The Monkey´s paw analysis

The Monkey's Paw shmoop.com In A Nutshell "The Monkey's Paw" Paw" is the story of the White W hite family and what happens to them when they get a mystical, magical monkey's paw that has the power to grant three wishes. We warn you, this is a scary story, so you might want to do it to the max. You You know, read read while sitting around a campfire, or on a dark and story night, when you're all alone. W.W. W.W. Jacobs managed to make a good living writing novels and short stories, but he's most famous for this one, written in !# and first published in Har Harper per's 's maga$ine maga$ine.. %hat same year it was also published in a collection of Jacobs's short stories called Our Lady of the Barge. Barge. &ver the next century it would find its way into do$ens of anthologies and be reuired reading for thousands of school kids. (t was also a dapted by another master of horror and suspense,  )lfred *itchcock, for an an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. +ost writers are influenced and inspired b y the books they themselves read. ven the most famous author of all - ig Willy /hakespeare /hakespeare - borrowed almost all of his ideas from other stories and changed them around to create his masterpieces. "%he +onkey's 0aw" is an adaptation of another story of three wishes gone wrong, from One Thousand and One Nights 1a.k.a. Nights  1a.k.a. Arabian  Arabian Nights2, Nights2, a very famous collection of stories from the +iddle ast and /outh )sia. One Thousand and One Nights is most famous for the character of )laddin, )laddin , which you probably know in its fabulously3isney4fied fabulously 3isney4fied form. form. This is an advertisement from one of our sponsors.

"%he +onkey's 0aw" may be less well known to modern readers than some of the stories it inspired. /tephen 5ing's bestselling novel Pet e!atary , the nightmare4inducing story of a cemetery that has the power to bring animals 1and maybe even people2 back to life, is directly inspired by Jacobs' story. %hen there's the i i!ps !pson ons s episode "+onkey's 0aw, 0aw,"", which is a /impsonesue retelling of this story. %his story is so good that when you read it, it might inspire you to write or film your own scary 1or funny2 story based on it - and we bet W.W. W.W. Jacobs would be happy if you did. 6rom reading "%he +onkey's 0aw" you might get the idea that Jacobs wrote mostly horror stories, like dgar )llan 0oe. 0oe . 7ot so. (n his day, Jacobs was known as a writer of comedies. %his is why you might detect some humor running between the lines of this spooky tale. )s with stories from /tephen 5ing or any g ood horror writer, the infusion of a little humor makes the scary parts even scarier. &kay, now are you ready to read "%he +onkey's 0aw"8 *ere is a video about )rabian 7ights as well if you wanted to know where the +onkey and the 0aw came from. 9heck it out.

Why Should I Care?

*ave you ever felt a bit bi t dissatisfied with your life8 *ave you ever wished that something in your life would !agically  change  change - no hard work reuired8  )dmit it: you've made a wish or two in your day. day. 3on't pretend pretend you haven't wished on a shooting star, some birthday candles, a four4leaf clover, or a dandelion. We all do it.  )s we grow up, we're often often told that wishes can come come true. Just think about about the dreamy 3isney theme song: "When " When you wish upon a star makes star  makes no difference who you are; anything your heart desires; will come to you." We are encouraged to dream big and wish for our hearts' desires. (n "%he +onkey's 0aw," wishes do come true, but there's a catch. %hese wishes are granted with dark, scary magic that involves no 3isney happily4ever4afters. 1Yep, 1Yep, if you're the kind of person who can't get enough of &ui
The Monkey's Paw Summary How It All Goes Down "%he +onkey's 0aw" is set in the White family home in ngland. (t begins on a dark and stormy night, so we know we're in for a scary story. %he Whites - +r. and and +rs. White and their adult son *erbert - are inside en
%he next morning, *erbert goes off to work as usual and +rs. White watches for the t wo hundred pounds to show up. (n the afternoon, a fancily dressed man pays the Whites a visit.

*ave you ever felt a bit bi t dissatisfied with your life8 *ave you ever wished that something in your life would !agically  change  change - no hard work reuired8  )dmit it: you've made a wish or two in your day. day. 3on't pretend pretend you haven't wished on a shooting star, some birthday candles, a four4leaf clover, or a dandelion. We all do it.  )s we grow up, we're often often told that wishes can come come true. Just think about about the dreamy 3isney theme song: "When " When you wish upon a star makes star  makes no difference who you are; anything your heart desires; will come to you." We are encouraged to dream big and wish for our hearts' desires. (n "%he +onkey's 0aw," wishes do come true, but there's a catch. %hese wishes are granted with dark, scary magic that involves no 3isney happily4ever4afters. 1Yep, 1Yep, if you're the kind of person who can't get enough of &ui
The Monkey's Paw Summary How It All Goes Down "%he +onkey's 0aw" is set in the White family home in ngland. (t begins on a dark and stormy night, so we know we're in for a scary story. %he Whites - +r. and and +rs. White and their adult son *erbert - are inside en
%he next morning, *erbert goes off to work as usual and +rs. White watches for the t wo hundred pounds to show up. (n the afternoon, a fancily dressed man pays the Whites a visit.

*e is from +aw and +eggins, the company *erbert works for. %he man tells the Whites that *erbert has been killed in a machinery accident. 1We aren't given details of *erbert's work, but the clues suggest that he works in some kind of factory.2 %he man says that the company takes no blame for *erbert's death but wants to give the Whites some money to help with their loss. You You can probably guess how much money the man gives the Whites. W hites. %hat's right, two hundred pounds. +rs. White screams and +r. White faints. 6ull of sadness over *erbert's death, +r. and +rs. White bury him in the cemetery two miles from their home. &ne night +rs. White gets a bright idea: use those other two wishes to bring *erbert back> /he shares her plan with +r. White. *e thinks it's a bad idea - he could barely look at *erbert's mangled body when he went to identify it. *is wife really turns up the heat, though, and he caves in. +r. White pulls out the cursed monkey's paw and wishes *erbert back to life. 7othing happens, so the Whites go back to bed. /oon after, someone - or something - starts pounding on the door. 1*ave you seen Pet e!atary 8 %his cannot be good.2 +rs. W hite is sure it's *erbert - it
The Monkey's Paw Chapter  Summary •

•

•

•

•

•

•

"%he +onkey's 0aw" starts off the way many good scary stories start - with a dark and stormy night. We're in ngland, inside ?aburnam @illa, where things are not dark and stormy.  )ctually, they are uite cheery - there's there's even a fire burning in the fireplace. fireplace. 7ow we meet the White family. %he father and mother both have white hair. %heir grown son, *erbert White, is probably in his mid4#s. +r. White and *erbert are playing chess, while +rs. White knits near that fire we were talking about. What could be more ho mey and comfy than this8 +r. White makes a wrong move and *erbert wins the game, putting +r. White in a bad mood, but
•

•

•

•

•

•

+r. White brings up something from an earlier conversation with +orris - a monkey's paw. +orris says the paw is "magic" 1.#2. )s he takes it out of his pocket, he says, "%o look at, it's
•

/uddenly, +orris chucks the paw into the fire.

