illustration of an open-faced monkey's paw with a skull design on the palm

The Monkey's Paw

by W. W. Jacobs

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Suspense and Literary Techniques in "The Monkey's Paw"

Summary:

In "The Monkey's Paw," suspense and irony are central elements. The climax occurs when Mr. White makes his final wish to prevent the return of his son Herbert, whose death ironically fulfills their wish for money. The story's irony lies in the monkey's paw, expected to bring fortune, instead bringing tragedy. Jacobs creates suspense through foreshadowing, mood, and characterization, with eerie weather and ominous warnings intensifying the tension as characters await the paw's cursed outcomes.

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What is the climax of "The Monkey's Paw"?

In "The Monkey's Paw," the climax, or highest point of suspense, occurs near the end of this story as Mr. White hurries to make the final wish on the monkey's paw.

Early on in the story, after having retrieved the monkey's paw from the fireplace where Sergeant Major Morris has suddenly thrown it, Mr. White makes a wish for £200 to pay off the mortgage for his and his wife's house. As it turns out, Mr. White receives this exact amount, but, tragically, it is a payment from the company his son Herbert worked at—Herbert has been caught in the machinery and died.

After the death of their only child, the Whites are forlorn. They are now very lonely on their remote lane. After their son has been in his grave a week, Mrs. White cries by the window of the bedroom at night. Suddenly, she cries out for...

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the monkey's paw, demanding it from her husband. "Go down and get it quickly, and wish our boy alive again." Mr. White retrieves the paw, but he is afraid of the look on his wife's face. As he hesitates, his wife orders him to wish. "I wish my son alive again," Mr. White commands the paw. This second wish is as careless as his first.

It is with the sound of a knock that the climax begins. When Mr. White lights a match, he hears another sound.

"He [stood] motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated." Then he turned and fled swiftly back to his room and closed the door behind him. "It's Herbert!" cried the old woman.

She hurries to open the door; Mr. White hurries to prevent her. Groping madly on the floor, he finds the monkey's paw and breathes his third and final wish. This is the climax. "Herbert was too terrible to see." Just as Mrs. White is about to open the door, the knocking ceases as Mr. White's final wish is granted. The forlorn Mrs. White cries, and Mr. White runs to her side.

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Where is irony found in "The Monkey's Paw"?

The irony in "The Monkey's Paw" is situational irony which by definition is:

"Situational irony results from recognizing the oddness or unfairness of a given situation, be it positive or negative. Even though a person typically cannot justifiably explain this unfairness logically, the coincidental nature of the situation is still very obvious to those evaluating it."

The Whites in wishing on the monkey's paw experience an odd unfairness in the way that the wishes are granted.  They come out of the experience having less not more.

The Whites go into the realm of the monkey's paw knowing that those who use it are subject to misery.  They were warned by Sergeant Major Morris, who himself, is the second owner of the monkey's paw and does not reveal what his experience was like, but he does tell the Whites that the first owners third wish was for death.

It is so ironic that in a situation where a person is expected to gain riches through the use of a a magical talisman, that he actually ends up paying a high price just for wishing.  The wishing process which is expected to bring joy actually brings great sorrow. 

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In "The Monkey's Paw," how does W. W. Jacobs create suspense or tension?

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 calls attention to the wind of a storm outside. He does so in his effort to distract his son Herbert from the "fatal mistake" he has made in their chess game. Mr. White's impetuous move of his chess piece, which he realizes too late will allow Herbert to "check" his king, foreshadows his first and second wishes on the monkey's paw, which he also does not take the time to think through. The fact that caution is not a quality of Mr. White's is also suggested when he retrieves the monkey's paw from the fireplace after his friend Sergeant Major Morris relates the sinister history of the paw and tosses it onto the fire. Later, when Mr. White talks with his wife and she asks him if he gave their guest anything for the paw, there is more foreshadowing. "'A trifle,' said he [Mr. White], coloring slightly. 'He didn't want it, but I made him take it. And he pressed me again to throw it away.'" Clearly, Mr. White does not heed warnings, and this character trait hints of his misfortune later on.

There is more foreshadowing after Mr. White makes his first wish: "the wind was higher than ever, and the old man started nervously at the sound of a door banging upstairs. A silence unusual and depressing settled upon all three." This sinister mood helps to create tension in the narrative. The highest moment of suspense comes after Herbert dies, and Mrs. White wants her husband to wish their son back to life. Unfortunately, Mrs. White does not thoroughly think about the possible variables involved in this desire, despite her husband's question: "If he was too terrible for you to see then, how now?" This question foreshadows the terrible image of Herbert's mangled body. There is also aural imagery, which creates great suspense as Mr. White hurries to prevent his wife's attempt to open the door and let Herbert enter the house:

He heard the chain rattle back and the bottom bolt drawn slowly and stiffly from the socket. . . . A perfect fusillade of 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.

