Creepiness And Mystery In The Monkey's Paw By W. Jacobs

In the Monkey’s Paw the author, W.W. Jacobs uses the creepiness and mystery to lure people into reading it. He uses themes, imagery, and characterization regularly in the classic three wish narrative. The main theme of the story is the danger of wishing for more than you need. The white family has what they need because they have a comfortable home and happy loving family. However they use, the monkey’s paw to wish for a seemingly harmless desire to pay off their bills with 200 pounds. Although that seemingly harmless wish led to their son's death. Which led to more outlandish wishes where Mrs. White makes her husband wish to bring their son back alive, where he’s likely to be a zombie. Then what we assume Mr. White third wish to reverse the second. The Sergeant-Major, who brought them the paw said “But I warn you the consequences.” after they had chosen to take it. …show more content…
The story starts with a dark and stormy night, they live on a quiet muddy street with only two houses occupied. This imagery heightens the tension making the reader think the worst is about to happen. The worst is about to happen they’re going to lose their joking son. Then the imagery gets darker with the clock ticking in the silence and the ominous darkening of the room from the lit warm and happy room before. Then there was a knock at the door making readers cringe and hold their breath. What is on the other side of the door? Is it the living corpse of their mangled son and then ended with an eerie line “the street lamp flickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted