How does "The Monkey's Paw" use foreshadowing in Chapter 1 to suggest the paw's spell might not bring happiness?

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 Indian fakir supposedly placed a spell. Here are a few examples of how Sergeant-Major Morris foreshadows what is to come.

"The first man had his three wishes. Yes," was the reply; "I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw."

"If you don't want it, Morris," said the other, "give it to me."
"I won't," said his friend, doggedly. "I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don't blame me for what happens. Pitch it on the fire again like a sensible man."

"Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud," said the sergeant-major, "but I warn you of the consequences."

The reader is certainly prepared to expect something very bad to happen if Mr. White makes his three wishes. In fact, something strange and uncanny seems to happen even as he is in the process of making his first wish, thereby augmenting Sergeant-Major Morris' foreshadowing of evil. White drops the monkey's paw with revulsion and explains to his wife and son:

"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."

Mr. White's experience may have been nothing more than his imagination intensified by his being startled by the crashing chord Herbert played on the piano at the moment he made his first wish. Throughout the story the reader can never be quite sure that the monkey's paw has any magical power at all. As Mr. White explains in Part II of the story:

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

All of the foreshadowing at the beginning of the story is apparently intended by the author to prepare the reader to believe that the results of Mr. White's three wishes are not coincidences but the granting of those wishes by some supernatural power. The reader, however, will never know for sure and is left wondering.

What are some examples of foreshadowing in "The Monkey's Paw"?

Sergeant-Major Morris knows full well that the monkey's paw he's brought to show the Whites is a very dangerous object indeed. He knows that it's most certainly not the piece of harmless mumbo-jumbo the Whites seem to think it is. Sensing that Mr. White and his family don't take it seriously, Morris throws the paw onto the fire.

Sergeant-Major Morris wouldn't have done this unless he genuinely believed that the paw represented a danger. His actions, therefore, foreshadow the immense trouble that the magic talisman will bring to the Whites.

Unfortunately, Mr. White retrieves the paw from the fire before it can be completely destroyed. In doing so, he unwittingly sets himself and his family on a path of heartbreak and tragedy.

What are some examples of foreshadowing in "The Monkey's Paw"?

Figurative language is a key component in much of literature, which can be used to make the writing more memorable or more vibrant within readers' imagination. "The Monkey's Paw" is no exception on this account.

For example, in the story's first chapter, Jacobs alludes to legend of Aladdin's lamp when Mrs. White, after Morris tells the family the story of the monkey's paw, references the Arabian Nights. She states:

"Sounds like the Arabian Nights," said Mrs. White, as she rose and began to set the supper. "Don't you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me?"

Jacobs's use of allusion in this scene actually has a multipurpose role within the story, serving to advance both the characterization and the plot. Ultimately, Mrs. White's comparison of the monkey's paw to the magical story of Aladdin establishes that the family is not taking the threat of the monkey's paw seriously, an attitude that will have negative repercussions.

In addition, Jacobs also makes use of alliteration, which is the repetition of similar consonant sounds. For example, consider the sentence that begins Chapter 3:

In the huge new cemetery, some two miles distant, the old people buried their dead, and came back to a house steeped in shadow and silence.

What can be observed, at the end of the this sentence, is the repetition of the s sound. This is not the only instance of alliteration in this story. For example, in the first chapter, you might observe the phrasing, "the old man rose with hospitable haste" (note the purposeful repetition of the h sound, represented in the selection of the words).

Finally, the story makes use of metaphorical language. For example, in the third chapter, the wife's extraordinary fervor is conveyed metaphorically, through the phrasing: "with burning eyes." Her eyes are not literally on fire, but the writing invokes a comparison here with fire to establish her intensity in this moment.

These serve as only a few examples of figurative language as they can be found within this story.

What are some examples of foreshadowing 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 road's a torrent." This figurative language metaphorically describes the outdoor scene as an extreme flood.

Just after Mr. White makes his first wish, for two hundred pounds, he recoils and tells his wife and son that the monkey's paw "twisted in my hand like a snake." This is a simile that compares the talisman to a serpent, a traditional portent of evil.

