The Monkey’s Paw by W.W.

Jacobs
Key facts: A great number of novels, stories, movies, plays and comics are variations
or adaptations of the story, featuring similar plots built around wishes that go awry in
macabre ways, occasionally with references to monkeys' paws or to the story itself.

About the author

W.W. Jacobs, in full William Wymark Jacobs, (born September 8, 1863, London,
England—died September 1, 1943, London), an English short-story writer.

Jacobs’s early home was a house on a River Thames wharf, where his father was
manager. His favourite subject was marine life. His first volume, Many
Cargoes (1896), had an immediate success and was followed by two others, The
Skipper’s Wooing (1897) and Sea Urchins (1898). Most of his work was humorous,
however, he is best known for his classic horror story “The Monkey’s Paw.” An
omnibus, Snug Harbour, containing some 17 volumes of Jacobs’s work, was
published in 1931.
About the text

“The Monkey’s Paw” (first published in The Lady of the Barge, 1902), a tale
of superstition and terror unfolding within a realistic, Dickensian setting of domestic
warmth and coziness, is a felicitous example of Jacobs’s ability to combine everyday
life and gentle humour with exotic adventure and dread.
 Mark the statements as True or False

1) Mr. White wins the chess game.

2) Mr. White would like to visit India.

3) Everyone sees that the paw has moved in his hands.

4) The son isn’t serious about the paw.

5) Mr. White asks for 200 pounds at his wife’s request.

6) The money comes as soon as he wishes for it.

7) The man is against the woman’s idea to return their son to life.

8) Mrs. White couldn’t open the door.

Answer the following questions

1. What is the setting of the story?

2. What are each of the members of the White family doing when the story begins?
3. Who are the Whites expecting?
4. Where had the visitor been for the previous twenty-one years?
5. What fascinating object did the visitor bring back with him, and why is it so special?
6. How many total wishes can be granted by this object?
7. How did the visitor, Sergeant-Major Morris, acquire the monkey’s paw?
8. What is Sergeant-Major Morris’s attitude toward the paw?
9. What does he do with it?
10.After Mr. White retrieves the paw, what advice is he given?
11.What does Mr. White wish for? Is the first wish granted?
12. What are the consequences of his wish?
13.What is Mr. White’s second wish?
14. Is this wish granted?
15.What is Mr. White’s third wish? Why does he wish this?
16.What lesson can be learned from this story?
 Vocabulary Practice

1. Translate
1. Out of the way
2. To put a spell on smth.
3. Resignation
4. To grope
5. To marvel
6. Henpecked
7. To dart
8. To disown
9. Admit (no) liability
10.To screw up enough/the courage to do

2. Explain the meaning

1. To be wont to do
2. To reverberate
3. To press smb.
4. To shrivel
5. To scurry
6. To broach (the subject/question)
7. Credulity
8. To fumble
9. To squat
10.To motion

3. Transcribe
Fakir grimace bawl malign wrench amiably aghast feverish fusillade
presumptuous Sergeant

4. Match the synonyms

5. a) Mischief, proffer, pitch, apparel, stoop

Offer, bend, throw, damage, clothes

b) Avaricious, leastways, placidly, unlooked-for, marred

At least, calmly, unexpected, spoiled, greedy

Using the words from Vocabulary Practice (1,2,3,4) do the exercises

1. Translate
1. Ніхто не хотів визнавати відповідальність за аварію.
2. Вона зазвичай ходила (схильна була ходити) до школи зі своїм м’яким
ведмедиком.
3. Це чудовий ресторан, але трохи віддалений.
4. Я змушена була навпомацки йти вверх по темних сходах.
5. Якщо вона розлучиться з ним, її сім’я відречеться від неї.
6. Він нарешті набрався сміливості поговорити з нею.
7. Дівчина помчала по безлюдній вулиці.
8. Вже пізня осінь і все листя опало і скрутилось.
9. Він присів за кущем, щоб його не побачили.
10. Я кивнув йому, щоб йшов з нами.
11. Він порушив питання, яке уникав дуже довго.
12. Поліція тиснула на нього, щоб він видав більше інформації.

2. Substitute the words in bold with their synonyms from the active vocabulary
1)The bike hit a rut and I was thrown onto the road.

2) The doorway was so low that we had to bend to go through it.

3) I left the duty room feeling annoyed that what had promised to be
another pleasant day was already spoiled

4) The polished floor often causes damage—bruises, sprains, dislocations.

5) He offered his assistance in helping the two sides reach a compromise.

 7) He sacrificed his own career so that his greedy brother could succeed.

8) She was refined in her choice of clothes.

9) The evening had begun calmly, with families doing their food shopping and eating
ice cream.

10) That would be an unexpected advantage for the employee.

3. Match the words with their definitions

Grimace, reverberate, malign, fumble, feverish, presumptuous, aghast, wrench,
bawl, marvel

1) to make an expression of pain, strong dislike, etc. in which the face twists in
an ugly way
2) to pull and twist something suddenly or violently away from its position
3) to shout in a very loud voice
4) to show or experience great surprise or admiration
5) suddenly filled with strong feelings of shock and worry
6) unnaturally excited or active
7) to say false and unpleasant things about someone, or to criticize someone unfairly
8) rude because of doing something although you know you do not have a right to do it
9) to do something awkwardly, especially when using your hands
10) (of sound) to continue to be heard; to echo repeatedly

4. Complete the sentences

Credulity, resignation, shrivelled, fumbled, scurried, aghast, squatted, maligned,
pitched, darting, fusillade
1) The ship … up and down in the rough seas.
2) A … of shots or objects is a large number of them fired or thrown at the same time.
3) Even on relatively less crowded roads, drivers are advised to keep watching out for
cyclists or pedestrians suddenly… across.
4) The lack of rain has …the crops.
5) He …down and picked up some pebbles.
6) Her description of the event strains … .
7) The mouse … across the floor.
8) The public would be … to know just how soon after a sentence some criminals are
now released.
9) She has recently been … in the gossip columns of several newspapers.
10) He … in his pockets for some change.
11) They received the news with … .

Additional tasks

1. After reading the story “The Monkey’s Paw,” complete the chart below by locating
and recording examples of foreshadowing you found within the story. Write your
example in the left column and your explanation in the right column.

Foreshadowing is a narrative device in which a storyteller gives an advance hint of

what is to come later in the story. The writer may implement foreshadowing in
many different ways. Some of these ways include: character dialogues, plot events,
and changes in setting. Even the title of a work or a chapter can act as a clue that
suggests what is going to happen. Foreshadowing in fiction creates an atmosphere of
suspense in a story, so that the readers are interested and want to know more. This
literary device is generally used to build anticipation in the minds of readers about
what might happen next, thus adding dramatic tension to a story. Moreover,
foreshadowing can make extraordinary and biza rre events appear credible, some
events are predicted in order to make the audience feel anticipatedfor them. Hints
may be about future events, character revelations and plot twists to create mood,
convey theme and building suspense, usually to hint the good events that will likely
cross paths or happen to the main character later on. Plot can be delayed by situations
or events to give the impression that something momentous will occur to build
anticipation and emphasize importance to them, giving the audience a series of
questions particularly after cliff hangers.

Example of foreshadowing Explanation and foreshadowed event

2. Write a paragraph explaining the main conflict in the story. Explain whether or not
the main conflict is resolved. Use text evidence to support your answer.