The Monkey’s Paw
The Monkey’s Paw is a fictional story about an old dried monkey paw. From the larger story, the monkey’s paw has some magical spell put on it by an old Fakir. The passage gives the ending of the story and is built on several instances of suspense. The excerpt starts with the description of an older man who appears lonely. From the passage, the old man seems to be in disagreement with his wife about an issue. The monkey’s paw can be treated as a character in the reading because it possesses the powers of a being and changes the direction of the story in different ways. The other characters in the passage, such as the old man and his wife, appear to be built around the abilities of the monkey’s paw. The combination of suspense and other literary devices has been used to give the reader a chance to create a conclusion based on their opinion and to relate the passage to the larger work. The monkey’s paw is magical and falls at the center of the story, and all the other characters are drawn from the attention paid to the existence of the monkey’s paw.
The monkey’s paw qualifies to be a character in the passage due to the role it plays. Although the monkey’s paw is not alive, the powers associated with it impact the development of other characters. The old man appears to have placed his hope on the monkey’s palm. The beginning of the passage shows the old to be in a bit of trouble. Later in the story, the reader is made to know that the environment had been created from the monkey’s palm. Ideally, the owner of the palm was given a chance to make three wishes that would come to pass. However, the paw did not offer wishes without a price. The passage does not, however, give clear information on the price paid to enjoy the wishes.
Fate is always beyond the control of man. The monkey’s paw appears to be offering a solution to victims of fate, although a price has to be paid. From the passage, the old man and his wife seem to have one wish remaining to be made. However, the man does not appear to be happy with the wishes he has already made. The influence of his wife seems to be behind the complications that the wishes have brought to them. The reader is, however, left in suspense concerning what the other wishes have been. Besides, the passage is a part of a story that has been built from the start, and thus reading an excerpt is certain to leave the reader in suspense. The suspense in the passage is, however, given some relief in that the old man’s wife talks about their son, Herbert.
The monkey’s paw remains unnoticed for the first part of the passage. However, the introduction of the monkey’s paw later in the passage shows that the whole passage is built around the paw. For example, the actions of the old man and his man are developed from their relationship with the monkey’s paw. When a knock is made on the door, the old man becomes afraid. The old man’s wife enquires from her husband about the knock, but the old man lies that a rat made the sound. The significance of the monkey’s paw comes up when the old man’s wife decides to open the door forcefully. Also, a further revelation is made of the couple’s son, Herbert, who is not discussed in the passage. Herbert appears to have died from a cause related to the monkey’s paw. Generally, the suspense left out by the passage leads to the conclusion that Herbert was a part of the price paid by the couple to have their first wish honored.
Moreover, the old man appeared frightened by the knock on the door. On the other hand, the old man’s wife was willing to open the door for their son, Herbert. The old man could not explain why he was afraid of letting his son into their house: “For God’s sake don’t let it in,” Jacobs (n. p). Besides, the old man was trying to convince his wife that opening the door was a mistake. The disagreement between the old man showed that their son could have been involved in one of their wishes and that a higher price would be needed for his return. The seriousness of the matter is seen with the way the old man struggles to stop his wife from opening the door. Again, the power of the monkey’s paw is seen in the way the old man lets his wife open the door with the hope that the monkey’s paw would solve his problems. When the old man finally finds the monkey’s paw, he is relieved and goes on to make his last wish. Besides, the position of the monkey’s paw in the passage is explained through symbolism.
The monkey’s paw is crucial to the lives of other characters in the passage but appears to get lost in the time of need. Also, the possession of the monkey’s paw is more of a curse than a blessing as expected. The wishes made are honored, but the price paid appears to cancel the happiness that the wishers would have wanted. For example, the wish for having Herbert back appears expensive from the way the old man reacts. Also, the last wish made although not mentioned in the passage appears to be a regret: “…he found the monkey’s paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish,” Jacobs (n. p). The old man makes a wish that cools the situation by sending Herbert away and bringing peace in the house. The end of the passage gives the reader a hint that only three wishes were possible with the monkey’s paw. Therefore, the monkey’s paw gave the characters a limited opportunity to make their wishes and accept the price needed.
In sum, the monkey’s paw is magical and falls at the center of the story, and all the other characters are drawn from the attention paid to the existence of the monkey’s paw. However, the paw did not offer wishes without a price. The passage, however, leaves out information on the price paid to enjoy the wishes. The roles played by the monkey’s paw in building the story makes it a character in the story.
Work Cited
Jacobs, William Wymark. The monkey’s paw. Samuel French, Inc., 2000.