•

+r. White grabs it out before it burns. *e asks +orris to let him have the paw.

•

•

•

•

•

•

+orris warns him against it, but then he gives him instruction on using the paw: . *old paw in hand. #. +ake wish. 13efinitely not rocket science.2  )fter +orris leaves, +r. White holds the paw and says, "( don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact DEF (t seems to me ('ve got all ( want" 1.GH2. &h really8 %hen why did you want the cursed paw in the first place8 *erbert suggests wishing for two hundred pounds 1pounds are nglish currency, *e screams. *erbert makes some
The Monkey's Paw Chapter ! Summary •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

%hings don't look as scary to *erbert in the bright light of morning. *e feels silly for letting a dirty little paw spook him last night. *e makes some
The Monkey's Paw Chapter " Summary •

•

•

•

•

%he Whites bury *erbert in a cemetery two miles from their house. %heir home is now a dark and lonely place. %he Whites feel like they are waiting for something to happen to help them with their sadness. &ne night, about a week later, +rs. White remembers the monkey's paw. /he wants +r. White to wish *erbert back to life. +r. White, who isn't sure whether *erbert's death has anything to do with the paw, is totally against this idea. ut +rs. White won't take no for an answer, so +r. White, against his own
•

•

•

•

•

•

•

7othing happens. %hey go back to bed. +r. White is relieved. *erbert has b een dead ten days and his body looked really horrible ten d ays ago. 16atal factory accidents do that to a body.2 +r. White has no desire to see the undead version of his son.  )fter a while, the Whites hear someone - or something - banging on the front door. +rs. White decides that it
•

+r. White goes outside and comforts her.

•

Want to talk about the ending8 *urry over to "What's Ip With the nding8"

The Monkey's Paw Theme of The Supernatural 3o you or don't you believe in the power of the monkey's paw8 %his is one of those stories, unlike the *arry 0otter books, where we aren't ever uite sure whether supernatural forces are at work or not. (t's like "%he +onkey's 0aw" is trying to convince us of two conflicting things: 2 that the paw really is magic and directly causes *erbert White's death and #2 that the paw isn't magic and *erbert's death
Questions About The Supernatural .

Who believes in the paw more, +r. or +rs. White8

#.

A. H.

G.

3oes /ergeant4+a
B.

Why do you think that Jacobs never really  tells us if the paw is magical or not8 *ow does the uncertainty impact the story8

L.

9reate your own alternate ending for the story in which +r. Whitedoesn't  wish *erbert dead again. What does +rs. W hite see when she opens the front door8 What does +r. White spend his third wish on8 Ise this is your opportunity to settle the uestion of whether or not the monkey's paw is magical.

M.

%he story never tells us what +orris or the first owner of the monkey's paw wished for. Write your own story explaining what happened to these men, and why the first o wner finally wished to die.

Chew on This  Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate. %he paw is fueled by the monkey's anger and vengeance, which makes it impossible to wish on it without negative conseuences. %he story's ending proves that the paw's powers are real.

The Monkey's Paw Theme of #eath (n "%he +onkey's 0aw" we watch as the White family is transformed from a loving trio into a grief4stricken duo with the death of *erbert W hite. We can all relate to this aspect of the story. %he loss of a loved one is one of the hardest things to deal with in life. "%he +onkey's 0aw" can be seen as a story about how one family deals with the death of their last living son, and the frightening possibility that he could be brought back to life. 6or +rs. White, death is the worst possible fate for her son, and she'd prefer him alive, no matter the cost. +r. White, on the other hand, seems to believe that there is a fate worse than death for his son - being some kind of mangled, undead monster.  )fter a loved one dies, people often wonder whether they could have done anything to prevent the tragedy. 6or example, if there was no monkey's paw in this story, +rs. White might have blamed herself for not stopping *erbert from going to work that day. We know that W.W.

Jacobs lost his mother when he was young. *is firsthand knowledge of the grieving process certainly must have influenced and maybe even inspired this story. (n !# ngland mortality rates were high due to a variety of diseases and lack of today's medical technologies. %here were also many deaths and even more accidents related to factory work, like that done by *erbert W hite. %he story thus taps into something that was touching the lives of many of its readers.

Questions About Death .

3oes the paw have anything to do with *erbert's death8

#.

3o you think +r. White succeeds in wishing *erbert back to life8

A.

(t seems like +r. White's third wish is for *erbert to be dead again. Why would he wish that8 (f you were in his position, would you do the same thing8 3o you think +r. White does this for *erbert's sake or for the sake of himself and his wife8

H.

3oes knowing that *erbert had siblings who died change the way you see the Whites8 Why or why not8

G.

3o you think we live in a dangerous time8 What are the most common causes of death today8 What were they in the early !s8 What has changed and why8

Chew on This  Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate. W.W. Jacobs uses the genre of horror literature to explore a serious issue in society - unsafe working conditions in factories, which often result in in
The Monkey's Paw Theme of $ate and $ree Will  )re the Whites responsible for the bad things that happen to them, or are they helpless victims of fate, destined to suffer8 (s it a combination of both8 When we look closely at "%he +onkey's 0aw," it's full of uestions about how much power people have over the direction of their lives. %his story is also about how we make choices. %hink of +r. White. *e decides he wants to keep the paw, but it's *erbert who suggests the first wish, and +rs. White his second one. *e seems to make this second wish against his will. *e knows it could be disastrous, but he does it anyway, either because he can't say no to his wife or because he wants to please her. *is

final wish, whatever it is, could be seen as a sign that his character is getting stronger. *e is learning 1rather late in the game2, to take control of his life a nd to make good, careful choices on his own.

