Short Stories The Monkey’s Paw Summary Setting Mood Character Themes & Analysis
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Setting and Mood Analysis
The story is a horror and mysterious tale of fate, magic and human frailties like greed, etc. It is set in the backdrop of the early 20th Century and speaks about places like British occupied India and England.
The Whites live in England whereas Morris is a journeyman who has been to places like the Indian subcontinent etc. The mood of the story is ominous and mysterious with a foreboding of something devastating and tragic.
The story is primarily played out in the house which seems to be in a deserted location. The events and action mostly play out at night however, there is a spell of the day when the Whites learn about the demise of their son.
The writer has further set a tone of eerie suspense with sounds of loud banging on the door and images of empty and dark streets as well as terrifying images of money like creatures in the fire.
The sense of trepidation is also enhanced by the sense of fear and suspicion in the voice of the characters. The only character that lacks an air of fear is Herbert who ends up being butchered to a terrible death in a work accident.
The writer is successful in maintaining a sense of horror and suspense till the very end by never revealing the truth of the final visitor at the door and by not disclosing the third wish of Mr. White (the last one that the paw could grant according to its legend).
Characters
Sergeant-Morris
He is a strapping army officer with a penchant for storytelling and traveling. He is intrigued by the mysterious and exotic things and especially loves his stays in India.
He is the one who brings the paw and is most likely the last person to use it before Mr. White. He is aware of the powers of the paw and warns the Whites about the consequences of playing with a thing that knows nothing about or meddling with fate and magic.
Mrs.White
He loses all her calm and sanity when he hears about her son's painful end. She doesn't blame her husband but coerces him to use the cursed paw to resurrect her dead son.
Without worrying about the consequences, she rushes to the door to welcome her son and is saved by the urgency and quick wit of her repentant husband.
Herbert White
He is the humorous and vital young son of Mr. and Mrs. White. He finds it difficult to believe the magical powers of the cursed paw and rubbishes his uncle's tales as folklore.
However, he urges his father to ask for the kingship of the world or at least for enough money to pay off their debt. Unfortunately, the wish gets granted at the cost of his life as he meets with a painful and horrifying accident at work.
In the end, we cannot be sure if it is he who comes back to the house or some other form of evil monstrosity as his father wishes for it to be nullified.
Mr.White
The man of the house, Mr. White is a repentant man. He realizes his mistake of using the paw for selfish needs. He feels responsible for the tragic death of his young son and does not want to invite more devastation to his family.
Therefore, he uses his third wish to cancel his second one and probably saves his wife for a painful end. He also seems to be fascinated with travel and diverse cultures of the World and wishes to visit the Indian subcontinent.
Major Themes
Consequences
Every action or word has a consequence that may or may not be desirable. That is an inviolable reality and the great the magnitude of action, greater is the magnitude of consequence.
In the story, the characters meddle with great powers that are inexplicable and end paying consequences that life-altering. The first possessor ended up asking for his death as his final wish.
Due to this, he corrects his second wish by using the third one to cancel it. He recognizes the error of his ways and greed for money that resulted in their son losing his life.
Dreams and Wishes
The story highlights the power of our dreams and wishes. People in the story, fall for their weaknesses like greed for material wealth and end up doing more damage than good to their lives.
Dreams and wishes are often exorbitant and unrealistic but people often forget the price and cost involved in case they came true. The same happens with the Whites as they end up losing their only son for a paltry two hundred pounds.
Fate
The story paints an important lesson for all the characters and through them the readers. People should not tempt fate or play with things that are beyond their understanding.
Meddling with fate and things that are inexplicable can often result in unexpected, unpredictable and unpleasant consequences. In other words, tempting fate is playing with fire and it can lead to a catastrophe if it goes out of hand.
Magic & Mystery
The story is centered on the magical powers of an exotic object, a cursed monkey's paw. The paw is capable of answering wishes but with grave consequences. The Whites as well Morris is fascinated by its tail and attributes.
