W.W. Jacob's 'The Monkey's Paw'
...ually, ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ is clearly published in three numbered sections. The first of these introduces the reader to the characters, the foundation for the progression of the narrative (the Paw itself), and the message that the Paw holds; “that fate rule(s) people’s lives, and that those who interfere with it did so to their sorrow”. So we observe with the first wish, despite Mr White’s reflection that “it seems to me I’ve got all I want”, the initial credulous steps towards the regretful consequences. The impending sorrow is also hinted to with ambiguous language and ominous warnings, as when “Mr. White… [sees] a fatal mistake after it was too late” during a seemingly innocuous chess game. It is also in this first section we realise that, before the narrative has even commenced, the characters are already part of a trebled journey, as “three separate men could each have three wishes from it (the Paw)”. This offers the reader an almost historical context in which they can perceive that the inability to accept one’s fate transcends merely the central characters of the narrative, and could in fact lie within us all. Whilst there is no wish made in the second iteration, the painful penalty paid for the first is resoundingly brought into focus. The beginning of the section again highlights the hamartia of all three characters, with Mrs White’s unsuspecting mocking “how could two hundred pounds hurt you, father?”, and Herbert’s naively frivolous reply, “might drop on his head from the sky”. It is through this ignorant banter that the central conflict between fatal acceptance and unnatural intervention can be clearly observed. Here too, the “mysterious movements” of “the man from Maw and Meggins” is trebled, “three times he paused at the gate”, pre-empting the pain of the first of the three wishes. In the third section, the narrative progresses with the now clearly defined dilemma set out by the first section, and sharpened into focus by the seco...