Group 3

The story involves Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son Herbert. Sergeant-Major Morris, a friend of the Whites who has been part of the British Armed Force in India, leaves them with the monkey's paw, telling of its mysterious powers to grant three wishes, and of its journey from an old fakir to his comrade, who used his third and final wish to wish for death.

Mr. White wishes for 200. Their son is killed by machinery at his company, and they get compensation of 200. Ten days after they bury Herbert, Mrs. White, almost mad with grief, asks her husband to wish Herbert back to life with the paw. Reluctantly, he does so. After a delay, there is a knock at the door. Mrs. White fumbles at the locks in an attempt to open the door. Mr. White knows, however, that he cannot allow their son in, as his appearance will be too horrific.

Mr. White was required to witness and identify the body, which had been mutilated by the accident and then buried for more than a week. He wishes his third wish, and the knocking stops. Mrs. White opens the door to find no one there.

THEMES
be careful what you wish for and you can't get something for nothing. Jacobs illustrates both themes when Herbert urges his father to wish for two hundred pounds. Everything seems to be going fine the next day until Herbert leaves for work. Not long after he is gone, a strange man comes to their house and informs Mr. and Mrs. White their son has been in an accident involving the machinery he was working with and he was instantly killed.

idea of irony (Everything comes with a price) when you think of something having the ability to grant wishes, you automatically assume because you have good intentions your wishes will bring you nothing but happiness and enhance your life for the better. But when Mr. White makes his wish for money, regardless of how innocent it was, ends up costing him his son's life in the end-the give and take method. Thus bringing us back full circle that you can't get something for nothing. No matter how innocent Mr. White's wish was, it came with a price. Again, with the second wish, despite their good intentions, wishing Herbert back from the dead would bring back the Herbert they knew before he died; it would be something "evil" that would return to them and Mr. White knew it and he quickly acted on what he knew by wishing Herbert dead again.

Mr. White (father) believes an unholy creature stands knocking at his door instead of his son suggests that he feels guilty for having let selfishness overtake him when he made his wishes.

Sergeant-Major Morris catalyst for the story: he brings the monkey's paw to the Whites' home.

CHARACTERS

Herbert gentle, happy, and devoted young man. A thoughtful and loving son, Herbert plays chess with his father and gently teases his mother. He is the only member of the family who works

Mrs. White (mother) Eager, changes from an intelligent, selfpossessed woman into a raving, shrieking, weeping mourner.

Foreshadowing

technique in which the writer hints at the events to come.

The Whites' chess game at the opening of the story, when Mr. White puts his king into "sharp and unnecessary perils"and soon sees "a fatal mistake after it was too late"is a kind of minidrama, one that tells us what is about to happen in the story.

The Monkeys Paw

desire and greedeverything that its owner could possibly wish for and the unrestricted ability to make it happen.

Chess
symbolizes life. Those who play a daring, risky game of chess, for example, will lose, just as those who take unnecessary risks in life will die.

Mr. White, for example, hastily retrieves the paw from the fire, even though he himself admits that he wouldnt know what to wish for if he owned the paw.

The risks and mistakes Mr. White makes playing chess parallel the risks and mistakes he makes wishing on the monkeys paw. These mistakes ultimately lead to Herberts death, the most radical change of all.

Dont tempt fate

Moral values
Be careful what you wish for

Sometimes, we do not really want what we think we want and that wanting more than whats sufficient may bring ruin.