Theme Of The Monkey's Paw

In “The Monkey’s Paw” by W. W. Jacobs, Sergeant-Major Morris states, “‘The first man had his three wishes. Yes,’ was the reply, ‘I don’t know what the first two were, but the third was for death’” (Jacobs 4). Jacobs transcends his comfort zone to bring readers a horror story of a monkey’s paw with magical powers that contains the ability to grant three men three wishes each. This story differs from his previous comedic works; however, it is known as one of his greatest stories ever written. Jacobs does not only contain the God-given gift of operating as an outstanding and monumental writer, but he also sweetens his stories with literary values and attributions; this appears quite relevant in the short story, “The Monkey’s Paw,” about a family of three whose lives turn from a

pleasant, simple one to a gloomy, complex life of hopelessness and despair.

Jacobs uses themes such as fate and literary devices like symbolism to bring his childhood and adulthood life in Great Britain and his own ideas and concepts into his style of works.
There remain many themes that W. W. Jacobs displays in “The Monkey’s Paw,” but fate continues as the most distinct and most inspiring one.Sergeant-Major Morris, an old soldier visiting the White house, comments on the monkey’s paw, claiming, “‘It had a spell put on it by an old Fakir, a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people’s lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their own sorrow…’” (Jacobs 3). The Whites act as victims of this spell because

while they live in possession of the paw, bad things continue to happen, like the death of their son and Mr. and Mrs. White losing their delight in marriage and in life. Morris warns them of the consequences that would follow and dangers that the paw carries, but they contain too much stubbornness to listen. He already previously stated that the first man with the paw wished for death and that he himself already used his wishes. Morris is not warning them from what he might have heard about the paw, he actually experienced what bad ramifications the paw accrues to a man’s life. In Short Stories for Students, Kathleen Wilson remarks, “In the end, [Mr. White’s] ‘sensible’ wish for the mortgage money is his undoing. The fact that he wished at all is enough to bring on the fakir’s curse” (Wilson 151). The Whites attempt to interfere with their lives by using the monkey’s paw to their own advantage, but there appears an eerie outcome as a result of their actions: their son, Herbert White, is killed at work from getting caught in machinery. No one can describe why humans always hunger for more power, except that it portrays our human nature, or our sin nature. Kathleen Wilson also states, “It is human nature to want what one cannot have, and to undervalue what one does possess” (Wilson 150). The White family lived a content life. Mr. White even reveals that he is already content with his and his family’s live, but yet he still wishes for that two hundred pounds, and from that point on, the fall of the house of the Whites slowly began to unfold. The Whites ended up acquiring the two hundred pounds, but their son had to pay the price.
Another W. W. Jacobs trademark that he uses to more clearly illustrate his words remains as symbolism, and the most prominent symbol in this short story warms the world but destroys it as well: fire and the absence of it. At the beginning of the story, fire represents warmth and comfort, but then starts to represents darkness and loss of hope. At the beginning the Whites contain a happy and peaceful demeanor, and the fire inside brings them light and comfort, contrasted to the cold, dark night that awaits them on the other side of the door; but after making a wish, the fire drastically begins to become a symbol of destruction, and the absence of it begins to represent the lost hope that the Whites start losing each day. In Short Stories for Students comments,
“After Mr. White makes a second wish, the candle in the White’s room goes out, symbolizing that even more darkness will come into their lives. The father lights a match to show his way to the door, but the match goes out too; frantic he drops the box of matches in his attempt to light dark. Symbolically, this loss of light means that they have lost their direction; that they have lost hope” (Wilson 152).
Fire transforms into a duality in this short story: life and death, creation and destruction, love and chaos. But the White family is blinded by what of the really danger, and it grows too late for them to save anything that is left of their “family.”
In the 1900s, W. W. Jacobs acquired fame for the style of his writing and not really any particular work. Jacobs uses literary devices such as foreshadowing, imagery, and symbolism to connect his view to the view of readers alike. His childhood “on the English waterfront,” influences most of his story’s settings (Mowery 154). His childhood and adulthood also influenced his writing; he grew up in a time where “the sun never set on the British Empire,” and life in England became “culturally structured… Jacobs grew up and wrote in an era when people lived by rigid, if unspoken, rules… Men were the wage-earners; women were the housekeepers and in charge of raising the children” (Wilson 153). Also a part of Jacobs style in literature, he follows a pattern of the number “three.” In an essay for Short Stories for Students, Stefan Dziemianowicz proclaims, “The monkey’s paw grants three wishes, the White family is the third party to benefit from its magic power, and there are three members of the family” (Dziemianowicz 156). Jacobs brings in consistency to his works, creating a balance between his humorous short stories and his horror short stories. “The Monkey’s Paw” lives as the opposite of other comedic short stories that he has written, such as “The Head of the Family,” “A Will and a Way.” “Sam’s Boy,” and “The Skipper’s Wooing,” which all contain a comedic and almost romantic theme.
Outdoing himself in bringing to readers “The Monkey’s Paw,” W.W. Jacobs uses themes such as fate and literary devices like symbolism to bring his childhood and adulthood life in Great Britain and his own ideas and concepts into his style of works. Many writers and readers saw and still see Jacobs as one of the best writers of his time, and they should see him as just that. Jacobs existed not as a lousy writer of fantasy and over exaggerated terror, but as a mountain-moving, world-colliding, phenomenal kind of writer who will go down in the books as one of Earth’s most amazing short story writers. His purpose for writing “The Monkey’s Paw” remains as to entertain readers with an exciting story and to inform readers of the power of fate and the destruction of power. His mentioning of fate ruling over people’s lives proves to be true within this short story, and can be said to be proven within the daily lives of people today.