After Mr. White makes his third wish for Herbert to remain dead, the knocking stops and "a cold wind rushed up the staircase. . . . The street lamp flickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road." The mood of great despair and loneliness is thus conveyed with aural and visual imagery.

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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 knowledge that is withheld even more desperately, which intensifies the enjoyment of the experience. In "The Monkey's Paw," a short story by W. W. Jacobs, suspense is created in several instances, and all of them have to do with a sensation of waiting.

First of all, the strange story that surrounds the monkey's paw in Sargeant-Major Morris's possession is unclear; while waiting to understand the mystery of the paw and its wishes, Herbert impulsively makes a wish for a sum of money. His rashness is seemingly punished later, when he is killed in a machinery accident, and the factory pays his family the same sum in compensation for his death. The timing of these incidents is key, and they all leave the reader wondering if the paw could be responsible. As the reader waits to find out, the suspense increases.

After this strange coincidence, Mr. and Mrs. White are also left waiting, not knowing what will happen next as a result of their possession of the monkey's paw. Because they have already experienced a significant tragedy in the loss of their son, they, and the reader, may suspect that more tragedy awaits them. They bury Herbert and pass the time living with their grief and confusion, until Mrs. White impulsively makes another wish, much like her son earlier in the story.

Finally, after Mrs. White makes the wish to bring her son back to life, the reader must wait to find out if the wish will come true. The suspense of this waiting period is the most intense of the entire short story, as the other wish coming true could be explained away by coincidence. The knocking at the door gives the reader a possible answer, but more mystery awaits: did Herbert really come back to life and, if so, in what condition has he been reanimated? The reader's wait for the explanation is brief, as Mr. White whispers a third wish, which stops the noise at the door.

"The Monkey's Paw" is a successful story of suspense because the waiting is well-timed, and the issues that surround the waiting are significant to everyone. Death, money, family, and regret are all topics that most readers will find relevant and interesting. Also, the story hints at fantasy without indulging in it completely, and this restraint on the part of the author makes it a clever work of suspense rather than a work of outright horror.

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W.W. Jacobs's diction and the images he creates all add to the mysterious mood of unease. Firstly, we are told that "the night was cold and wet," an image that depicts discomfort. "Cold" and "wet" are the opposite of warmth and conviviality and create a mood of misery and gloom. This depiction is enhanced by the fact that "the blinds were drawn," indicating an air of secrecy that adds to the mysterious atmosphere. Although Mr. White and his son are involved in a game and a fire is burning in the fireplace, the atmosphere is quite tense because the two are in combat on a chessboard—a game full of intrigue and suspense. The fact that they are indulged in such an intricate pastime, which involves thrust and counter-thrust and requires both players to keep their wits, enhances the enigmatic nature of their surroundings and heightens the suspense.

Jacobs's diction consistently alludes to danger and risk. He states, for example, that Mr. White was "putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils," which creates a sense of foreboding. The reader knows that these descriptions foreshadow an imminent danger. Something unpleasant is going to happen to this family at some future date. The diction alludes to tragedy and death, as in "having seen a fatal mistake, it was too late." This suggests that the forthcoming fateful event or events will not be predictable and that our characters will only realize their folly when it is too late. He is "grimly surveying the board," which suggests something dire.

Furthermore, the fact that they live so far out and are isolated adds more to the mystery. Mr. White refers to their home as a "beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way place to live in." This statement adds to the uncomfortable and unhappy mood. The fact that "the gate banged too loudly" and that "heavy footsteps came toward the door" further enhances the mystery and eerie atmosphere surrounding the Whites and their home.

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W. W. Jacobs creates an eerie sense of ominous foreboding in the opening scene of his short story masterpiece, "The Monkey's Paw." The cold, wet weather and the wind outside helps to create the sense that Mother Nature is presenting a warning to the family inside, warm at the fire. The Whites live "so far out" in an "out-of-the-way place," yet they are anxiously waiting a visitor on such a dreary night. Jacobs' use of vocabulary also presents a sense of the macabre: In the chess game being played by father and son, Mr. White puts his king in "unnecessary perils" before "grimly" sensing his "fatal mistake." The usually quiet father "bawled... with sudden and unlooked for violence" when he spoke of their visitor's trek to their home before the words "died away on his lips." 

