Discussion Topic
Mr. White's Motivations and Final Wish in "The Monkey's Paw"
Summary:
In W. W. Jacobs' "The Monkey's Paw," Mr. White is depicted as a content retiree, motivated by curiosity and a desire to maintain his family's comfort. Despite his skepticism and rationality, he is influenced by others, leading to his impulsive wishes. Mr. White's final wish, made in desperation to prevent the reanimated return of his son, highlights his quick-thinking and protective instincts. His character combines risk-taking with a logical mindset, driving the story's pivotal actions and outcomes.
What are Mr. White's motivations and traits in "The Monkey's Paw?"
Mr. White was the third and final owner of the talisman in W. W. Jacobs' short story "The Monkey's Paw." He plucked it from the fireplace when the previous owner, Sergeant Major Morris, tossed it there to burn and end the chain of misfortune that came with it. He is motivated mostly by curiosity, since he seems happy with his life and is financially secure.
Mr. White took the paw from his pocket and eyed it dubiously. "I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact," he said slowly. "It seems to me I've got all I want."
Mr. White is a contented retiree who enjoys his home life with his wife and son. He does like to take the occasional risk, however, as he proves earlier with a reckless move while playing chess and with his desire to possess the paw despite Morris's warnings....
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He also is quick to follow others' advice; when Herbert suggest, half jokingly, that he wish for 200 pounds, he immediately does so. He reacts with great surprise when the paw twists in his hand. When he receives word of his son's accidental death and of the amount received as a settlement, he falls to the floor in grief. But when his wife suggests that he wish his son alive again, he once more follows his wife's command. Again, he realizes his mistake when he hears knocking at the door and concludes that it is his son returning from the grave. This time he acts on his own, and uses the paw's third and final wish to make "it" disappear, and the knocking ceases. Only a deserted road is visible beyond the gate.
This is actually a pretty big question with a lot of parts...what you are really asking for is a character analysis of Mr. White. I'll try to point you in the right direction, but you are going to have to put the pieces together yourself : )
MOTIVATIONS: Mr. White is sort of your "average guy," one who seems to enjoy his home life and the simple pleasures it brings. He seems to like being a good host, as evidenced by his treatment of the Major. When given the chance to make his wish, he isn't sure what to wish for...
"I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact," he said slowly. It seems to me I've got all I want."
He seems a little interested in proving the monkey's paw to be a fake, but mostly he is motivated by preserving his family and his cozy way of life.
Traits: He seems to be a rather rational man who is not taken to superstition. Still, he also understands when he has been given adequate "proof" of something to change his mind:
"I dare say," said Mr. White, pouring himself out some beer; "but for all that, the thing moved in my hand; that I'll swear to.""You thought it did," said the old lady soothingly."I say it did," replied the other. "There was no thought about it;"
He has a thin grey beard, showing his advancing age. He is not as emotional as his wife (as seen by his forethought to undo the second wish, while his wife was willing to go through with it) and therefore proves himself to be a reasonably logical thinker. Despite this, he is also a person who can be influenced by others...he doesn't want to wish his son back alive, but does so at the insistence of his wife.
Also, notice the way that he forces money on the Sgt. Major for the monkey paw, even though the man says he doesn't want it...that's a bit of honor at stake, there.
ACTIONS: Mr. White's actions are the most important ones in the story:
- The Sgt. Major is his friend to begin with, allowing for the events of the story to take place,
- He is the one who asks about the paw,
- He is the one who saves the paw from the fire,
- He is the one who makes all the wishes,
- He is the one who sends Herbert "back."
The other characters are not nearly as "active" when it comes to driving the plot.
REACTIONS: Mr. White reactions are based more on logical thinking than those of his wife. He reacts to the Sgt. Major's monkey talk with skepticism, along with his first wish. But notice the way he reacts to the movement of the monkey paw in his hand. He understands evidence when he feels it and is not convinced by the others that he imagined it. White reacts to situations with more control and forethought than his wife.
Hope these ideas help, and you can put them together with some of your own to create a coherent character analysis.
Mrs. White is introduced as "the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire." When her husband loses a chess game against their son, Mrs. White consoles him "soothingly." From this introduction, we might infer that Mrs. White is a stereotypical mother figure: she is quiet and caring.
However, there are also moments when Mrs. White demonstrates a more playful side to her character. For example, after she tells her husband that he might win the next chess game, the author describes a "knowing glance between mother and son." Mrs. White also sometimes comes across as rather comical, as, for example, when she pursues her son "armed with an antimacassar."
In the second half of the story, Mrs. White's character changes quite dramatically, and this change is of course caused by the death of her son. She understandably becomes grief-stricken and increasingly desperate. She pleads with her husband to make a wish with the monkey's paw to bring their son back to life. She becomes so desperate that her own husband becomes "afraid of her."
The underlying characteristic that defines Mrs. White, before and after the death of her son, is her unconditional love for her family. Before her son's death, this love is expressed quietly and sometimes playfully, and after her son's death, it is expressed more intensely and more desperately.
What was Mr. White’s final wish in "The Monkey's Paw" and what clues reveal his reasoning?
At the end of "The Monkey's Paw," Mr. White has already considered the possibility that wishing his son back to life will backfire as disastrously as his first wish backfired. He tells his wife:
“He has been dead ten days, and besides he—I would not tell you else, but—I could only recognize him by his clothing. If he was too terrible for you to see then, how now?”
When he hears the knocking at the door, he is immediately terrified and begs his wife not to let "it" in. He clearly believes that what is outside is the monstrous reanimated body of his son and, given how brutally the first wish was fulfilled, he can only imagine what horrors lie in store.
We are not told Mr. White's final wish, but we do know that he had difficulty finding the monkey's paw and he breathed the wish frantically, rather than formulating it with any care. It might have been: "I wish the thing were dead again!" or "I wish it would disappear!" or even (in an idiom fairly common at the beginning of the twentieth century) "I wish it would go to the devil!" I think we assume that his wife has seen something of what happened (perhaps a fiery pit opened and her mutilated son was drawn into it, or perhaps he simply disappeared instantly), for she gives a wail of disappointment and misery, but by the time Mr. White reaches the door, all is quiet and calm.
What is one good trait and one fault of Mr. White in "The Monkey's Paw?"
When we consider the character of Mr. White in this masterful horror story the first characteristic that we are presented with is a negative trait in his personality. Consider how, in the first paragraph, Mr. White's style of playing chess is presented:
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...
It appears, then, that Mr. White is a risk-taker and is not scared of going against convention. Note how this effectively foreshadows his first use of the monkey's paw.
If you are looking for a positive trait it would definitely have to be his quick understanding of what he has unleashed with his second wish and what precisely is knocking at the door. His quick-thinking enables him to use the third wish and protect both him and his wife from the cadaver that awaits them.