December 19, 2011 Victoria To 8A

The Monkeys Paw Questions

1. The following quotations descibes the setting for The Monkeys Paw (includes location, time, weather, etc.) : - The night outside was cold and wet. This quote tells us that the weather is cold and wet (we can infer from the fact that outside is wet that it is either raining, or it was previously raining.) - Of all the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places to live, this is the worst. The pathways a swamp and the roads flooded. This confirms that it is either raining, or was previously raining. We can infer that it is possible that they live in the country-side (out-of-the-place). - But inside the small parlor of Laburman Villa... The majority of the story happens in the Whites home. We now know that the Whites home is a Laburman Villa (a country house, usually large and rich). - Next morning, the winter sun... The story takes place during the winter. - He was caught in the machinery, Herbert works with machinery: Herbert works in a factory. This means that the story probably takes place (year-wise) during the Industrial Revolution. 2. The atmosphere and overall feeling in the story is eerie, dark, gloomy, etc. (to accord with the mysterious monkeys paw). The setting plays a big role in creating this atmosphere, especially the weather and the time of day. The fact that the majority of the story takes place during the night, it creates an dark feeling. Usually, in a horror story, the author will use night time as their time of day because its dark (literally). Its dark, you cant see your surroundings that well... as opposed If the story occured during the day in broad sunlight, imagine the last scene! Instead of panicking about what could possibly be outside the door (if its the dead corpse of Herbert, or a mail man), all they would need to do is look outside the window, as they could see perfectly well in the daytime. Also, the fact that the knockings started in the middle of the night creates a whole new feeling of alarm and anxiety for the reader. Who could be outside the door at this hour?

3. The character I chose was Mr. White. Two character traits of this character are: -short-sighted (support: While he was playing chess, he posessed ideas about the game involving radical chances, putting his kind into such sharp and unncessary perils that it even provoked comment from the whitehaired old lady knitting placidly by the fire. This shows that he is extremely reckless when playing chess, which probably means that he is reckless for most choices in his daily life as well.) -caring (support: Come back, he said tenderly. You will be cold. He obviously cares a lot for his wife, and is very understanding of her as well, especially since they must have been married for nearly fourty years (...in their old courting days nearly forty years before.) As well, he fainted and was miserable when he heard that his son was dead, therefore he mustve cared to some extent about his son. All this proves that he is cares greatly for his family, therefore making him a caring person.) 4. The moral/message that the author wants the reader to take away from the story is to be careful for what you wish for, and that nothing, big or small, is ever free. The author illustrates these 2 themes through the wishes. When Herbert urges his father to wish for two hundred pounds, a seemingly innocent wish, the consequences were devestating, as it ended up costing Herberts life as he was killed by accident the next day from getting caught in the machinery he was working with. Although Mr. White ended up getting the two hundred pounds, it came with the price of having his son dead. This illustrated that you cant get something for nothing, and to be careful for what you wish for. Another example of this would be when Mrs. White was so brokenhearted that she begged for her husband to use his second wish to bring Herbert back to life. It is obvious to readers that it will be impossible for him to come back perfectly normally, as he was probably decapitated by the machine. Despite their good intentions of wishing Herbert back from the dead, learning from the consequences of the first wish, Mr. White knew that it would be something unnatural or evil that would return instead (as by now, he is aware that the monkeys paw has a give and take method). The author has even explained how to apply this lesson in real life when the Sergeant Major says If you must wish, wish for something sensible. This explains exactly what every person should do while wishing. All people must take into consideration the consequences of any action they take. The theme of the story is in the Sergeant-Majors description of the monkeys paw: It had a spell put on it by an old fakir, said the sergeant-major, a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled peoples lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow.

1. Expected outcome: Mr. White will be happy to have his house paid for. Outcome: Mr. White recieves the two hundred pounds as an compensation. He got his wish....for a high price. Instead of being happy and paying off the house, his son is now dead (and he has to use the

money to pay for the funeral, not the mortgage), causing misery and ____ throughout the Whites home. 2. Expected outcome: The stranger is a weathy man, probably bringing good news. Outcome: The stranger came from Maw and Meggins to bring news of the recent and accidental death of their son, Herbert. Instead of getting the two hundred pounds under happy circumstance (like Mrs. White was expecting and hoping for), it was under a very bad circumstance. 3. Expected outcome: Herbert is hurt, but he will survive Outcome: It is true that Herbert IS hurt (in a way) and he is not in any pain....because he is dead (caught in the machinery). Herbert can no longer feel and pain since he cant feel anymore.

In the end of all three scenario, although it is often automatically assumed that if you wish something and have good intentions, the wishes will come with no cost and bring you nothing but happiness. The author has demontrated that this is not true, as the consequences of the first 2 wishes has clearly shown that, no matter how innocent the wish is, it came with a high price that he had to pay.

1. Its possible that he was under the influence of alcohol as many people easily talk and spill things out when drunk. It says in the description of Morris appearance that he was ...beady of eye and rubicund of visage. These are traits of someone who might not exactly be sober. As well, the fact that The Sergeant-Major.....watched contentedly as his host got out the whiskey and tumblers... is also evidence that he couldve possibly been under the influence of alcohol. The fact that hes happy about getting a drink obviously implies that he enjoys drinks, therefore making it more likely that he couldve had a drink before visiting the Whites. He also absentmindedly put his empty glass to his lips and ten set it down again. This could mean that he often drinks, so much that it has become a habit of wanting (picking up the glass) to drink every second. Once again, it increases the likelyhood that the man is drunk. It is also possible that he couldve just wanted to let it all out. I know from personal experiences that, when you have a ___secret, you just want to tell someone, or anyone, about it to remove the burden even if you know you shouldnt. This secret was obviously a burden for the Sergeant-major and has obviously affected him in a way as he was very cautious and nervous when talking about it. For example, he replied Nothing. Said the soldier hastily. Leastways, nothing worth hearing. when the whites asked about the monkeys paw. He knows he shouldnt talk about it, but you can tell that he does want to tell (hence the leastways, nothing worth hearing part that he mentioned afterwords). As well, he was very easily persuaded: perhaps he wanted to talk about it and didnt need much convincing. And once he started talking about it, he stopped hesistating until the Whites asked if they could have it. This shows that he is eager to remove the burden of knowing the power of the monkeys paw. 2. I think that Mr. White smiled faintly because he finally made the connection between his sons death, and his wish from the monkeys paw. We can see that he didnt exactly proccess the information at first as it is written in the story when he first heard the news: Caught in the machinery, repeated Mr. White, in a dazed fashion. Yes.. Therefore, its likely that he did not

make the connection immediately as well. However, as it slowly sunk in, he saw the link. It is a big load to take in a once, and was probably the reason as to why he fainted afterwards. Mr. White smiled faintly because he was about to faint from the shock.

3. We can safely assume that Mr. White has become fearful of his wife because of her unusual and sudden change in behavior. Even his wifes face seemed changed as he entered the room. It was white and expectant, and to his fears, seemed to have an unnatural look upon it. He was afraid of her. Mrs. White has changed from a caring and sweet woman to one is hysteria. We can see that this is indeed unusual behavior as Mr. White seems to act cautious around her while she begged to use the third wish (WISH! she cried in a strong voice...WISH! repeated his wife), and even expressed his shock (Good God, you are mad!). I have no doubt that during their 40 years of marriage, not once has Mr. White seen his wife in this state, and I think that this is what makes it so scary. If I were in the same position and a close friend suddenly started begging like she was possessed, I would certainly be afraid as well.