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In "The Monkey's Paw," how 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 something bad is happening.  The author creates suspense by setting the story on a stormy night.  He also incorporates a chess game, which is a metaphor for suspense, because chess is a suspenseful game.

Without, the night was cold and wet, but in the small parlour of Laburnam Villa the blinds were drawn and the fire burned brightly. Father and son were at chess, the former, who possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes …

The house is also isolated.  We are told that there are not a lot of neighbors around.  When a mysterious stranger shows up late at night, Mr. White's old friend, this only adds to the suspense.

"That's the worst of living so far out … of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is the worst. Pathway's a bog, and the road's a torrent. I don't know what people are thinking about. I suppose because only two houses in the road are let, they think it doesn't matter."

The setting is suspenseful because the reader is used to expecting something bad to happen on a spooky, rainy night.  Since we are told that the Whites do not have many neighbors, this just contributes to the effect.

Something does happen when Sergeant-Major Morris arrives with the monkey’s paw.  We are told that it is dangerous, even deadly, but the Whites are only curious.  Drawn in by the paw’s promise of magic, they test it out by wishing for money.  They do not heed Morris’s warning, leading the reader to believe that something bad is going to happen because, after all, it is a dark and stormy night!

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What was the most frightening moment in "The Monkey's Paw"?

The most frightening single moment in "The Monkey's Paw" occurs in Part III when Mr. White goes downstairs to get another candle. At his wife's insistence, he has wished for his son Herbert to return. But nothing has happened. He feels a sense of "unspeakable sense of relief at the failure of the talisman." His wife apparently gives up hope and has come back to bed. Since Mr. White does not have a candle to see his way down the stairs, he is holding a lighted match. Then:

At the foot of the stairs the match went out, and he paused to strike another, and at the same moment a knock, so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible, sounded on the front door.

Why should the knock be "so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible"? It suggests that the person outside must have some guilty secret. If the knocker is Herbert returned from the grave, then he may have been trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible all the way from the cemetery to his parents' home. Why? Because he was well aware how horrible he looked after being mangled by machinery and decaying in his grave. The knock seems to contain a confidential message that Herbert wants to come home and live with his parents but does not want anybody else in the world to see him or know he is there. 

Mr. White's reaction to that quiet and stealthy knock suggests how frightening that moment was.

The matches fell from his hand and spilled in the passage. He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated. Then he turned and fled swiftly back to his room, and closed the door behind him.

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The most frightening moment in the story occurs at the very end when Mr. and Mrs. Smith hear the knocking at their downstairs door, late on a very dark night. From the details developed throughout the story, the reader infers it is their dead son Herbert knocking to come in. Herbert is not perceived here to be a ghost, but a living corpse who has come out of his grave.

The mood of this scene adds to the suspense. The darkness of the night is “oppressive.” A stair creaks. A clock ticks in the silence. The knocking at the door is “quiet and stealthy.” Mr. Smith goes down the stairs with the light of a burning match that soon goes out. When the knock is repeated, Mr. Smith flees back to his room, terrified.

After the knocking has continued and grown louder and more insistent—even angry-sounding—Mrs. Smith rushes downstairs to the door and struggles with the bolt. She tries desperately to let her son in. Upstairs, Mr. Smith struggles to find the monkey’s paw to make his final wish, that Herbert go back to the peace of the grave.

The moment of greatest fear is then achieved when Mrs. Smith finally manages to get the door open: No one is there.

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What is the tone in "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs?

In "The Monkey's Paw," there are both mysterious tones and those of a certain foreboding.

  • Foreboding

A series of occurrences suggest danger and possible misfortune early in the narrative:

1. In the exposition the weather, which often foreshadows things in narratives, seems to presage danger as Mr. White calls to his son as a diversion, "Hark at the wind" because he has made a bad move as he plays chess because Mr. White, who 

...possessed ideas about the game involving radical changes, put[s] his king into...unnecessary perils .

2. Further in their conversations as they wait for their guest, Mr. White complains that the sergeant-major will have to combat the pathway that is a "bog" and the road is "a torrent."

3. When Sergeant Morris does arrive, Mr. White declares that he wishes he had visited India where his friend was stationed. The sergeant's teeth "clank against his glass" before he responds, "Better where you are." Still, Mr. White pursues the topic and asks his friend about a monkey's paw that he acquired in India from a fakir. When Morris pulls this mummified paw from his pocket, Mrs. White draws back in horror "with a grimace." 

4. After Morris explains how he acquired this paw, "His tones were so grave that a hush fell upon the group." All this time, the weather continues to threaten. Then, when Mr. White holds the paw and wishes, "[I]t moved!" he cried.