Questions About Fate and Free Will .

9an you find examples of times when the characters seem to be doing things they don't want to do - that is, acting against their will8

#.

9an the wishes we make impact the course of our lives8

A.

3oes +r. White learn to make his own decisions over the course of this story8

H.

(f +r. White had wished more carefully, could he have gotten some good stuff from the monkey's paw, or were his wishes destined to become curses8

G.

3oes +rs. White make +r. White do things he doesn't want to do8

B.

Why does +r. White follow *erbert's suggestion and wish for money8

Chew on This  Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate. 6ear of seeing *erbert back from the dead forces +r. White to start making decisions on his own. ven if +r. White had wanted to resist the paw, he would have no choice but to wish on it.

The Monkey's Paw Theme of $amily  )t the center of "%he +onkey's 0aw" is the White family. %he family is made up of +r. and +rs. White and their adult son *erbert. %heir loving home is disrupted by the arrival of the monkey's paw and *erbert's subseuent death. +orris mentioned that wishing on the monkey's paw leads to utter disaster, and the fact that +r. White's first wish is twisted such that *erbert dies indicates that a death in the family is the worst possible thing that could happen to the Whites worse, for example, than losing their home. +r. and +rs. White's intense grief over *erbert highlights how much they adored their son, as does +rs. White's desire to have her son back, no matter the cost.

Questions About Family .

6rom the little we see of it before *erbert's death, how would you describe the Whites' family life8

#.

What do we learn about the Whites' family life after  *erbert dies8

A.

)fter *erbert dies we find out that there used to be other White children, though we don't know how many or how they died. %he Whites seemed to be able to rebuild a happy life after their other children died. 3o you think they'll be able to do the same now that they've also lost *erbert8

H.

What do +r. and +rs. White's different reactions to the knocking on the door 1presumably *erbert, back from the dead2 show about their love for their son8

G.

*ow would you describe +r. and +rs. White's relationship8 +rs. White's relationship with *erbert8 +r. White's relationship with *erbert8

Chew on This  Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate. Without *erbert, the Whites will never feel like a family again. +r. and +rs. White's relationship makes this not
The Monkey's Paw Theme of Technolo%y and Moderni&ation 6rom the late Ls to the mid Ms, ritish society underwent a huge transformation, known as the (ndustrial Kevolution. ?ots of factories were buil t in cities, providing many of
Questions About Technology and Modernization .

*erbert is in
#.

What technologies exist today that did not exist in !8 (f you were to adapt the story to our own time, what technologies might you include and why8

A.

ased on the visit from the man from +aw and +eggins, how do you think the company views its employees8

Chew on This  Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devil’s advocate. %hrough "%he +onkey's 0aw," Jacobs is commenting on the dangerous work conditions resulting from technological advances in the early !s. ?iving in an isolated area, +r. and +rs. White are mostly cut off from technology and moderni$ation. %hrough *erbert's accident, technology intrudes tragically into their lives.

The Monkey's Paw The Supernatural uotes Pa%e  Pa ge( 1of2 )Quot e s: 1 2 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #1

"Monkey's paw?" said Mrs. White, curiously. "Well, it's just a bit of what you might call magic,  perhaps," said the sergeant-major, offhandedly. !.!#

3oes +orris actually believe in magic, or is he
Quote #2

"$t had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a %ery holy man. &... (e put a spell on it so that three separate men could each ha%e three wishes from it." !.)#

Why would a holy man make something evil8 %o teach people a lesson8 (n some ways this passage can be seen as a reflection of misconceptions about (ndia in the early !s, and the public's fascination with stories of magic and mysticism from afar.

Quote #3

*he soldier shook his head. "+ancy, $ suppose," he said, slowly. "$ did ha%e some idea of selling it, but $ don't think $ will. $t has caused enough mischief already. esides, people won't buy. *hey think it's a fairy tale some of them, and those who do think anything of it want to try it first and pay me afterward." !.)#

%he paw is closely associated with money. +orris wants to sell it. +r. White, it seems, does actually pay him for  it. )nd +r. White's first wish is for money. /till, it's hard to say this is a story warning against greed, since all +r. White wants to do is pay off his debt. Why stop at # pounds, after all8

The Monkey's Paw The Supernatural uotes Pa%e ! Pa ge( 2of2 )Quot e s: 1 2 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #4

(e 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. "etter let it burn," said the soldier, solemnly. "$f you don't want it, Morris," said the other, "gi%e it to me." !./!#

+r. White claims he has everything he wants and doesn't need to wish for anythingE but he wants the paw even more when he sees he's about to lose it. %his suggests that beneath his happy exterior he is unsatisfied with some aspects of his life and isn't about to let a chance to change it go by. 3oes the paw itself compel him to wish on it, or is he denying the truth of his life8

Quote #5

(e sat alone in the darkness, ga0ing at the dying fire, and seeing faces in it. *he last face was so horrible and so simian &monkey-like that he ga0ed at it in ama0ement. $t got so %i%id that, with a little uneasy laugh, he felt on the table for a glass containing a little water to throw o%er it. (is hand grasped the monkey's  paw, and with a little shi%er he wiped his hand on his coat and went up to bed. !.))#

%his passage reveals that even practical *erbert is susceptible to belief in the supernatural. (s he
Quote #6

ut her husband was on his hands and knees groping wildly on the floor in search of the paw. $f he could only find it before the thing outside got in. ./1#

+r. White definitely believes the paw has real powers at this point in the story. 3o you8 Would you be convinced without actually seeing undead *erbert with your own eyes8

The Monkey's Paw #eath uotes Pa%e  Pa ge( 1of2 )Quot e s: 1 2 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #1

"*he first man had his three wishes, yes," was the reply. "$ don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. *hat's how $ got the paw." !.#

Wow, pretty strong warning there, but it's softened by +orris' claim that he has wished on the paw - and he's obviously still alive. 1ut we don't know whether anybody close to him died after he used the paw.2 %his statement foreshadows the fact that a death will occur in the story.