They are also attracted to other exotic objects and stories of places like India. There is also mystery around the number three with three wishes granted to three people by the paw.
The family also has three people- father, mother, and son. After the second wish, there are three knocks on the door. These tie into the old myth around the bad fortune around the unlucky number three.
Analysis
This is a horror-fiction that employs third-person voice for narration. It is filled with dread, foreboding, tragedy and a sense of loss and desolation. The main conflict in the story is between Mr. White's desire to fulfill his wishes and the monkey's paw that can either be his prosperity or ruin his family and life.
There is a constant foreshadowing of an impending disaster right from the first scene and the stories of Morris. The story is set in the times of British colonial rule over countries like India and brings a lot of reference to the thought, culture, and morality of the same as allusions to Indian fakir, reference to magical stories of Arabian Nights.
Even though the paw is powerful enough to fulfill any wish, two of its three users end up wishing for death which creates an unfortunate irony. In fact, the fact that the wishing paw brings only tragic curses and evil consequences is ironic as well.
The text also contains a profuse use of symbolism. The monkey’s paw symbolizes great and unexplained magic, evil and death. Cold wind and dark night symbolize the sense of ominous and tragic ambiance.
There is also the use of Chess which cleverly stages the subsequent moves by Mr. White and Herbert regarding the wishes. It also symbolizes that every move we make has a consequence attached to it.
Apart from symbolism, the story also has a lot of images that draw the reader closer to the action. The face of monkey in the fire, the mutilated corpse of Herbert, the dreary and desolate road, wintry and quiet night, etc all add context and value to the narration.
The story also has a mysterious end staying honest to the overall tone of the text. The readers are left to wonder what did Mr. White actually wishes at the very end and who or what was the actual cause behind the knocking at the front door of the house.
Summary
A Horror Story
This is a horror story that has a tinge of superstition and mystery to it. The paw belongs to a British officer named Morris who visits his friends, the Whites, in England. The Whites are an old couple with an adult son named Herbert.
The family welcomes Morris and entertains him lavishly. Morris, on the other hand, regales (entertains) them with the tales of adventure during his stay in the subcontinent of British India.
The Whites Desire to Use Paw
He laments his own use of the paw and confesses his fear of selling to someone else. The Whites are intrigued by the story and decide to take it off Morris's hands. Morris advises them to be really cautious and intelligent with what they decide to wish.
After seeing the guest, the Whites discuss the various things they can wish for. Herbert is practical and advises to pay off the house debt of 200 pounds. Both Mr. and Mrs. White agree and Mr. White eventually asks for the money.
However, they are disappointed as no notable changes occur and decide to go off to bed. Herbert stays behind to warm himself before the fireplace. Suddenly, he imagines a scary monkey looking at him through the flames.
He is startled and extinguishes the fire, accidentally touching the paw in the process. The next morning Hebert goes off to work and the Whites get on with their lives.
A Devastating News
Sometime later, they get a visitor which makes them excited and expectant (eager). However, he delivers the tragic news of their son being butchered in a factory accident.
He offers them compensation equal to the amount they had wished for the previous night. The couple is devastated to lose their young son and only heir.
After several days, we find the couple still trying to cope with their loss. Mrs. White cannot stop wailing and Mr. White tries to put on a brave face for his family. Growing desperate, Mrs. White asks her husband to use the paw again to resurrect their son from the dead.
The Second Wish
Mr. White knows the price of such a move could even more devastating but cannot disappoint his wife. He takes the paw and wishes the same. Suddenly, there's a knock at the front door. However, Mr. White is too afraid to open it and rushes back to bed.
The knocking continues and Mrs. White sprints to open it. Caught in a very difficult place, Mr. White grabs the paw and mutters his third wish. Without knowing what the third wish, his wife opens up the front gate only to see no one there.
The vacant porch suggests that Mr. White had finally realized the grave consequences of playing with fate and asked his dead son to not be resurrected.