5. After his parents retire for the night, Herbert, who has been rather flippant about the paw's powers, holds it and gazes into the fireplace where he sees faces, one of which is horrible. As it grows more vivid, Herbert, who has grasped the monkey's paw, shivers and "wiped his hand on his coat and went up for bed."

  • Mysterious

1. During the next morning, the Whites discuss the events of the previous night and Herbert laughs at his father's fears, joking that the £200 wished for in order to pay off his mortgage will change Mr. White to a "mean, avaricious man."

2. Later in the day, Mrs. White watches "the mysterious movements of a man outside."

3. After the visitor is admitted to her home, he tells Mr. and Mrs. White that Herbert has been involved in an accident, but with some mystery in his words, he adds, "he is not in any pain."

4. These mysterious words are later clarified, and the Whites learn that Herbert has been killed. The insurance money for Herbert's accidental death is exactly £200.

5. After the Whites bury their only child, they remain stunned.

It was all over so quickly that at first they could hardly realize it, and remained in a state of expectation as though of something else to happen--something else to lighten this load, too heavy for old hearts to bear.

(Here, there is yet some mystery as to what the conclusion of the story will be.)

6. Finally, one night the bereaved and lonely Mrs. White mentions to her husband that they have two wishes yet from the monkey's paw. She insists that Mr. White wish for Herbert to return to life. Mr. White complies.
As they wait in the darkness for a sound, they hear a creak on the stairs, but it is only a squeaky mouse. But, later Mrs. White hears something else, and runs to the door. Mr. White blocks her; he gropes wildly for the monkey's paw without saying anything to his wife, suggesting that he has realized something horrible.

If he could only find it before the thing outside got in. A perfect fusillade of 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...and at the same moment he found the monkey's paw and frantically breathed his third and last wish.

Upstairs, there are the sobs of a mother consumed in disappointment and misery.

Certainly, throughout the narrative, then, there are several elements of foreboding and mystery in "The Monkey's Paw."

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How does the author use situational irony in "The Monkey's Paw"?

As has been already stated, situational irony is critical to "The Monkey's Paw," a story about a talisman which grants wishes but exacts a terrible cost upon the wisher. We see situational irony at play when the Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds only to later learn of his son's death in the factory, with the family given that same sum in restitution for their loss.

From here, the horror starts to escalate, and situational irony is critical to how Jacobs builds rising suspense and tension within the story. Now, however, White's grieving wife is desperate to wish her son back to life, and her husband makes the wish. This final scene depends on the situational irony previously established via the first wish to have its intended effect. By this point, the reader expects the wish to be fulfilled in such a way as to have become something monstrous in its effect, and so the tension within the scene builds higher and higher until Mr. White uses his last wish to cancel out his second one. It's notable that we never actually see the result of that second wish (that's left to the imagination), but the reader can expect it to be something nightmarish, based on the way in which the story has been written.

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I would say that the situational irony in this story is used to emphasize the main point of the story.  I think that the main point is that you can't really change fate or destiny -- if you try, it might end up backfiring on you.

In the story, the White family tries to manipulate their fate by using the monkey's paw.  This is where the situational irony comes in.  Both times that they wish for something, they do not get it in the way that we think that they might.  We expect them to get the 200 pounds in some lottery or something but instead they get it from their son dying, for example.

So the situational irony is meant to emphasize the main point of the story.

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Remember that a symbol in literature is defined as an object, action or person that stands for something beyond their literal meaning. So, thinking about symbols, a dove is a common symbol for peace or a cross for Christianity. Both have their literal meaning, and then also a bigger and wider meaning.

Thinking about this excellent horror story then, it is clear that one thing that acts symbolically is the monkey's paw itself. When the Sergeant Major tells us of the background of the paw and how it was created, this symbolic significance becomes clear:

"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."

This monkey's paw, therefore, has a far more symbolic significance than simply being a paw of a monkey. The fakir created it as a symbol of man's desire to play with his fate and his belief that he can meddle with the way things are going to work out. It is this symbolism that is understood and grasped by Mr. White by the end of the tale but not by Mrs. White, with almost tragic consequences.

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How does the author create suspense in "The Monkey's Paw"?

The best example of how the author creates suspense comes toward the end with the knocking at the door.

At the foot of the stairs the match went out, and he paused to strike another, and at the same moment a knock, so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible, sounded on the front door.

The first knock is "quiet and stealthy." Why?

The matches fell from his hand. He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated.

This second knock may have been equally "quiet and stealthy."

