Review of "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs

Introduction
The short story with the title "The Monkey's Paw" is the most famous story by author W. W. Jacobs. It was published in England in 1902 and is considered to be a classic of horror fiction.

The Author
The author did most of his writing in a fifteen-year stretch approximately at the turn of the twentieth century. Most of the stories coming from his pen were humorous accounts of the way of life on the waterfront and docks of London. Contrary to this, in "The Monkey's Paw," the author provides the reader with the frightening and gruesome consequences of trying to interfere with fate.

The Plot Line
The story is based on the well-known plot style where three wishes are granted. This is a creepy story about a magical monkey's paw that gives three wishes to persons owing it.

Story Elements
Jacobs makes extensive use of foreshadowing, imagery and symbolism in this story. This is done by way of exploring the consequences of tempting fate. He carefully creates a setting and the associated atmosphere and thus successfully enhances the suspense that is inherent in this type of story. His clever use of dialogue and colloquial speech easily convinces the readers that the characters are real.

In the story, the paw of a dead monkey is the amulet that caries the power to grant its possessor the three wishes. In the story the wishes always comes true in unexpected and unpleasant ways with an enormous price for interfering with fate. The author uses foreshadowing, imagery and symbolism to explore the consequences these actions.

The monkey's paw is passed on to a family of three: a father, mother, and son by a friend of the family who a Sergeant-Major in the British Armed Forces and was previously stationed in India. He told them of the mysterious powers the paw possesses to grant the owner three wishes

Review
The story kicks off with Mr. White and his son Herbert playing a game of chess. Mrs. White is knitting by the fire. This sets the tone of a happy family with warmth in the house that contrasts with the unpleasant weather outside.

Mr. White loses the game after he makes an wrong move and becomes agitated and exasperated. This is the first use of foreshadowing in the story indicating that Mr. White will make more mistakes and lose more than a game.

The knock on the door introduces the Sergeant-Major into the story. They enjoy a few drinks while the guest tells the Whites some anecdotes about his mission in India. Initially the Sergeant-Major is reluctant to discuss the monkey's paw, foreshadowing the evil to come. In the story the author makes clever use of the introduction of the monkeys paw by associating it with magic. Normally readers react eagerly to the mention of magic, which is also a characteristic element in horror stories. When the guest pauses to drink, he further enhances the suspense of the audience.

He tells them that the paw is magical and that it will allow three men three wishes each. One man has died as a result of his own wish and the Sergeant-Major has used up his three wishes. The Sergeant-Major tells them that a very holy man called a fakirs had put a spell on the paw "to show that fate ruled people's lives," and that those who tamper with fate will have to bear the consequences.

The guest tosses the paw into the fire when asked by Mr. White if he would use three more wishes if had them. The father snatches it out of the fire and keeps it for himself despite the warnings of the Sergeant-Major. His action is consistent with his character as he takes needles chances in chess, he has a first-rate family but seems dissatisfied as he long for travels to distant lands.

When the guest leaves the son coaxes his father to wish for something modest, the father wishes for a sum of money to pay of the house. After the wish the son jokingly states that he "don't see the money" and he continues by saying that "I bet I never shall". This is a clever use of foreshadowing by the author of the impending death of the son.

The next day the mother questions the reality of the wishes and even asks "how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father" not knowing how hurtful the receipt of the money will be. Later the same day a senior member of staff from the company where the son worked informs the parents that their son had died in a work related accident and they will receive the precise amount of money (two hundred pound) the father had wished for the night before.

About ten days after this treble incident, the mother makes the father wish with the paw for their dead son to return home alive. By doing so the father sets in motion a horrifying chain of events that will take the story to its climax.

They get back into bed and silently lay listening to the nigh. The author makes use of the imagery of sound and darkness to create a spine-chilling atmosphere in which he builds the suspense even further.

After a while, there is a knock at the door while Mr. White had gone downstairs to fetch a candle. This increases the action levels again. Eventually Mrs White hears the knock and forces herself away from her husband to open the door for her "boy".

In the darkness she feels around for the locks in an effort to open the door. Mr. White believes that he cannot allow their son in, as his look will be too horrific. He bases this view on his last vision of his son when he had to identify the body, which had been badly mutilated during the industrial accident. He wishes his third wish, probably that Herbert be dead again. The knocking immediately stops. Mrs. White opens the door only to find that no one is there.

Conclusion

The message, meaning and lesson of the story are to be found in the description of the paw by the Sergeant-Major: '"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"'.

© Carl Marc