The White family plays a dangerous game with risks that result in deadly consequences. The suspense is created when the White family, Mr.White, Mrs.White, and their son, Herbert, sit in their secluded home awaiting a guest on a dark and stormy night. The guest arrives, his name is Sergeant Major Morris and he brings stories of his travels in India and also that he has in his possession a monkey's paw which is said to be able to grant three wishes to its owner. The man no longer wishes to possess this item so he throws it away. Despite his warnings, Mr. White retrieves the paw and uses the first wish to ask for 200 pounds to pay off his house. Indeed, he receives the money but in the most unusual way. Their son was the victim of a horrible …show more content…
Jacobs in the direction of effectively introducing the theme. Through the story, the monkey’s paw serves as a powerful symbol of desire and greed. The power that comes with the paw is very tempting even to unselfish people who want nothing and have everything they need. Everything that its owner could possibly wish for is unrestricted. The author demonstrates the avarice that Mr. White has by saying, “He took the paw, and dangled it between his front finger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire. White, with a slight cry, stooped down to snatch it off” (Jacobs 2), Mr. White hastily retrieves the paw from the fire, even though he admits that he wouldn’t know what to wish for if he owned the paw, but the sheer power that it would give a person is enough. Another instance of symbolism is the game of chess that Mr. White and Herbert play at the beginning of the story. Chess is a game of risk and strategy that depends on a person's ability to anticipate moves ahead of time. In this story, the chess game symbolizes life and the number of unnecessary risks Mr. White must make, the author admits, “The [chess] game [involves] radical changes, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire” (Jacobs 1), this shows the erratic chances Mr. White takes that even make his wife nervous as she watches the game unfold. The …show more content…
It is a stormy night, the rain is falling and the wind is blowing. Then the introduction of the monkey's paw into the story adds the first touch of surreal darknesses and mystery to the story when the sergeant only wishes to destroy it. Jacobs uses dark mood in “The Monkey’s Paw” in order to raise questions that will allow the reader to figure out the theme, by stating, “His manner was so impressive that his hearers were conscious that their light laughter jarred somewhat...His tones were so grave that a hush fell upon the group” (2), the author sets a dark, ominous mood. The sergeant's warning about the paw and his wish to destroy it raises even more questions. Jacob’s mention of the fireplace also brings a destructive and mysterious mood to the story, he writes, “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” (Jacobs 3); here, the author wants to create a suspense for the reader about what Herbert might have seen in the fire. The surreal atmosphere W.W. Jacobs creates in “The Monkey’s Paw” is used to create a suspenseful and mysterious mood that will determine the theme and force readers to ask themselves if toying with fate will come with terrible
How did W.W Jacobs create Mystery, Tension, and Surprise in The Monkey's Paw.The Monkey's Paw is about a family who come across a mysterious item that is special in a way. It has the ability to grant you 3 wishes. But with every wish comes a consequence.
W.W. Jacobs creates suspense using a mysterious monkey’s paw. Ricky Lewis Jr. attempted to create similar suspense using different techniques. As told in the story in the book,”He took the paw, and dangling it between his forefinger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire. White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off. ”Better let it burn,” said the soldier solemnly. “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 if happens. Pitch it on the fire like a sensible man.”(Jacobs,108) Therefore, W.W. Jacobs fundamentally builds suspense with the dialogue between Morris, who owned the paw initially, and Mr. White, who was interested and curious on what the paw had to offer.
The night is crisp and black as the moon lets off an eerie glow, leaves rustle and fall somewhere in the distance. A silhouette dwarfs the blackberry bush in the corner as one’s footsteps refrain, they move closer; you run. Suspense is a state of tension and anxiety which was used in the sentence above and is common in books and short stories. In the short story “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W Jacobs suspense is created in a variety of ways. Jacobs demonstrates this by using foreshadowing, conflict and surprise endings.
W.W. Jacobs created a story that is built off of suspense, tension, and mystery. There is alot of foreshadowing and the word choice is very intriguing. The dialogue helps build tension in many ways. One being the way that the group sees one another. There are alot of arguments throughout the piece discussing how the monkey's paw should be taken care of and how it is used. “The Monkey’s Paw” ’s story is filled with suspense, tension, and foreshadowing.