When the man from Maw and Meggins comes to the cottage to deliver the two hundred pounds' compensation for the death of their son, Mr. White "put[s] out his hands like a sightless man" and collapses. The simile is used to emphasize the extreme emotions of sorrow for the loss of his son and, likely, guilt for the way that the two hundred pounds he wished for has been delivered.

What are some examples of foreshadowing in "The Monkey's Paw"?

W. W. Jacobs uses foreshadowing in his short story "The Monkey's Paw" to give hints and clues to the reader about future events in the story. This foreshadowing creates an atmosphere of suspense and imparts an aura of the unexpected and the supernatural to the story.

Foreshadowing in "The Monkey's Paw" is pervasive and persistent throughout the story and begins with the first paragraph of part 1:

Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly.

Mr. and Mrs. White and their son, Herbert, live in their own world, isolated from the influences of the outside world. As the story unfolds, the reader might see the drawn blinds as a symbol of the family's rejection of Sergeant-Major Morris's caution to them about the monkey's paw—"I warn you of the consequences"—and the fire as a symbol of the White family's burning desire to use the paw "to be rich, and famous and happy."

Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils ...

Jacobs provides insight here into Mr. White's impulsive single-mindedness in the use of the paw that results in placing his own son in "sharp and unnecessary peril."

The second paragraph of the story provides further clues of future events:

"Hark at the wind," said Mr. White, who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably desirous of preventing his son from seeing it.

Later in the story, Mr. White makes a fatal mistake regarding his son, Herbert, of which no one in the White family is aware until "it [is] too late."

The sergeant-major's many warnings about the monkey's paw foreshadow dire consequences for the family, but the warnings go unheeded. Morris says that the first man who owned the monkey's paw had three wishes:

I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death.

It's not until the very end of the story that this foreshadowing is fulfilled. Mr. White's first wish for two hundred pounds to pay off the mortgage on the house causes Herbert's accidental death at the factory.

Mrs. White insists that Mr. White make the second wish:

Go down and get it quickly, and wish our boy alive again.

Mr. White resists Mrs. White's desperate urges to make the second wish. "He's been dead ten days," he says, and he confides to her something he hadn't told her before: that their son had been so mangled by the factory machinery that he was unrecognizable, except by his clothing.

Mrs. White persists—"Bring him back," she cries—and Mr. White finally raises the monkey's paw in his hand and makes his second wish.

I wish my son alive again.

There's a loud knocking at the door, and Mrs. White is convinced that it's their son, Herbert, brought back to life. Fearing what's standing outside their home, Mr. White tries to prevent Mrs. White from opening the door. While Mrs. White struggles to unlock the door, Mr. White searches in the darkness on his hands and knees for the monkey's paw. He finds the mummified paw just as Mrs. White pulls back the bolt in the lock.

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.

As for Mr. White's third wish, W. W. Jacobs leaves it up to the reader to imagine what the nature of this third wish was, based on the reader's recollection of what Sergeant-Major Morris told them in part 1 of the story about the former owner's third wish.

What are some examples of foreshadowing in "The Monkey's Paw"?

"Sounds like the Arabian Nights," said Mrs. White, as she rose and began to set the supper. "Don't you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me?"

This is Mrs. White's somewhat flippant response to the monkey's paw. At this stage in the story, it's all just a bit of a game, a spot of harmless fun. But Mrs. White's reference to the Arabian Nights foreshadows the disturbing events that take place later on in the story. There are a number of tales in the Arabian Nights, but the one to which Mrs. White appears to allude is that of Aladdin. In the story of Aladdin, he famously makes three wishes which don't quite turn out the way he expects or wants. And the same is true in the case of "The Monkey's Paw."

"Well, why don't you have three, sir?" said Herbert White, cleverly.

The soldier regarded him in the way that middle age is wont to regard presumptuous youth. "I have," he said, quietly, and his blotchy face whitened.

Herbert, the curious young man wants to know why the sergeant-major hasn't used the monkey's paw to make three wishes. The sergeant-major replies that he has, but the look on his face tells us that the outcome wasn't a very pleasant one. What was originally just a bit of after-dinner fun has suddenly turned into something more sinister and dangerous.

"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."

The warning from the Indian holy man really couldn't be much clearer. Our lives are subject to fate; any attempt to change that through making wishes is doomed, not just to failure but to disaster. Yet, tragically, Mr. and Mrs. White fail to heed that warning, with tragic, terrifying consequences.

