Paw"? How the author gets the message across to the reader?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What was Herbert's attitude toward the monkey's paw?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
Where is there irony in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
In "The Monkey's Paw", what's the ending to the story?
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
What is the mood of "The Monkey's Paw," and when in time does it take place?
"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...
The Monkey's Paw
What is the climax of "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
Compare Mr. White's feelings about the monkey's paw when he makes his first, second and third wishes. How does his...
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What is the rising action in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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 Monkey's Paw
What is Mr. White's 3rd wish?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
In "The Monkey's Paw," what was the White family's last wish?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What was the second wish in "The Monkey's Paw?"
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 Monkey's Paw
In "The Monkey's Paw" where does the setting create suspense?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
How Does Mr White Word His First Wish
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What is the moral of "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What are the differences and similarities between the setting in Monkey's Paw and The Third Wish?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
In the story "Monkey's Paw," what is the type of mood established in the beginning of the story?
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 Monkey's Paw
In "The Monkey's Paw," what are the types of conflict and some examples of each?
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 Monkey's Paw
I need the sequence of events of "The Monkey's Paw." Number the main events of the story and make sure you include...
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 Monkey's Paw
What is the resolution in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What point in "The Monkey's Paw" would you identify as the climax?
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 Monkey's Paw
What is the third wish made in "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
What is the point of view in "The Monkey's Paw"?
"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 Monkey's Paw
How does the author create suspense in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
When a stranger comes to the Whites' door in "The Monkey's Paw," why does Mrs. White think he has come?
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 Monkey's Paw
How did Herbert die in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
In "The Monkey's Paw", what were the three different wishes of Mr. White's family and how did they get...
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
In "The Monkey's Paw," what role does fate play in the lives of the White family?
"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
What are the moral values of "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
Why does Sergeant-Major Morris throw the paw onto the fire, and who gave the paw to Mr. White?
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,...
The Monkey's Paw
How are metaphors and imagery used in the story?
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 Monkey's Paw
Why does Mr. White beg not to let "it" into the house?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
In what way does the setting described in lines 1–21 suggest or foreshadow later events in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What are some elements of foreshadowing in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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 Monkey's Paw
In "The Monkey's Paw," does Mrs. White's allusion to The Arabian Nights have any implied or hidden significance in...
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 Monkey's Paw
In "The Monkey's Paw," what happens immediately after Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
How did Mr. White phrase the second wish in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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 Monkey's Paw
What are three examples of figurative language in “The Monkey's Paw”?
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 Monkey's Paw
How does each of the Whites react when the family first learns about the monkey's paw?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
In "The Monkey's Paw," how does W. W. Jacobs create suspense or tension in the story?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What is an example of dramatic irony in "The Monkeys Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
How does the setting at the beginning of "The Monkey's Paw" set the mood for the story?
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 Monkey's Paw
Describe the resolution in "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs.
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 Monkey's Paw
What is an element of the story "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
Why is Mr. White afraid in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What is the resolution of the conflict in the story "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
The Monkey's Paw
What is a direct characterization for Mr. White in "The Monkey's Paw"?
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...
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