With Jacob’s overall message of the dangers of greed throughout the story, someone might perceive the natural eagerness to make one's life better a positive trait instead of a negative trait. However, the first sentence of “The Monkey’s Paw” is the quote “be careful what you wish for, you may receive it” written by Anonymous can be inferred that people can wish for anything they desire, but they are advised to think strongly about their wish. This is because when a wish becomes true it can either make life better, solving current/potential problems, or create a newer and larger problem causing a negative effect on the lives of others in addition to their own. Human nature's natural greed is the root cause of the misfortunes of the White family. Intrigued by the possibility of gaining three wishes, the White’s salivate over the possibility of attaining the monkey’s paw by trying to persuade Sergeant Morris to give it to them. In Part One of the story when Herbert notifies the family of the arrival of Sergeant-Major Morris, Mr. White rises quickly from his chair to open the door and proceeds to offer the guest whiskey in the hopes of loosening him up and make him vulnerable. It can be inferred that Mr. White is interested in attaining the monkey’s paw Sergeant-Major Morris has in his possession. The use of courtesy is just a disguise to take
Jacobs “The Monkey’s Paw”. In each story, W.W. Jacobs used the elements of suspense, setting, and how the main character sees the supernatural to show horror to the reader. The suspense of the first part of the short story that included added suspense is horror because Major Morris described the paw being the reason of the first man’s death. The third part of “The Monkey’s Paw” shows how the main character views the supernatural added horror because you never knew what Mrs. White would do to the paw, or what would happen once Mr. White wished upon the paw. Finally, the setting of the first part of the short story shows horror because it set the mood of a dark, mysterious, old, house that Sharon Russell said was often found in horror stories. The short story “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs has many examples of horror, suspense, which was greatly looked for in Sharon Russell’s essay “What is the Horror
Part I of “The Monkey’s Paw” introduces all of the characters and the setting. A game of chess is being played in the parlor where conversation rises about India.This is when Mr. White asks Sergeant Major Morris, “What was that you started telling me
In The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs, the reader experiences the greed of the White family and the consequences they are faced with as the White family uses the Monkey Paw for unneeded resources. Herbert is the one who urges his family to use the monkey paw and its powers, and he later loses his life because of it. Some people may think that Sergeant Major Morris is to blame for the consequences of the Monkey’s Paw because he is the one who gave it to the White family. “Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud, said the sergeant-major, but I warn you of the consequence. ”(Jacobs 2)
Published in September 1902, “The Monkey’s Paw,” written by WW Jacobs, used a variety of literary elements to convey horror, suspense, and tension throughout the story. The story is a mystical tale of three different people granted three different wishes by a cursed monkey’s paw. The use of foreshadowing pulled the reader into the dark and cold night when Sergeant Major-Morris visits the White’s home, and told them of the tale of the monkey’s paw and tries to destroy it by throwing it into the fire. Mr. White retrieved the paw and kept it for his own personal use. The use of the wishes from the paw came at a great cost to the family. In W. W. Jacob's, "The Monkey's Paw," he illustrated foreshadowing, imagery, and fate as a theme; thus, it
The point of this paragraph is to tell you how the story uses foreshadowing. In the story there are so many moods that are easy to see or find. One mood that is in the story a lot is a sad sorrow mood. A couple other moods consist of anger, happiness, and anxiety. The monkey's paw does a really good job portraying these feelings because it shows them so well.
Thus, this background makes us see how unnatural it can be when one realizes that this thing has brought trouble and death before now. Although at first glance we might find ourselves willing to take advantage of these desires given within our grasp, however, there are dangerous warnings attached to paw-like symbols that portend gloom for those who attempt to control destiny through such alterations (Jacobs 11).
The story begins on a rainy evening with Mrs. White, Mr. White, and their son Herbert gathered in the parlor. Mrs. White is sitting in her chair knitting as she looks on as her husband is losing to Herbert in a game of chess. From the inside, Mr. White can hear the footsteps of someone walking along their walkway and onto their porch. Mr. White immediately gets up to answer the door and is happy to see his longtime friend Sergeant-major Morris. Mr. White introduces Sergeant-major Morris to his wife and son and invites him into the parlor where they could have drinks. After a couple of drinks, Sergeant-major Morris begins entertaining the family about his adventures in India, when Mr. White
He is also described as a reckless thinker, which is proven in the opening scene of the story when he moves his king “into such sharp and unnecessary perils that it even provoked comment. This recklessness leads him to tempt fate with the monkey's paw, endangering his family as a result” (DISCovering Authors). Mr. White’s son, Herbert, also plays a smaller, but huge part of this story. Herbert is the kind of person that likes to be a little bit silly and joke around about anything. After Sergeant-Major Morris leaves their cozy home, Herbert starts to tease his mother and father telling them that they should make the their wish and to wish for money. After they wish for the money, it is kind of ironic that he starts to make fun of the wish because it has not showed up yet, even though his death ends up being the factory that gives his parents the two hundred pounds that they wished for. Herbert jokes around by saying “Well, I don't see the money,’ said his son as he picked [the paw] up and placed it on the table, 'and I bet I never shall” (1282). And Herbert never did see it, because he was the money. Mrs. White is described as “a calm, reserved woman. In the story's first scene, Jacobs notes that Mr. White's chess moves are so ‘radical’ that they ‘even provoked comment from the white-haired old lady knitting placidly by the fire’—as if drastic events must take place in order for her to even speak” (DISCovering Authors). Mrs. White is the common
Although an important component of this short story is that it allows the reader to decide what essentially occurred, it would not achieve its uncanniness if the feeling of fright was not produced by hesitation; as seen in Part III, “He stood motionless, his breath suspended until the knock was repeated.” (page 10). The reaction of Mr.White, the father, may be on account of his past, now familiar, experiences with coincidence. In Part I of the supernatural story, upon receiving a magical paw holding three wishes from Sergeant Major Morris, Mr. White from
The threatening to eat the goldfish relates with the theme of social conflict through scarcity of resources. Monkey symbolizes deception, savagery, and selfishness. Monkey is the main influence on Berkeley letting the animals out, however ironically later on has no regard for the wellbeing of the other animals. In an attempt to obtain the power in the shop, Monkey gets Mr. Tilford’s gun and shoots Berkeley with it. Monkey killing Berkeley illustrates the connection of social conflict in the