What is an example of foreshadowing in "The Monkey's Paw"?

One example of foreshadowing involves Sargeant-Major Morris's attitude and response to Mr. White when he asks about the monkey's paw. Morris initially tells Mr. White that the monkey's paw is not worth discussing and the story is "nothing worth hearing." When Sargeant-Major Morris says that he has already had his three wishes granted, his face turns white and he begins to jitter as he takes a drink from his glass. When Mrs. White asks him if anyone else has used the monkey's paw, he proceeds to tell her,

"The first man had his three wishes. Yes...I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death" (Jacobs, 4).

Morris then mentions that the monkey's paw has caused him "enough mischief" and throws it into the fire. Morris's obvious anxiety and body language while discussing the nature of the monkey's paw foreshadows its malevolent powers. The fact that the previous owner's third wish was for death also foreshadows that there is an evil curse on the paw. Through the use of foreshadowing, Jacobs's hints at the wicked nature of the monkey's paw, which will curse the White family whenever Mr. White makes his wishes.

What is an example of symbolism in "The Monkey's Paw?"

One good example of symbolism in the story is the fire. While it plays no part in the second and third parts of the story, it is seen "burning brightly" throughout the first part, and is connected with the warmth and happiness of the White family; although they are not rich, they are comfortable, and Mr. White initially says that he has "everything he needs." While the family is happy, the fire is present and seems to be a symbol of their good fortune and unconscious happiness. The fire is never mentioned after its last appearance:

He sat alone in the darkness, gazing at the dying fire, and seeing faces in it. The last face was so horrible and so simian that he gazed at it in amazement. It got so vivid that, with a little uneasy laugh, he felt on the table for a glass containing a little water to throw over it.
(Jacobs, "The Monkey's Paw," gaslight.mtroyal.ca)

This is just after the first wish; the Whites will have their wish granted, but in tune with the theme of fate, it will be in a way that they never intended. The fire's last appearance is seemingly one of prediction and foreboding; it cannot represent comfort any longer, because the natural order of things has been disturbed. Instead, it appears scary, and this serves as a warning of the sad events to come. The fire is then replaced by descriptions of guttering candles, throwing shadows across the walls; this shows the cold, fearful state in which the household now resides.

What are examples of foreshadowing in the short story "The Monkey's Paw"?

Jacob uses foreshadowing to hint at the events which will later feature in the story. Firstly, the "fatal mistake" mentioned in Mr. White's chess game foreshadows the mistake he will later make when he wishes for £200.

Secondly, in this same sentence, Mr. White says, "Hark at the wind." This is another example of foreshadowing, since this strong wind mirrors the wind which runs through the house at the end of the story when Mr. White wishes his son, Herbert, away.

Later, Herbert's suggestion that his father wish for £200 foreshadows the arrival of the money later on. In a tragic and ironic twist, however, Herbert also foreshadows his own demise and the £200 in compensation which is given to his parents.

These examples of foreshadowing help to build tension in the story and lead to the disturbing final scene in which Herbert is brought back from the dead only to be wished away by his father.

What are examples of foreshadowing in the short story "The Monkey's Paw"?

In the short story "The Monkey's Paw," several examples of foreshadowing come to mind. The family is playing a game at night with little light waiting for an old soldier friend of the father.  With little light the room is dark and rather somber rather than light filled and cheery.  When the man arrives, the discussions are quiet and dinner rather brief.  When the topic of the monkey's paw begins, the soldier warns the family of dire consequences which have happened to anyone  who used the paw for the three wishes.  The soldier explains that, even though the wishes come true, they are accomplished by some horrible twist in the wish.  When the paw is left with the family as the soldier leaves, he reminds the family that he cannot be blamed for what happens as he has told them of the danger the paw brings.  When the first wish comes true with the death of the son, the reader can see that this will all end badly.

In "The Monkey's Paw," how was foreshadowing used to hint at future events?

W.W. Jacobs' short story "The Monkey's Paw" is about an English family who come into possession of an Eastern "talisman" which destroys their lives. Foreshadowing is the use of clues and hints that suggest events that have yet to occur. There are at least four examples of foreshadowing in the story.