Then he turned and fled swiftly back to his room, and closed the door behind him. A third knock sounded through the house.

This knock is so loud it can be heard all over the house.

"What's that?"cried the old woman, starting up.

He tells her it was a rat.

A loud knock resounded through the house.

The third knock "sounded" but the next knock "resounded." Obviously it was much louder.

There was another knock, and another.

Herbert's mother is trying desperately to open the door.

A perfect fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house...

This sound us worse than ominous. The word "fusillade" suggests gunfire. It makes the reader imagine that the terrible creature is going to break the door down and has hostile intentions.

The knocking ceased suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house.

Jacobs creates much of the suspense and horror at the end with descriptions of the increasingly loud knocking. The reader is relieved when Mr. White makes his final wish and the knocking suddenly stops. We will never know for sure whether it was Herbert, but the probability leaves a lasting impression of dread.

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What is the most frightening moment in "The Monkey's Paw"?

For me, the most frightening part of "The Monkey's Paw" occurs after Mr. White's wife has forced him to wish for their son to return to life. White is very reluctant to do so, but his wife is so emotional and insistent that he finally makes the wish. Then, apparently, nothing happens.

The old man, with an unspeakable sense of relief at the failure of the talisman, crept back to his bed, and a minute or two afterward the old woman came silently and apathetically beside him.

Their bedside candle burns out, and White, holding a lighted match, goes down the stairs to get another candle.

At the foot of the stairs the match went out, and he paused to strike another; and at the same moment a knock, so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible, sounded on the front door.

This single sentence seems like the most frightening moment in the story. White is standing in the pitch-darkness when he hears a quiet and stealthy knock at the front door. We are sure that this is Herbert returned from the grave. Who else would be knocking at their door in that sparsely settled area at that time of night? White has seen Herbert's mangled body and knows how much more horrible he must look after being buried and subject to some decay. Herbert would not exactly be a living man, and he would not be their old Herbert. There would be no more funny jokes. He would be a horrible monster who had come to move back into his old home. The fact that the knock is "so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible" makes the moment seem all the worse. It is as if Herbert knows he looks unspeakably horrible and is timid about signaling his folks to let him in. Mr. White knows it is Herbert but wants to pretend to himself and to his wife that he didn't hear the knock. He doesn't want to open that door and see what he knows he would be facing on his doorstep in the dead of night. We as readers share the father's dread. We don't want to have to look at that horrible monster, and we realize that Mr. White would have no choice but to admit his son if he opened the door. In that case, Herbert would be part of the family again. How could they live with such a creature who was dead and brought back to life and really should be dead and buried? We are not entirely sure--and neither is Mr. White--that Herbert is harmless. Death may have changed his character to match his mangled appearance. He might be more like a vampire or a demon than the old happy-go-lucky Herbert. We can imagine all sorts of things!

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The most frightening moment in the story "The Monkey's Paw" may well be the moment when, after the representative of Maw and Meggins speaks to Mr. and Mrs. White and disclaims liability for the accident that has killed their son Herbert, he informs the Whites that they are to receive "a certain sum as compensation," a sum that the Whites fear is one for which they have asked. 

... His dry lips shaped the words, "How much?"
  "Two hundred pounds," was the answer.
  Unconscious of his wife's shriek, the old man smiled faintly, put out his hands like a sightless man, and dropped, a senseless heap, to the floor.

Having learned that their son has been killed at work, Mrs. White's face has blanched, her eyes stare blindly, and her breath is "inaudible" while her husband's face has the look a soldier "might have carried into his first action." They fear that something terrible is going to be said next, something connecting Herbert's death with their actions of the previous night as they recall the sergeant's warning. So, when the representative of the company offers "[T]wo hundred pounds," they know with horror that the first wish made upon the monkey's paw has come true. Because they have not stipulated conditions and sources from which the money may not come, the Whites have inadvertently brought about the death of their son. This fateful knowledge is so horrific that Mrs. White shrieks, and Mr. White, who has made the wish for two hundred pounds, drops, "a senseless heap, to the floor."

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Only you can answer this question because only you can say what moment in the story most frightened you. This question is calling for a subjective answer, which simply means it is asking for your opinion. Your teacher wants to know what you think about this story and what part of it scared you the most. If nothing was particularly scary, then your answer can be that you didn't think it didn't scare you; try to give some reason why, like it is too old-fashioned or you could predict what was going to happen, so you were ready for it when the part that was supposed to be scary came.

Subjective questions can be a student's lifesaver: There is no right or wrong answer--unless you leave it blank or go completely off subject. (For instance, don't say that the evil clown scared you when there is no evil clown in the story.)

