Discuss the story "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs.

“The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs begins on a stormy night---appropriate for a horror story.  Unhappily, a monkey has lost its paw, and the paw has been given special powers.  The owner will be granted three wishes; however, according to its present owner,  Sergeant-Major Morris,  the paw is cursed.  The owner must be exceedingly careful for what he wishes. 

He took something out of his pocket and proffered it.

 "And what is there special about it?" inquired Mr. White…

 "It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it.

The White family has been a very happy until the visit of Morris. Mr. White, the protagonist of the story, purchases the paw. His son and wife want him to wish for two hundred pounds to pay off the mortgage on the house.  Mr. White makes his wish and immediately there is an ominous crashing noise in the house. 

The next day the parents learns that their only son Herbert has been killed in an accident at his work. He was caught up in some machinery.  The grief stricken parents receive two hundred pounds for the loss of their son. 

Mrs. White decides that the second wish should be used to bring back Herbert from the dead.  Mr. White does not think it is a good idea.  He has been buried for several days and he was mutilated when he died.  Despite this, Mr.White makes the wish to please his wife---but nothing happens.  The parents go to bed thinking that the wish has been wasted.  In the middle of the night, there is a loud knocking at the door.  Mr. White believes that it is Herbert and refuses to answer the door.  The mother rushes to open the door; just as she opens, it Mr. White wishes that his son would return to the grave.  There is nothing outside the door.

One of the lessons to be learned from the story examines the choices that people make.  Life choices must be examined and thought through carefully.  Using an amulet or something supernatural does not help to make the choice a wise one.  A person must learn to rely on his logic and reasoning and not just emotions to choose the best life path.   

Which question best enhances understanding of "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs?

The most glaring question raised by the story "The Monkey's Paw" is whether the paw has any real power at all, or whether the things that happen in the horror story are all the results of coincidence. In the beginning of Part II, Mr. White raises this question.

"Morris said the things happened so naturally," said his father, "that you might if you so wished attribute it to coincidence."

Mr. White's first wish was for two hundred pounds. The next day he received that sum from a representative of his son Herbert's employers because his Herbert had been killed in an accident at work. This could have been a coincidence. Herbert might have been killed if there had been no monkey's paw and no wish. Maw and Meggins, the employers, might have paid two hundred pounds as compensation to relieve themselves of any further responsibility or obligation.

Mr. White's second wish, made under pressure from his wife, was that his son would come back to them. Someone comes knocking at the door late that night. Both Mr. and Mrs. White think it is Herbert who has returned from the dead. The reader thinks it is Herbert. But there is no way to know without opening the door. It could be sheer coincidence that some stranger has come to the door to inquire for directions. It might even be Sergeant-Major Morris, who has returned for another visit and has had to come in person because the Whites would have no telephone. After all, how could a monkey's paw bring someone back to life? It has to be a coincidence.

Mr. White's third wish is that the person knocking will go away and never come back. Obviously that person will have to go away sooner or later. It may be just a coincidence that he gives up and departs right after Mr. White makes his wish. He has been knocking for a long time.

Does the monkey's paw have any real power? The question is never answered. But that is the question that haunts the story--and the question that haunts the reader afterwards. An entire essay could be written with one thesis or another. The monkey's paw has no supernatural power, and never did have any. The monkey's paw had extreme supernatural power--but now that power is all used up because:

"It had a spell put on it by an old Fakir," said the Sergeant-Major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it."

Mr. White was the last of the three men to have three wishes--and now the shriveled paw is nothing but a curiosity.

Discuss the characters in "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs.

In “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs, wishes really do come true, but the outcome may not be what is expected.  In this horror story, the White family receives a “monkey’s paw,” which offers three wishes to the person who receives the paw. 

The characters in the story are basically flat characters.  The reader knows little about them.  On the other hand, Mr. White deals with negative events in his family.  He has to take over that as leader and make decisions that his wife does not like.  He becomes a more round character as the story progresses.

Mrs. White is grief stricken in the story.  She has to relinquish the family control to her husband because she is unable to make logical decisions.

The Victim

Herbert White’s character is not developed.  The reader knows that he is killed senselessly at his work.  Even before Herbert dies, it is obvious that his parents love and admire him.  Herbert also loves them.

Inferentially, Herbert seems responsible and a hard worker.  Spending time with his parents is something that he values.  Sadly, for the Whites, they have lost a model son. Strangely, Herbert is the one who initially wants to see if the monkey’s paw works. 

The Mother

Mrs. White is a strong woman, who probably makes a lot of the decisions for her husband.  She often forces her husband into doing things that he does not want to do and  are wrong. The narrator states that Mrs. White is smarter than her husband. 

Mrs. White is beyond grief stricken by her son’s death. When Mrs. White wants to wish her son alive again, her grief overrides her thinking.  The reader does understand that she loves her husband and son very much. 

The Father

Mr. White is the  man who buys the monkey's paw, and then wishes for two hundred pounds from it in order to pay off the loan on his house. Initially, he thinks that it is a complete waste of time, but by the end of the story, Mr. White is convinced of the paw’s powers.

Mr. White falls from a basically happy life to one full of fear, doubt, guilt, and loneliness when his son dies and his wife breaks down. A kindhearted man, he is eager to please his wife and son. 

When his son dies and his wife breaks down, Mr. White seems to have lost everything that he loved.  However, Mr. White rises to the occasion when he makes his last wish and returns his son to the grave.

