The Monkey's Paw

“‘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.’”

Sergeant-Major Morris provides a clear description of the paw’s purpose and parameters but also warns the Whites about its origins. As the story unfolds, the question of what fate is and what the consequences are of trying to control one’s fate come to be of the utmost significance.

“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.”

In the strongest rejection of the paw Morris can illustrate to the Whites, he throws it into the fire. Mr. White’s refusal to let the talisman burn despite Morris’s warnings foreshadows that the Whites will suffer sorrow for trying to change fate—as the holy man wanted to demonstrate.

“Well, wish for two hundred pounds, then; that’ll just do it.”

Spoken by Herbert White to his father, this becomes the first wish used on the monkey’s paw. Ironically, this will also be the amount Herbert’s employer will pay Mr. and Mrs. White after Herbert’s death.

“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. It got so vivid that, with a little uneasy laugh, he felt on the table for a glass containing a little water to throw over it. His hand grasped the monkey’s paw, and with a little shiver he wiped his hand on his coat and went up to bed.”

This last moment of Part 1 indicates the unsettled fear Mr. White has after using the paw. Never knowing quite what is real or imagined, Mr. White encapsulates this dichotomy that will continue to emerge throughout the story.

“‘Morris said the things happened so naturally,’ said his father, ‘that you might if you so wished attribute it to coincidence.’”

When no sum of money arrives by morning, Mr. White reminds his son and wife that Morris explained the wish’s fulfillment would happen in a sensical way. This statement also leaves I to the reader to question whether what happens next is due to the magic of the monkey’s paw or simply coincidence.

“‘Well, don’t break into the money before I come back,’ said Herbert as he rose from the table. ‘I’m afraid it’ll turn you into a mean, avaricious man, and we shall have to disown you.’”

Herbert’s last words to his parents tease them about using the money without him. The irony in this statement is that Herbert’s death provides them the 200 pounds, so there is no way he could have enjoyed it with his parents.

“‘I’m sorry—’ began the visitor. ‘Is he hurt?’ demanded the mother, wildly. ‘Badly hurt,’ he said, quietly, ‘but he is not in any pain.’ ‘Oh, thank God!’ said the old woman, clasping her hands. ‘Thank God for that! Thank—’ She broke off suddenly as the sinister meaning of the assurance dawned upon her and she saw the awful confirmation of her fears in the other’s averted face.”

Perhaps the most tragic moment of the story, a stranger from Herbert’s workplace visits his parents to share the news that he died in a machinery accident. Mrs. White at first cannot understand and wants to deny the horrible news, but she has a moment of revelation as she understands the implication of why her son is no longer in pain.

“‘He was the only one left to us,’ he said, turning gently to the visitor. ‘It is hard.’”

Herbert is the Whites’ only child, and they have no grandchildren, compounding their loss. Mr. White’s sentiment falls short of conveying the level of grief they will experience, but this quiet moment between the Whites and the visitor points to a tragic normalcy of life when one loses a child.

“‘I was to say that “Maw and Meggins” disclaim all responsibility,’ continued the other. ‘They admit no liability at all, but in consideration of your son’s services, they wish to present you with a certain sum as compensation.’”

An example of the coldness of modern industrialized life and the outside world intruding on the Whites, this statement made by the visitor to the Whites depicts how Herbert’s company legally distances itself from the tragedy. For the company, Herbert’s loss of life is not spoken about in any human terms but rather in terms of what his life will warrant in compensation.

“‘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.

Irony and foreshadowing come together when the visitor from Maw and Meggins tells the Whites the company will pay 200 pounds—the same amount wished for—in compensation for Herbert’s death. This conclusion to Part 2 indicates that Mr. and Mrs. White are shocked at this sum and react accordingly.

“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 which was to lighten this load, too heavy for old hearts to bear.”

Jacobs’s horror story describes universal human experiences with succinct eloquence. After burying their son, the Whites are left with the strange feeling of having done something momentous rather quickly and hoping something may lighten their grief.

“‘Go and get it and wish,’ cried his wife, quivering with excitement. The old man turned and regarded her, and his voice shook. ‘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?’”

Mrs. White excitedly encourages her husband to retrieve the monkey’s paw for this second wish. Yet, Mr. White tries to remind his wife that their son’s appearance was left unrecognizable by the machinery. Their conjuring of their son could result in something terrifyingly monstrous.

“‘It’s my boy; it’s Herbert!’ she cried, struggling mechanically. ‘I forgot it was two miles away. What are you holding me for? Let go. I must open the door.’”

Desperate for her deceased son’s return, Mrs. White hears the knocking at the door and immediately states it must be Herbert. She justifies the length of time from the wish until this moment of his arrival by how far the cemetery is from their home.