I hope that helps!

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How does the author create tension and suspense before the man's arrival in "The Monkey's Paw"?

In "The Monkey's Paw," tension is created in that section in several ways. One is, simply, through the sequence of action: The couple try to convince themselves that the story they've heard isn't true, but they hope it is. That's tension. Then, there is this line: "Three times he paused at the gate, and then walked on again. The fourth time he stood with his hand upon it, and then with sudden resolution flung it open and walked up the path."


Repeating an action build suspense and anticipation. The specifics of the action create tension. Why is he pausing? What is going on that requires "resolution" to enter the house? What is so bad that it needs to be "sudden"?

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How does the dialogue in paragraphs 78–94 of "The Monkey's Paw" develop the plot?

To be able to answer this question, it is important to trace the plot of the story to the point of the dialog. The short story "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs begins on a stormy night as Mr. White and his son are playing chess, with Mrs. White knitting nearby. A visitor, Sergeant-Major Morris, arrives. He has just returned from a long sojourn in India and has brought back a dried-up monkey's paw that he claims is magical. He says that a holy man put a spell on it so that three men can each have three wishes. He has already used his wishes, and they were granted, but he does not seem pleased about it. The last wish of the man who had the paw before him was for death. Impulsively he throws it in the fire, but Mr. White pulls it out.

Morris tells Mr. White how to wish for things but advises him not to do it. After Morris leaves, the family talks about what to wish for, and eventually Mr. White holds up the paw and wishes for 200 pounds. The next morning they make fun of the wish. Their son, Herbert, goes off to work. At dinnertime, a well-dressed stranger comes to their home. He appears ill at ease.

Now we come to the dialog in the question. The stranger comes from the company where their son works. He informs Mr. and Mrs. White that there has been an accident on the job and that their son was caught in the machinery and was killed. He says that the company does not claim responsibility, but "in consideration of your son's services," the company wants to offer them a payment of 200 pounds.

It is immediately obvious at this point that the monkey's paw has granted Mr. White's wish for 200 pounds, but not in the way that Mr. and Mrs. White expected. Instead of a blessing, the money is a curse because it comes at such a terrible price. The visitor is uncomfortable in telling them that their son has died, even though he is bringing them a gift of 200 pounds. Mrs. White is the first to understand the implication of what the visitor is telling them, and she takes steps to reassure her husband by putting her hand on his in sympathy.

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How are irony, allusion, suspense, symbolism, and foreshadowing used in "The Monkey's Paw"?

The more I examine this question, the more I realize it is way too big of an answer for just one question. For future reference, questions pertaining to so many different literary devices should probably be broken down into individual questions, each addressing a different literary device. As you can see, my first answer, about foreshadowing, took up so much space I didn't have room for anything else!

So this time, let's look at suspense. Suspense is a device used to create tension. Suspense is the part in a movie where you're sitting on the edge of your seat, biting your nails, dying to find out what happens next. Jacobs uses suspense after Mrs. White wishes for her son to be alive again. Jacobs builds tension by describing the sounds of knocking and that Mrs. White couldn't open the door. The author prolongs the scenario, forcing the reader to hang on, wondering what is going to happen when the door finally opens.

The following passage illustrates a moment of suspense: "'The bolt," she cried, loudly. "Come down. I can't reach it.' But her husband was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the floor in search of the paw. If he could only find it before the thing outside got in. A perfect fusillade of 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..."

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This is a really big question. I'm not sure I can answer all of it in one shot. We're dealing with five major literary devices, each of which requires a decent amount of explaining.

Foreshadowing, a technique used by authors to indicate to the reader events that might occur later in a story, occurs at very first in the beginning of "The Monkey's Paw" when Mrs. White describes the setting; the place in which the White family resides. "'Of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live in, this is the worst. Pathway's a bog, and the road's a torrent. I don't know what people are thinking about. I suppose because only two houses in the road are let, they think it doesn't matter.'" This foreshadows negative events or scary events. She describes a gloomy setting, perfect for a horror story. In addition, they live in a hard-to-get-to place, meaning that if something bad were to happen, help might not be able to reach them. Over all, her description of the environment gives the reader a feeling of spookiness and discomfort.

In addition, bad events are foreshadowed when the general talks about how he came into possession of the paw. "'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.'" This foreshadows something bad is going to happen if anyone tries to wish on the paw, and it is clear at this point in the story that Mr. White intends to wish on the paw.

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How does W. W. Jacobs create horror in The Monkey's Paw?

In "The Monkey's Paw" Jacobs creates a sense of horror in several ways. First, he opens the story with a scene of calm domesticity. This gives us something to threaten and upset.