[Mr. White] was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the floor in search of the paw. ...knocks reverberated through the house, and he heard the scraping of a chair as his wife put it down in the passage against the door. He heard the creaking of the bolt as it came slowly back, and at the same moment he found the monkey's paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish. 

This may represent a major turning point for Mr. White. He will have to be strong for the both of them.

The story’s theme involves the realization that a person cannot get something for nothing. Yet, when Mr. White makes his wish for money, it ends up costing him his son's life. No matter how innocent Mr. White's wish was, it came with a price.

Offering three wishes sound good; however, even Morris warned the family about using the “paw.” Regardless of the danger, man has always been willing to take the chance to see if he is able to acquire the big prize for no cost. It usually does not work.

Discuss the characters in "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs.

The characters in W. W. Jacobs' story "The Monkey's Paw" are Mr. and Mrs. White, their son, Herbert White, and Sergeant-Major Morris. Let's look at these characters in detail.

Mr. and Mrs. White are an older couple who seem to live quite comfortably but never feel that they have enough money. Mr. White is a bit of a risk taker, but he isn't very good at determining his chances. When the Sergeant-Major arrives with his tale of the monkey's paw, Mr. White sees a chance to improve his family's lot. He hesitates a bit, though. He is torn about whether or not he really believes the Sergeant-Major's story. So he only wishes for two hundred pounds.

When his wish comes true in a horrible way, Mr. White realizes the danger of the paw, yet he is persuaded by his wife to use it again, even though he knows that to do so is "foolish and wicked." Luckily, Mr. White has the courage in the end to make his third wish.

Mrs. White is a gentle woman, and she loves her son almost inordinately. As a grieving mother, she wants nothing more than to have her dead son restored to her. Yet she does not think about the consequences of such a wish. She has only one vision, and she is willing to open the door to whatever is on the other side of it. Thankfully, her husband saves her.

Herbert White is rather flippant young man who doesn't take anything too seriously. Everything is rather a lark to him. Herbert dies in the fulfillment of his father's first wish, although no one realizes that at the time the wish is made.

Sergeant-Major Morris is probably the most practical character of them all. He knows the danger of the monkey's paw, and he is willing to throw it in the fire. He cautions the Whites about using the object, yet he leaves it with them, even though he grows pale when he admits that he has already used three wishes. He seems to realize that, just like himself, Mr. White will not be talked out of using the paw, so he advises great caution.

Discuss the characters in "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs.

Mr. White is the head of the family. He's a fairly conventional, dignified old man. He's quite poor, and his genteel poverty leads him to use the monkey's paw to make a half-serious wish for £200. Though initially quite skeptical about the magic talisman, he's unique among the White family in that he realizes early on that they are messing around with dark, dangerous forces. 

Mrs. White tends to regard the legend of the monkey's paw as a bit of harmless fun; something not to be taken seriously. She's a happy-go-lucky kind of person, that is, until the malevolent power of the monkey's paw works its evil magic. The monkey's paw doesn't simply take away her son; it almost deprives her of her sanity. Almost, because despite her overwhelming grief, she still has the presence of mind to suggest using the paw to bring back Herbert from the dead.

Herbert White is young, happy, and a little immature, perhaps, but generally a very likeable character. He's fascinated by the legend of the monkey's paw, though more than a tad skeptical. Sadly, he's too young and naive to comprehend just how potentially dangerous it is, with tragic consequences.

The Sergeant-Major arrives at the White residence and proceeds to tell everyone the tale of the monkey's paw, which he's brought along with him. He's an older man, dignified, grave and mature. It's clear from his overall demeanor that he takes the legend of the monkey's paw with deadly seriousness. Unfortunately, no one really takes him seriously until it's too late.

Who are the characters in the story "The Monkey's Paw"?

The characters in The Monkey's Paw are as follows:

Sergeant Major Morris - a military officer who has served in India for many years, who visits the White family.

The Monkey's Paw - the shriveled, dried paw that acts as an evil charm granting wishes with grave and tragic consequences.

Mr. White - the father in the story who becomes intrigued with the monkey's paw.  His first wish, for 200 pounds, starts the tragic chain of events which result in his son's death. Who in the end has to use his two remaining wishes to try and undo the consequences of his first wish.    

Mrs. White- the wife and mother in the story.  Mother of Herbert,  who pleads with her husband to use the monkey's paw to bring her dead son back from the grave. At the end of the story, she scrambles to open the door to let into the house, what she thinks is her son returned from the grave.

Herbert - the son, who along with his parents does not really believe that the monkey's paw has any power at all.  He becomes a victim of his father's first wish. Herbert is killed in an accident on the job.  He is crushed in a machine at the factory where he worked.

The stranger who brings the compensation check for $00 pounds,  to the Whites after Herbert is killed on the job.  

What is the exposition of "The Monkey's Paw" by W.W. Jacobs?

The basic plot of the short story is as follows:

First, the main characters are: Mr. and Mrs. White, their adult son, Herbert, and their friend, Sergeant-Major Morris. 

Second, Sergeant-Major Morris visits the Whites and leave them with a monkey's paw. He also tell them a mysterious tale about the paw. It is supposed to grant three wishes. The family, of course, does not believe it at first. 

Third, as the plot progresses, the family, out of fun, wishes for their mortgage to be paid off and suddenly the money comes. However, it is the money that was given due to the death of their son. When the family wishes for the son to come to life, they hear a knocking on their door. This scares them. For they final wish, they wish that their son remain dead and the knocking stops. 

The point of the story is to play with the idea of fate and tampering with fate.