Quote #2

"$s he hurt?" demanded the mother. *he %isitor bowed in assent. "adly hurt," h e said 2uietly, "but he is not in any pain." .!3#

*erbert isn't in any pain because he's dead. %hat's a pretty creepy thing to say, don't you think8 (f you had to tell somebody her loved one was dead, would you use a direct or indirect approach8

Quote #3

"(e was the only one left to us," he said, turning gently to the %isitor. "$t is hard." .#

Jacobs is a master of saying a lot in
The Monkey's Paw #eath uotes Pa%e ! Pa ge( 2of2 )Quot e s: 1 2 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #4

$n the huge new cemetery, some two miles distant, the old people buried their dead, and came back to a house steeped in shadow and silence. .!#

*erbert's death transforms the White's home from a happy place to one of sadness, grief, and darkness. Will the Whites ever be able to make their home happy again8

Quote #5

"4o and get it and wish," cried his wife, 2ui%ering with e5citement. *he old man turned and regarded her, and his %oice shook. "(e has been dead ten days, and besides he 6 $ would not tell you else, but 6 $ could only recogni0e him  by his clothing. $f he was too terrible for you to see then, how now?" ./#

+r. White understands the way this whole wishing thing works, but he wishes *erbert back to life anyway without specifying that the grave rot and physical disfigurement not be included in the package. %his passage gets at our fears of death and dead people. 7otice how +rs. White's grief causes her to forget these fears.

Quote #6

(e raised his hand. "$ wish my son ali%e again." .!#

We never come face to face with the undead *erbert, and are therefore never sure if he does come back to life again.

The Monkey's Paw $ate and $ree Will uotes Pa%e  Pa ge( 1of3 )Quot e s: 1 2 3 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #1

"$t had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a %ery holy man. (e wanted to show that fate ruled people's li%es, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow. (e put a spell on it so that three separate men could each ha%e three wishes from it." !.)#

%his implies that the paw is
it could be read as warning against trying to get things the easy way, or against taking unnecessary risks such as gambling.

Quote #2

"$f you could ha%e another three wishes," said the old man, eyeing him keenly, "would you ha%e them?" &7 "$ don't know," said the other. "$ don't kn ow." !.1#

%he paw seems to bring out greed and desire in those who come in contact with it. %o some degree, it seems to have the power to rob people of their free will.

Quote #3

"$ suppose all old soldiers are the same," said Mrs White. "*he idea of our listening to such nonsense8 (ow could wishes be granted in these days? 9nd if they could, how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?" .#

*ere's what +rs. White is basically saying: since the pa w can't really grant wishes, there can't be any harm in wishing on it. ?ater it seems she really does believe in the paw and is trying to convince her husband to use it. %his helps us see that beneath her cheerful demeanor, she is a little desperate for anything that might turn their lives around.

The Monkey's Paw $ate and $ree Will uotes Pa%e ! Pa ge( 2of3 )Quot e s: 1 2 3 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #4

"*he firm wished me to con%ey their sincere sympathy with you in your great loss," he said, without looking round. "$ beg that you will understand $ am only their ser%ant and merely obeying orders." .:#

%he man from +aw and +eggins 1probably the company that owns the factory where *erbert worked2 explains that he doesn't necessarily agree with what he's about to do. *e doesn't want the Whites to think he is as unfeeling as the firm he works for. ?ike the Whites, he seems to feel his life is out of his own control. *e is caught between his own will and the will of his employers. (s he as powerless as he claims8

Quote #5

";o," she cried, triumphantly "we'll ha%e one more. 4o down and get it 2uickly, and wish our boy ali%e again." .!3#

+rs. White is used to being able to control her husband. *ere she is able to convince him to wish *erbert alive, even though he really doesn't want to. What gives her this power over him8

Quote #6

"We had the first wish granted," said the old wo man, fe%erishly "why not the second." "9 coincidence," stammered the old man. .#

*ere +r. White is making an argument that *erbert's death happened because of the dangerous conditions where he worked. *e doesn't want to believe he caused *erbert's death by wishing on the pa w. %he fact that he stammers these words suggests that he isn't entirely convinced of this.

Quote #7

(e heard the creaking of the bolt as it came slowly back, and at the same moment he found the monkey's paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish. ./1#

We don't know what +r. White wishes here. %he important thing is that he makes the wish on his own, free of his wife's or son's influence, based on what he thinks is right.

The Monkey's Paw $amily uotes Pa%e  Pa ge( 1of2 )Quot e s: 1 2 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #1

"$f you only cleared the house, you'd be 2uite happy, wouldn't you?" said (erbert, with his hand on his shoulder. "Well, wish for two hundred pounds, then that'll just do it." !.::#

7ext to food and love, what is the number one thing a family needs8 ) place to live, right8 %he Whites, we learn here, have to pay the bank every month or they will lose their home. 7otice that it's *erbert bringing this up. /ince he's the one working, it's probably up to him to make this monthly payment. )lthough he seems cheery about it here, it probably causes him a lot of stress.

Quote #2

"(e was the only one left to us," he said, turning gently to the %isitor. "$t is hard." .#

%hese two brief sentences from +r. White reveal that *erbert was not their only child. We aren't given any details beyond this, but the point is made: the Whites have been through this before. %hey have now outlived all  their children.

Quote #3

$t was all o%er so 2uickly that at first they could hardly reali0e it, and remained in a state of e5pectation as though of something else to happen--something else which was to lighten this load, too hea%y for old hearts to bear. .!#

%hese lines foreshadow +rs. White's cra$y plan to use the paw to put what's left of her family back together again. 3o you think +r. and +rs. White will ever be able to find happiness again8 9an they find comfort in each other8

The Monkey's Paw $amily uotes Pa%e ! Pa ge( 2of2 )Quot e s: 1 2 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #4

"ring him back," cried the old woman, and dragged him toward the door. "
*ave you ever wanted something so badly that you ignore the risks and
Quote #5

"=ou're afraid of your own son," she cried, struggling. ">et me go. $'m coming, (erbert $'m coming." ./:#

+rs. White isn't being fair here, and +r. White is able to see clearly enough to recogni$e this. *e has learned his lesson about wishing hastily. *e can see all the problems that undead *erbert might bring

The Monkey's Paw Technolo%y and Moderni&ation uotes Pa%e  Pa ge( 1of2 )Quot e s: 1 2 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #1

"*hat's the worst of li%ing so far out," bawled Mr. White, with sudden and unlooked-for %iolence "of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to li%e in, this is the worst. athway's a bog, and the road's a torrent. $

don't know what people are thinking about. $ suppose  because only two houses on the road are let, they think it doesn't matter." !.)#

%his passage points to the movement of people from isolated rural areas into the cities during the early !s in ngland. %he Whites only have one neighbor and don't get many visitors because their place is hard to get to.

