The Monkey's Paw

                                                               The Monkey’s Paw

                                                                By: W. W. Jacobs

Summary-

The story begins with the Whites waiting around the fire, and Morris comes. Morris shows them a monkey’s paw and this paw can grant three cursed wishes. They wish for something, and Herbert dies. Mrs. White uses the second wish to bring him back, but Mr. Herbert is afraid of what might happen, so he wishes for an unknown wish.

Characters-

The character Herbert White is the son of Mr. and Mrs. White. He seemed to be a good son, but he dies because of one of the wishes the Whites made.

The father of Herbert White, Mr. White, seems to deeply care about his son and wife. He seems to be a curious fellow, because he wished to obtain the monkey’s paw.

The mother of Herbert White, Mrs. White, seems to deeply care about her son, evidenced when she would accept him as a corpse or not.

Sergeant-Major Morris seems to be the antagonist because, even though he told them not to make any wishes, he told them how to do it. He seems to be quite evil, or just stupid because of this.

Plot Elements-

The exposition of the short story would be when the Herbert White, Mr. White, and Mrs. White are near a fire doing various things, and out of nowhere Sergeant-Major Morris appears.

The rising action in the short story would be when the family wishes for 200 pounds, to clear their debt and buy their home, but in exchange for these 200 pounds, Herbert White died.

The climax in the story would be when Mr. and Mrs. White wish for their dead son back to life, but Mr. White pounces for the Monkey’s Paw.

The resolution of the short story would be when Mr. White makes an unknown wish, which we do not know what it is exactly.

My honest feelings for the short story-

I enjoyed this short story because of its twist, how Herbert died for 200 pounds. I truly wondered if the monkey’s paw really had the power to grant cursed wishes, or if it was just chance, that Herbert died for 200 pounds, and the knocking at the front door.

I believe the moral of the story is quite obvious, be careful what you wish for. Because of their greed, the Whites had lost their son.

Overall the story in two words would be, lesson learned.