The Monkey's Paw Analysis

Laburnam VillaThe main setting of "The Monkey's Paw" is inside and around the White family home, called Laburnam Villa. The story is probably set around the time it was published, in 1902. The firs...

"The Monkey's Paw" is narrated in the third person. The narrator is like a spider on the wall inside the Whites home, conveying and commenting on the events taking place there, but never joining in...

The Basic Folk Tale FormulaLet's talk sausages. And noses. And male anatomy. (Trust us, this will all become clear.) See, this is a story about three wishes with really bad consequences. There are...

Tone refers to an author's attitude toward his characters and subject matter. We have to make guesses about the tone based on the author's writing. Here's what we've come up with:He seems to take t...

Foreshadowing 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. Skilled use of foreshadowing can also give a story a f...

This title is creepy and mysterious, drawing readers in to its web of fear. The mere mention of the paw of a monkey hints that we will be rewarded with chills and thrills. It sounds so exotic – w...

Man, this story does not have a happy ending. Herbert is not coming back, and Mr. and Mrs. White are left childless and grieving.The interesting thing about the ending is that not everything is exp...

A happy family, an isolated cottage, and a mysterious visitor... When we first meet the Whites, they are basically happy people, though maybe a tad lonely and isolated. On a dark and stormy night,...

The W.W. in W.W. Jacobs stands for William Wymark (source).W.W. Jacobs, author of "The Monkey's Paw," was known primarily as a writer of comedy in his day. He made his living by writing funny novel...

Nothing to see here, folks. "The Monkey's Paw" is more bone-chilling than steamy.

Arabian Nights (a.k.a. One Thousand and One Nights) (1.45)