Quote #2

"*wenty-one years of it," said Mr. White, nodding at his wife and son. "When &@ergeant-Major Morris went away he was a slip of a youth in the warehouse. ;ow look at him." !.!/#

+orris has spent most of his life in (ndia in the army. *e's bringing back new ideas to ngland, as represented by the paw. %his is another aspect of moderni$ation, the exchange of ideas as people from very different cultures interact.

Quote #3

"$'d like to go to $ndia myself," said the old man, "just to look round a bit, you know." !.!)# "etter where you are," said the sergeant-major, shaking his head. (e put down the empty glass, and sighing softly, shook it again. !.!3#

+r. White has been unable to participate in the changes going on in the world. *e is isolated from the exploration of different lands, and from the factory life in the city. Whether he likes it or not, these things will intrude on his happy life before the story ends.

The Monkey's Paw Technolo%y and Moderni&ation uotes Pa%e ! Pa ge( 2of2 )Quot e s: 1 2 Ho w wec i t et h eq uo t e s : ( Cha pt er . Par agr aph )

Quote #4

"(e was caught in the machinery," said the %isitor at length, in a low %oice. "Aaught in the machinery," repeated Mr. White, in a da0ed fashion, "yes." .#

%his is our first clue about the kind of work *erbert does. 6actory
Quote #5

"$ was to say that Maw and Meggins disclaim all responsibility," continued the other. "*hey admit no liability at all, but in consideration of your son's ser%ices they wish to present you with a certain sum as compensation." .:#

 )s machines became more and more a part of human life, the people who own them came to be seen as cold and unfeeling. *erbert seems almost disposable to his employers he is only valuable as a person who can operate a machine. 3o we still have anxieties about machines today8

Prota%onist Character Role Analysis

Mr. White You could argue that all three of the Whites serve as the protagonist, but we're
(nta%onist Character Role Analysis

SergeantMa!or Morris

We don't know for sure that +orris is an antagonist. *e claims to be a victim of the paw himself, and seems almost compelled to pass the paw on against his will. *e seems to be trying to resist this urge when he throws it into the fire, but that might
The Fa"ir (f the paw really is cursed, and a supposed holy man created it to make those who wish on it suffer, then we've found our antagonist. 7ot only is this a cruel thing to do, with no real purpose that we can see, but it also involves taking a paw from a poor defenseless monkey.

Character Clues Character Analysis

#ames We never learn +r. and +rs. White's first names. %hey are only called +r. and +rs. White or "mother" and "father." %his is stresses their identities as a married couple, parents, family people, and heads of a household. When *erbert dies, all aspects of this identity are challenged. %hey have no idea how to act without their son in their lives.

$hysical Appearances &ne of the first things we are told about /ergeant4+a
NextP

The Monkey's Paw y!bolis!, I!a"ery, Alle"ory %he paw is a powerful symbol. *ere's a uick list of some things it seems to stand for: Cuilt. 0eople often feel guilty after the death of a loved one. (f it weren't for the paw, the Whites would probably have found other ways to take the blame for *erbert's death. 1(f onl y we hadn't made him work, if only we'd kept him home, etc.2 %he paw provides an interesting way to explore this guilt.  )nxiety over "6oreign" %hings. eing from (ndia, the paw is foreign, magical, and scary. (ndia was a ritish colony when this story was written, and the ritish brought back to ngland stories of (ndian traditions and beliefs that many people found strange or threatening. Just like today, social problems were often blamed on "foreigners" or "foreign" ideas. vil and @engeance. When *erbert sees 1or thinks he sees2 a monkey's face in the fire after his father makes his wish, we assume it's the poor monkey who lost its p aw. %he monkey is described as "horrible." We get the sense that its a nger over its cruel treatment is fueling the paw's evil, bringing bad luck to anyone who makes a wish.

Chess y!bolis!, I!a"ery, Alle"ory When we first meet *erbert and his father, they are playing chess. +r. White makes a reckless move. *erbert and +rs. White instantly catch the mistake, and *erbert wins the game. 9hess is a game of strategy that depends on a person's ability to anticipate a series of moves ahead of time. %he chess game here might be symbolic of *erbert's carefulness and +r. White's recklessness. +r. White's recklessness in buying and wishi ng on the cursed monkey's paw causes plenty of trouble for his family, but unfortunately, *erbert's carefulness doesn't save him. +r. White seems to have learned his lesson, though. y the end of the story, he's unwilling to take the risk of meeting up with his undead son.

%aburnam &illa' somewhere in (ngland' around )*+, %aburnam &illa

%he main setting of "%he +onkey's 0aw" is inside and around the White family home, called ?aburnam @illa. %he story is probably set around the time it was published, in !#. %he first section of the story covers a single night in the White's lives, and the second section covers the following day. %he third section happens at night, ten days after *erbert dies.  )s the story opens, the scene inside ?aburnam @illa is contrasted with the scene outside. &utside, it's your typical dark and stormy night. (nside things are warm and cheery, with chess, knitting, and a roaring fire. )s the story progresses, the house becomes progressively darker and spookier - complete with creaking stairs, strange shadows from candles, and things that go bump in the night. )fter *erbert dies, we are told that the house becomes "steeped in shadow and silence" 1A.A2. %his is
Maw and Meggins +aw and +eggins is the name of the company that owns the factory where *erbert works. We never visit this place, and we never learn exactly what is done there or what *erbert's
-ndia ?ike *erbert's workplace, (ndia is heard about but not seen in the story. (n !# (ndia was still part of the ritish mpire. ecause of the ritish presence and influence in (ndia, the ritish public had been exposed to information about (ndia 1much of it faulty2 for some time, mostly from ritish people who spent time there. %he fact that the monkey's paw supposedly comes from (ndia reflects the public's fascination with (ndia, its e mbrace of stereotypical representations of people from (ndia, and an eagerness to believe that (ndian and other foreign traditions would cause problems if introduced into Western societies.