Second, he gives a symbolic foreshadowing in the first paragraph, when he speaks of the characters playing chess and putting their pieces into "sharp and unnecessary perils." What's more, the old woman watching can see that these moves will lead to danger, but no one listens.

Third, when the story develops, the soldier who has seen a lot doesn't want to share the story of the monkey's paw; he warns them, just as the old woman warned the chess players. This continues when he tells them it is better to let the paw burn, and that the other man's third wish was for death.

Fourth, as the wishes play out, the atmosphere is developed by the wishes going wrong, and by the couple being unable to resist the power of the magic at the same time they are realizing things will always go wrong from it.

Greg

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In the short story "The Monkey's Paw," setting is one aspect author W. W. Jacobs uses to create a dark and dreary mood that foreshadows impending doom. The story is set during a stormy night, as we see in the opening sentence when the narrator states, "Without, the night was cold and wet." We further see the storminess of the night when Mr. White comments to his son, "Hark at the wind," meaning listen to the wind, which was obviously furiously howling. Storms create an unsafe environment; therefore, they help create gloomy, unsafe moods that foreshadow upcoming disasters. However, interestingly, the narrator also describes the blinds of the windows being drawn and that the "fire burned brightly" to indicate that the family was concealed from the dangers of the storm outside and warm and safe within their home. This juxtaposition of comfort and safety with the dangers outside helps to signify that any upcoming doom can easily be swapped for the continuation of comfort and safety, depending on the characters' choices.
Characterization also helps to portray the gloomy mood and foreshadow upcoming doom. In particular, within the opening paragraphs, the narrator describes that Mr. White is playing chess with his son by the fireside and makes a "fatal mistake" with his king. He tries to distract his son from noticing the mistake by drawing his son's attention to the howling wind. When that doesn't work, Mr. White starts complaining "with sudden and unlooked-for violence" about living so far away and how the town doesn't see fit to keeping up their road or pathway. Mr. White's mistake in judgement while playing chess and his sudden, violent complaining help characterize him as impulsive, and impulsive people are apt to make the sorts of mistakes that lead to doom.

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How does W.W. Jacobs create a sense of fear in "The Monkey's Paw"?

One of the greatest sources of fear is ignorance, and Jacobs expertly plays upon ignorance to generate fear in The Monkey's Paw. Take the monkey's paw itself, for example. Although we don't know precisely what it's capable of, we do at least know that using it is unlikely to lead to a happy outcome. Otherwise, why would Sergeant-Major Morris throw it on the fire? This is an example of fear generated by ignorance. We don't know what the monkey's paw can do, but that just makes it all the more frightening.

A further example comes right at the end of the story. It would appear that the Whites' son Herbert has come back from the dead. That's certainly what Mr. and Mrs. White think has happened as they hear a strange knocking at the door one night. But they realize that, as Herbert is unlikely to be in a very pleasant condition—he's been dead for ten days, after all—they really shouldn't want to lay eyes on him.

They don't know for sure what Herbert will look like; in fact, they're not even sure that he's the one who's knocking at their door. But ignorance of the true situation generates considerable fear: so much so that the Whites use their third and final wish on the monkey's paw to make the mysterious figure at the door disappear.

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What is the most frightening moment in "The Monkey's Paw"?

The most frightening section of W.W. Jacobs' short story "The Monkey's Paw" is just after Mr. White has acquiesced to his wife and used the second wish to bring Herbert back from the dead. At first they don't think the wish will be fulfilled because nothing happens. Then Mr. White hears a noise. He lights a candle and starts downstairs. The knock is initially "quiet and stealthy" and it so surprises Mr. White that he drops the box of matches. Jacobs creates a good deal of suspense as the reader is not sure who or what is knocking. Obviously petrified, Mr. White insists it's a rat on the stairs and flees back to the bedroom. He realizes that his son is now a hideous corpse, badly disfigured by the accident which claimed his life. It has taken time for the zombie-like Herbert to make his way from the cemetery two miles away. Mr. White desperately attempts to prevent his wife from going to the door but she breaks free as the knocking on the door becomes more and more furious. Fortunately, she is delayed because she has to push a chair to the door so she can reach the bolt. This gives Mr. White time to find the paw and wish Herbert away in the story's climax. Jacobs writes,

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.

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How does W.W. Jacobs use suspense and irony to create theme in "The Monkey's Paw"?