In the opening paragraph, Mr. White is described as a risk taker as he plays chess with his son Herbert. He regularly put "his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils..." Because of this character trait, he later takes the monkey's paw from the Sergeant-Major, despite warnings about its potential evil.

The Sergeant-Major foreshadows the tragic events to come as he explains about the first man who made wishes using the paw:

"The first man had his three wish, yes," was the reply; "I don't know what the first three wishes were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw."

Later, of course, the paw is responsible for the death of Herbert as he is killed in order to fulfill Mr. White's first wish.

More foreshadowing of impending doom is revealed in the final paragraph of Part I when Herbert imagines he sees "horrible" and "simian" faces in the fire. The next day Herbert meets his death while at work. When a representative of the company informs Mr. and Mrs. White of their son's death, he also brings 200 pounds, the precise amount Mr. White had wished for the night before.

The final bit of foreshadowing involves the way Herbert dies and his funeral. He was badly maimed when he got "caught in the machinery" so his body must have been terribly disfigured. He is buried two miles away from where the Whites live. Thus, when Mr. White wishes his son alive again he doesn't take into account the condition of the body and the distance from the cemetery. He eventually comes to the realization his reborn son will be a horrible monster and his last wish is for Herbert to go away as the living corpse knocks on the door.  

What are examples of foreshadowing in "The Monkey's Paw"?

Author W. W. Jacobs gives the reader plenty of forewarning about the events to come in "The Monkey's Paw." From the opening paragraphs, the reader is given clues that something ominous will soon happen. From the dark and gloomy night on which the visit from the sergeant-major takes place, to the "sharp and unnecessary perils" and the "fatal mistake" made during the chess game, we know that this is no normal evening. Sergeant-Major Morris reveals that the paw is dangerous, and that he has had his three wishes come true: They are too terrible for him to even discuss. He reveals that the first owner wished for death for his third wish, yet the Whites still desire ownership of the paw. Herbert sits by the fireplace, visualizing faces in the fire

... so horrible and so simian that he gazed at it in amazement.

When the "mysterious man" appears the next day, we know something awful has happened. The first wish, for 200 pounds, comes true in the form of compensation for Herbert's death. The other wishes can be guessed at, what with the grieving mother desiring that her son still be at her side. Even the final wish is not a total surprise, since the reader is already given clues to the awful return of the son that the second wish brings.

How does the money conversation foreshadow a problem in "The Monkey's Paw"?

When Herbert suggests that his father wish for two hundred pounds in order to pay off the mortgage on their house, the reader senses that such a modest wish could only cause a small amount of trouble if it caused any at all. This is appropriate because the suspense and terror build up throughout the story.

Mr. White would have wished for something greater if he hadn't felt a little frightened by all the other foreshadowing that led up to his making his wish. He is not really wishing for a small sum because he doesn't need anything more; he is wishing for a small sum mainly because he is terrified of the possible consequences. There has been nothing but ominous foreshadowing up to this point. Sergeant-Major Morris has warned them repeatedly against using the monkey's paw and has even tried to burn it in the fireplace. He also told them:

The first man had his three wishes, yes," was the reply. "I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw."

When asked how to use the paw, the sergeant-major tells White:

"Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud, but I warn you of the consequences."

Mr. White actually paid his friend a small sum of money for the paw. He wants to have it and to use it, but he is afraid of it (just as the reader would be). He has to be persuaded to make his first wish. He is reluctant even to ask for a relatively small sum of money because he is venturing into the unknown and tempting fate. The reader's feelings are that he would like to see if the wish will be fulfilled but dreads reading that something terrible happens to this nice little family.

Which sentences from "The Monkey's Paw" foreshadow its ending?

Sergeant-Major Morris fills the Whites' ears with warnings about the paw, but the family doesn't seem to understand their implications. Perhaps Morris's most telling comment about what will happen in the end comes when he tells them that

     "The first man had his three wishes. Yes," was the reply; "I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw."

"Death" is the key word here, and it is only one of the instances of foreshadowing spoken by Morris. He mentions the paw's "magic" and the "mischief" it has created, in tones that "were so grave that a hush fell upon the group." Morris warns the Whites not to "blame me for what happens," and he repeats the request again before he departs; Mr. White tells his wife and son that Morris "pressed me again to throw it away."