The Monkey's Paw )arrator* #ho is the narrator, can she or he read !inds, and, !ore i!portantly, can we trust her or hi!$

Third $erson /mniscient0 "%he +onkey's 0aw" is narrated in the third person. %he narrator is like a spider on the wall inside the Whites home, conveying and commenting on the events taking place there, but never
 
The Monkey's Paw +enre

Fol" Tale' 1orror and 2othic Fiction' Tragedy The 3asic Fol" Tale Formula ?et's talk sausages. )nd noses. )nd male anatomy. 1%rust us, this will all become clear.2 /ee, this is a story about three wishes with really bad conseuences. %here are uite a few old folk tales out there that feature three wishes 1 click here for a list2. &ne of these is from One Thousand and One Nights 1a.k.a. Arabian Nights2, a very famous collection of stories from the +iddle ast and /outh )sia. /ome of these stories are ancient. )ll of them are much older than "%he +onkey's 0aw," and translations of them reached ngland not long before "%he +onkey's 0aw" was written. (n the story in One Thousand and One Nights, a man is granted three wishes. *is wife urges him to wish for a bigger, um, you kno"  1thetranslation we read rather hysterically calls this bit

the male anatomy a "prickle" and a "yard"2. (t's a disaster and his wife is horrified, so the man wishes it smaller, but then it totally disappears. *is final wish is used to put things back the way they were before he ever made a wish. &ther folk tales feature this basic formula: two foolish wishes are made and the third wish is used to bring things back to the way they were. 6or some reason, most of the people in these stories use their first wish on, yep, sausages. 7ow for the really weird part: the second wish is usually used to attach the sausages to somebody's nose. 7ow, we like sausages as much as the next person, but this all seems very strange to us.

 4acobs5 Creepy Spin on Three Wishes Fol" Tales W.W. Jacobs' gothic tragedy, though generally similar to the "three wishes" folk tales, has some key differences. 6irst, he does away with the whole noses and sausages business 1phew2 and stays away from body parts in general 1except for the paw, of course2. %his story becomes much scarier when the wishes seem to have the power to give and take away life. (n "%he +onkey's 0aw," +r. White also fails to use his third wish to return things back to the way they were before the wishes. 7o, for this story to remain a tragedy, *erbert must stay dead and mangled. (f he were magically restored to his pre4wishes self, this would be a silly story rather than a tragic and horrifying one. (nterestingly, )merica's master of horror, /tephen 5ing, picks up where Jacobs leaves off. Jacobs toys with the idea of bring ing a mangled person back to life, but then decides against making it happen. (n Pet e!atary , 5ing takes the idea and runs with it, bringing animals and people back to life with great enthusiasm. We love the way this story helps us trace the roots of  today's Cothic and horror genres. 6or fun, compare Jacobs with another important figure in this genre,dgar )llan 0oe. What are some differences and similarities8

The Monkey's Paw Tone  Ta%e a story&s te!perature by studyin" its tone. Is it hope'ul$ Cynical$ nar%y$ (lay'ul$

Sympathetic' with a 1int o6 Mischie6  %one refers to an author's attitude toward his characters and sub
#. *e uses the horror genre to talk about some very serious issues: working conditions in factories, the effects of ritish colonialism, the alienation and isolation caused by the (ndustrial Kevolution, grief over a loved one, a nd other serious matters. *e is a serious guy who has serious concerns about the world he lives in, which he voices in the story. A. Jacobs is famous for "%he +onkey's 0aw" now, but in his day people knew him as a comedic writer. (n fact, that's how he made much of his living. %his story has the outrageous, over4the4top feel of many Cothic tales of horror 1like dgar )llan 0oe's work2 and borders on being funny at times, like when +orris tells the legend of the paw to the Whites. We think this is probably the comedian in Jacobs coming out, keeping the story from being so serious that we can't tolerate it. Jacobs knows it's sometimes easier to get people to think about serious issues by veiling them in genres like horror and humor. *e is in full control, though. *e knows that too much humor might spoil the horror and undermine the seriousness.

The Monkey's Paw Writin% Style

Full o6 Foreshadowing 6oreshadowing is a tool that writers use to give readers clues about what to expect later on in the story and also to ratchet up the suspense. /killed use of foreshadowing can also give a story a feeling of conclusion: all the hints connect together to complete our understanding of what has happened. 1%his is exactly what happens in the movie The i(th ense, for example.2 *erbert's death is foreshadowed several times by *erbert himself. )fter his father makes his first wish, *erbert says, "Well, ( don't see the money, D...F and ( bet ( never shall" 12. %hat's right, *erb, you're never going to see the money - because you're going to die first. efore his parents go to bed, *erbert seems to foreshadow his own disfigurement and return from the dead: + e(pect you'll find the cash tied up in a big bag in the !iddle of your bed &... and so!ething horrible s-uatting up on top of the "ardrobe "atching you as you pocket your ill)gotten gains.+ 1.BG2 (f +r. White hadn't used his third wish 1presumably2 to send *erbert back to the grave, this might have been exactly the scenario that p layed out. +angled from his accident and rotting from his time in the graveyard, *erbert would have been that "something horrible" if +rs. White had managed to let him into the house.

What,s -p With the Title? %his title is creepy and mysterious, drawing readers in to its web of fear. %he mere mention of the paw of a monkey hints that we will be rewarded with chills and thrills. (t sounds so exotic we can almost smell the incense and hear the mystical music. (n !# ngland, when this story was published, readers would have i nstantly associated monkeys with (ndia, then a part of the ritish mpire. +ost ritish people never saw (ndia personall y and weren't necessarily being given accurate information about it. (t was usually talked about as drastically different from ritain, full of strange ways and deeds. %he title seeks to draw people into the story by playing on their curiosity about (ndia and other faraway places. %oday's readers might not instantly associate the title with (ndia. You might think of $oos, funny monkey videos on You%ube, or the i!psonepisode inspired by the story. You might even wonder if this is a story about animal rights, or a monkey that lends a helping paw to somebody. )gain, the title awakens our curiosity and makes us start turning pages to find out what it means. 6or more on the monkey's paw as a symbol, check out our discussion in "/ymbolism, (magery,  )llegory."

What,s -p With the ndin%?