Through suspense and irony, Jacobs creates the theme of fate and chance in "The Monkey's Paw.". He uses the suspense associated with the monkey's paw to create the theme of fate and chance. The Whites are all interested in the story behind the monkey's paw. Even though Mr. White is skeptical, he rescues the monkey's paw from the fire. Then the son makes jokes about asking for 200 pounds. After wishing for 200 pounds, an eerie feeling settles in the Whites' house:

The atmosphere in the White's little house grows tense and ominous after Mr. White has wished on the paw. The wind rises outside, and "a silence unusual and depressing settled upon all three."

Here the suspense creates a strange atmosphere. The Whites experience a strange feeling as they hear the wind rise outside. The unusual atmosphere leaves the Whites with an uneasy feeling. Fate begins its workings immediately. 

As chance would have it, the next morning, after Herbert has gone to work, a man comes to the Whites' house with horrible news. Herbert has been killed and the company he works for desires to compensate with 200 pounds. Strangely enough, Mr. White's wish has been granted. Ironically, his son's death brings about the 200 pounds. It is ironic in that Herbert suggested wishing for 200 pounds and, at his death, the wish has been granted. 

The irony and suspense creates the theme of fate and chance as Mr. White inteferes with fate:

And so, in spite of the original warning of the fakir, the story of the first owner of the monkey's paw, who wished for death at the end, and the warnings of their friend Morris, the Whites attempt to interfere with fate, with terrible consequences.

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How did the author create a successful piece of literature in The Monkey's Paw?

"The Monkey's Paw" is one of the most technically perfect stories ever written. The author avoids long exposition and makes the story dramatic almost from the beginning. He does this by having his characters convey information in dialogue. Page after page is filled with dialogue in quotation marks. The paragraphs are all short. Some are only one sentence long. The  paragraphs that do not contain dialogue usually describe physical action. The visitor, Sergeant-Major Morris, explains the supposed powers of the monkey's paw without concealing his dread of the thing. There is action and dialogue from beginning to end, with very little in the way of description or exposition. The son Herbert is present throughout much of the story, and he is obviously a lighthearted youth who loves his parents and is loved by them. His absence will leave a gaping hole in the family. His likable personality will serve as a strong contrast to the horribly deformed monster who will presumably be knocking at the door for admission in the middle of the night after Mr. White, at his wife's insistence, has made his second wish. Stories about people who receive three wishes are as old as The Arabian Nights, yet W. W. Jacobs has made "The Monkey's Paw" seem contemporary and believable.

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How does the writer use the knocking scene in "The Monkey's Paw" to increase tension and drama?

Suspense is created by Mr. White’s desperation to get his wife’s wish cancelled with his wish.

Suspense is excitement created by the reader knowing that something is going to happen.  The author gives hints and uses foreshadowing to create interest in the story.  It can also make the story scary.

This story is about a talisman that gives a person three wishes, but is cursed.  The Whites use the first wish to ask for money, and they get it.  However, the catch is that their son dies a horrible death.  The knocking at the door is the White’s dead mangled son Herbert, brought back to life.  Mrs. White brought him back to life with the second of her wishes, supposedly.  Suspense is created by the fact that we never see what he looks like, and by Mr. White’s reaction to her wish.

The old man, with an unspeakable sense of relief at the failure of the talisman, crept back back to his bed, and a minute afterward the old woman came silently and apathetically beside him.

Mr. White’s comment that a rat passed him on the stairs, and his insistence that they not let “it” in both create suspense.  His wife is shouting.  It is scary and we feel like something terrible is about to happen.

Mr. White desperately tries to find the paw to make the third wish.  He does not want his wife to see their son.  He does not want to see him either.  He knows that she will not see what she expects to see.  She is sick with grief.  Seeing him, whatever will be at the door, will kill her.  He desperately wants to prevent that.

But her husband was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the floor in search of the paw. If only he could find it before the thing outside got in.

When Mr. White goes out to the street, it is empty.  We are relieved that no one was there, and the third wish worked, presumably.  Maybe the second wish didn’t work and the person knocking at the door just went away.  Either way, Mrs. White never saw a mangled zombie Herbert.  The suspense for the reader came from expecting to see one.

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What are the setting and climax of "The Monkey's Paw," and why are they ironic?

The irony of "The Monkey's Paw" is that when Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds, he gets it as compensation for the death of his son on the job.  He got what he wished for, but certainly not in the way he'd ever imagined.  The setting is in a small village in England, and the action takes place in the home of the White family.  They are a working class family, and so they do not live in luxurious surroundings, but neither do they live in a hovel.  The climax of the story comes when Mrs. White wishes her son alive again, but not taking into account the condition of his body.  He becomes a walking corpse, much like something out of a George Romero film. 

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