-s the Mon"ey5s $aw Magic7 +an, this story does not  have a happy ending. *erbert is not coming back, and +r. and +rs. White are left childless and grieving. %he interesting thing about the en ding is that not everything is explained. %here's actually a lot left to the imagination. 6or example: . (s the monkey's paw really and truly magic8 #. 3id +r. White's second wish really bring *erbert back from the dead8 A. Was it *erbert knocking on the White's door in the middle of the night8 H. (f so, was *erbert mangled, nasty, and $ombie4ish8

G. What was +r. White's final wish8 Jacobs
Mr. White5s Final Wish /upernatural matters aside, we think the ending also does a lot of character building. When +rs. White is unable to sleep because she's thinking of *erbert cold and alone, and when she is willing to accept *erbert even mangled and undead, we understand the depth of her love and grief. What really shows in the ending, though, is +r. White's love for his wife and the sturdiness of his character. *e'll do anything for her - even wish a dead son back to life against his better  
The Monkey's Paw Plot (nalysis )ost "ood stories start with a 'unda!ental list o' in"redients* the initial situation, con+ict, co!plication, cli!a, suspense, denoue!ent, and conclusion. Great writers so!eti!es sha%e up the recipe and add so!e spice.

-nitial Situation A happy 6amily' an isolated cottage' and a mysterious 8isitor... When we first meet the Whites, they are basically happy people, though maybe a tad lonely and isolated. &n a dark and stormy night, they get a visitor, /ergeant4+a
Con9ict To wish or not to wish7 +orris warns the Whites that the paw was specifically designed to hurt the people who wish on it. *e has wished on it himself but isn't sure if he would do it again. /ince the paw couldn't possibly really have magical powers, what harm would there be in wishing on it,
Complication #ow that the wish is made' will it come true7 Well, +r. White does make a wish, for two hundred pounds, the amount of money needed to pay off the family home. %his proves to be a complication after the climax, which happens next. 7ow the Whites will never be sure whether what happens in the climax is a result of the wish or  not. (f the wish had never been made, it would probably be a little easier for them to deal with the climax.

Clima: 1erbert is in a 6atal accident. %he very next day, *erbert is killed in an accident at the factory where he works. %o compensate the Whites for his death, *erbert's employers give them two hundred pounds, the exact amount +r. White wished for.

Suspense Will 1erbert come bac" to li6e7 -s wishing 6or that e8en a good idea7 When +rs. White begs +r. White to wish *erbert back to life, we're pretty sure he's going to do it. ut when it seems that the mangled, undead *erbert is actually at the door, there's a lot of

suspense over whether +r. White will go against his wife and do what he wants. Iltimately his fear of undead *erbert wins over his fear of his wife.

Denouement Mr. White uses his third and ;nal wish. %his part is a little frustrating. +r. White does wish, though we aren't told precisely what he wishes for. )ll we know is that the banging on the door stops. %he implication is that +r. White wished *erbert back to death.

Conclusion Mr. and Mrs. White wal" outside. (n case you were thinking maybe somebody besides undead *erbert was at the door, the concluding lines suggest it was probabl y him. Kemember, the Whites live in an isolated area and only have one neighbor. When they walk outside after the knocking stops, the area is completely uiet and empty....

The Monkey's Paw Trivia -rain nac%s* Tasty Tidbits o' nowled"e %he W.W. in W.W. Jacobs stands for William Wymark 1 source2. W.W. Jacobs, author of "%he +onkey's 0aw," was known primarily as a writer of comedy in his day. *e made his living by writing funny novels and short stories, most of them set on the water. 9heck out this Ne" ork Ti!es reference 1from !L2 to his "familiar humorous themes." "%he +onkey's 0aw" inspired an episode of  The i!psons . (n it, *omer gets four wishes instead of the usual three. 3oes he use them wisely8 /tephen 5ing's bestselling novel Pet e!atary  was inspired in part by "%he +onkey's 0aw." 5ing even uotes the short story at the beginning of 0art %hree of his novel.

The Monkey's Paw uestions -rin" on the tou"h stu/ 0 there’s not 1ust one ri"ht answer.

. %he uestion you've been waiting for all your life: (f you were given three wishes, what would you wish for8 Kemember, be smart about this and give it plenty of thought. You don't want to make the same mistakes the W hites do. #. Why doesn't anybody ever wish for unlimited wishes8 )re there any ways that wish could backfire8 A. 3o you think +r. White's second wish came true8 We never seean undead version of *erbert in the story, we only hear someone knocking on the White's door. 9an you think of any other explanation for the sound8 H. (f you were in +r. and +rs. White's position, would you wish for *erbert to come back to life8 Why or why not8 G. (s +orris an untrustworthy guy8 (s he trying to make +r. White want the cursed paw8 B. *ow does "%he +onkey's 0aw" compare to other stories about wishes that you've read or watched8 1+aybe Aladdin, the Creek myth of " )pollo and 3aphne," /0 1oing on 02 , or 3oraline, for example.2 L. %his story helped horror4master /tephen 5ing develop some of the plot elements and ma
T/ M0)12,S P(W W. W. Jacobs

3 9ontext

4 W. W. 1William Wymark2 Jacobs was born in MBA in ?ondon, ngland, to an impoverished family. *is mother, /ophia, died when Jacobs was a young boy. *is father, William Jacobs, managed a wharf in /outh 3evon. )fter receiving his degree from irkbeck 9ollege, the satirical maga$ines the dler andToday published some of his stories in the early M!s. JacobsNs first short4story collection, $any 3argoes 1M!B2, won popular acclaim, prompting him to uit working as a clerk and begin writing full4time. Jacobs wed )gnes leanor, a prominent suffragette, in !, and they had five children together.

%he success of JacobsNs fiction enabled him to escape his scrappy, hard4luck childhood and dull life as a civil servant. *is early experiences benefited him greatly, however. *e had spent a lot of time hanging around the wharves in ?ondon, and many of his short stories and novels concern seamenNs lives and adventures. JacobsNs works include The kipper4s %ooing 1M!L2, ea 5rchins 1M!M2, Light 6reights 1!2, 3aptains4 All 1!#2, ailors4 7nots 1!!2, and Night %atches 1!H2. )ll told, Jacobs published thirteen collections of short stories, five novels, and a novella, many of which sold tens of thousands of copies. *e also wrote a number of one4act plays. *is financial security was further solidified by the popular trand maga$ine, which began publishing JacobsNs short stories in M!M and continued to do so throughout much of his life. Jacobs died in !HA. While modern readers associate Jacobs primarily with his suspenseful and freuently anthologi$ed short story O%he +onkeyNs 0awP and, to a lesser degree, with his short story O%he %oll *ouse,P his contemporaries primarily knew him as a comic writer. ?ike many comic writers of the day, Jacobs explored the lives of the lower and middle classes and published many of his stories in maga$ines directed at this audience. %he novellas At un"ich Port 1!#2 and 8ialstone Lane 1!H2 exemplify his ability to create humorous scenarios with vivid characters. Jerome 5. Jerome, a popular comic novelist of the day, was a great fan of JacobsNs and praised his strong work ethic and painstaking approach. *e said that Jacobs would often rewrite
Themes The #an%er of Wishin%

%he WhitesN downfall comes as the result of wishing for more than what they actually needed. ven though +r. White feels content with his lifeQhe has a happy family, a comfortable home, and plenty of loveQhe nevertheless uses the monkeyNs paw to wish for money that he doesnNt really need. )s Jacobs suggests, making one seemingly harmless wish only intensifies and magnifies desire as each subseuent wish b ecomes more outlandish. )fter receiving two hundred pounds for *erbertNs death, for example, +rs. White
The Clash 5etween #omesticity and the 0utside World Jacobs depicts the WhitesN home and domestic sphere in general as a safe, co$y place separate from the dangerous world outside. %he W hitesN house is full of symbols of happy domesticity: a piano, knitting, a copper kettle, a chessboard, a fireplace, and a breakfast table. ut the Whites repeatedly invite trouble into this co$y world. /ergeant4+a
Motifs +roups of Three JacobsNs story is structured around a pattern of threes. %he central force of the story is the monkeyNs paw, which will grant three separate owners three wishes each. %he White family is made up of three people. +r. White is the third owner of the paw. 1%he second owner is /ergeant4+a
begins talking about his adventures in (ndia after three glasses of whisky and urges +r. White three times not to wish on the paw. %he representative from +aw and +eggins approaches the WhitesN gate three times before he musters up the courage to walk up the path to their door. +rs. White orders her husband three times to wish *erbert alive again before h e retrieves the paw. )nd the reanimated corpse of *erbert knocks three times before his mother hears him. (n addition to permeating the plot, the n umber three gives O%he +onkeyNs 0awP its structure. %he story is broken up into three parts, which take place at three times of day, during three types of weather. 0art ( occurs in the evening during a rainstorm. 0art (( takes place during the morning of a bright winter day. 0art ((( is set in the middle of a chilly, windy night. y stressing threes, Jacobs taps into a number of associations that are common in Western culture. +ost relevant to the story is the saying Obad luck comes in threes.P &ne well4known trinity, or three, is from 9hristian theology, in which Cod is composed of the 6ather, /on, and *oly /pirit. 3isregard for threes has been superstitiously euated with disregard for the trinity. (n the case of JacobsNs characters, faith in a non49hristian totem 1the paw2 may be interpreted as disrespect for 9hristianity. 6inally, because twos commonly occur in nature 1we have two legs, two eyes, two hands, and so on2, threes are often used in literature to produce a perverse or unnatural effect.

Sym5ols The Monkey,s Paw %he monkeyNs paw is a symbol of desire and greedQeverything that its owner could possibly wish for and the unrestricted ability to make it happen. %his power makes the paw alluring, even to unselfish people who desire nothing and have everything they need. +r. White, for example, hastily retrieves the paw from the fire, even though he himself admits that he wouldnNt know what to wish for if he owned the paw. (ts potential also prompts *erbert to half4  
Chess 9hess symboli$es life in O%he +onkeyNs 0aw.P %hose who play a daring, risky g ame of chess, for example, will lose,
opens, +r. White and *erbert play chess by the fire, and the gameNs outcome mirrors the storyNs outcome. +r. White, the narrator explains, has a theory of Oradical changesP concerning chess. *e takes terrible, unnecessary risks with his king, risks that make his wife nervous as she watches the game unfold. )s he plays, he notices that he has made a mistake that will prove deadly. %he risks and mistakes +r. White makes playing chess parallel the risks and mistakes he makes wishing on the monkeyNs paw. %hese mistakes ultimately lead to *erbertNs death, the most Oradical changeP of all.

T/ M0)12,S P(W W. W. Jacobs

3 %he *orror Cenre

4 O%he +onkeyNs 0awP is a classic of the horror genre that has been copied and adapted numerous times in the century since it was first published. Jacobs wove many common and recogni$able elements of the genre into the story: the story opens on a d ark and stormy night, the Whites live on a deserted street, doors bang unexpectedly, stairs sueak, and silences are interrupted by the ticking of the clock. %hese elements h eighten the tension and inform readers that something dreadful could occur at any moment. )nother element of classic horror is JacobsNs transformation of the happy, loving White family into people who live amidst death and misery. *erbertNs transformation is the most obvious, from a
untold riches or worldly power, but merely for enough money to finally purchase their house. *is small and sensible wish, however, is enough to tempt fate into killing *erbert. JacobsNs story adheres to the traditional belief that we do not really want what we think we want and that wanting more than whatNs sufficient may bring ruin.

T/ M0)12,S P(W W. W. Jacobs

3 (mportant Ruotations xplained

4 /. ;He "as caught in the !achinery,< said the #isitor at length in a lo" #oice. ;3aught in the !achinery,< repeated $r. %hite, in a da=ed fashion, ;yes.< *erbert WhiteNs death has a literal meaning and two metaphorical meanings. ?iterally, *erbert died because he became entangled in the machinery, his body so mangled that +r. White was able to identify his son only by examining his clothes. +etaphorically, however, *erbert died because after being caught in the machinery of fate, which went awry after +r. White tampered with fate by making his wish for more money. ) subtler metaphorical meaning has to do with *erbertNs employer. )n undercurrent of class consciousness runs through O%h e +onkeyNs 0aw,P a story that concerns the fate of three lower4middle4class people. (t is possible to read the WhitesN dire fate not as something they brought upon themselves through greediness, but instead as the unfair effect of a modest wish made by a family struggling with debts and a small income. Jacobs suggests that anyone, even the most moral reader, would behave exactly as the Whites did, making a small, practical wish