The monkey's paw ies goya

THE MONKEY´S PAWBY W. W. JACOBS

Departamento de Inglés IES Goya – Zaragoza “Semana de la Literatura de Terror” – Octubre 2014

Departamento Inglés IES Goya – Zaragoza “Semana de la Literatura del Terror” – Octubre 2014

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THE MONKEY’S PAWby W.W Jacobs

On a dark and stormy night three members ofthe White family relax inside their cozy house.Herbert White and his father are playing agame of chess while Mrs. White knits near thefire. After his son wins, Mr. White complainsabout the terrible weather and nearly desertedroad they live near.

A family friend, Sergeant-Major Morris,arrives for a visit. Over brandy, he tells stories ofhis exploits abroad. Mr. White expressesinterest in going to India, but the sergeant-major says he would be better off staying athome. At Mr. and Mrs. Whites’ urging,Sergeant-Major Morris takes a small,mummified paw out of his pocket. He explainsthat a fakir (a mystic miracle worker) placed aspell on the paw to prove that people’s lives aregoverned by fate and that it is dangerous to

interfere with fate. According to the sergeant-major, three men can wish on the paw threetimes each. The sergeant-major himself hasalready had his three wishes, as has anotherman, who used his third wish to ask for death.The sergeant-major has considered selling thepaw, but he doesn’t want it to cause any moretrouble than it already has. Moreover, no onewill buy the paw without first seeing proof of itseffect. The sergeant-major throws the paw intothe fire, and Mr. White quickly rescues it. Thesergeant-major warns him three times to leavethe paw alone, but he eventually explains how tomake a wish on the paw.

Mrs. White says the story reminds her ofthe Arabian Nights and jokingly suggests thather husband wish her a pair of extra hands tohelp her with all her work. The sergeant-majordoesn’t find this joke funny, however, and urgesMr. White to use common sense if he insists onwishing. After supper and more tales of India,the sergeant-major leaves. Herbert says hethinks the sergeant-major is full of nonsense andjokes that his father should make himself anemperor so that he doesn’t have to listen to Mrs.White’s criticism. In mock anger, Mrs. Whiteplayfully chases her son.


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Mr. White says he has everything he wantsand isn’t sure what to wish for. Herbert saysthat three hundred pounds would enable them topay off the money owed for the house. Mr.White wishes aloud for three hundred pounds.Mr. White suddenly cries out and says that thepaw moved like a snake in his hand. After Mr.and Mrs. White go to bed, Herbert sits by thefire and sees a vividly realistic monkey face inthe flames. He puts out the fire, takes themonkey’s paw, and goes to bed.

The next morning it is a sunny winter day. Theroom seems cheerful and normal in contrast tothe previous evening’s gloomy atmosphere andthe mummified paw now looks harmless. Mrs.White comments on how ridiculous thesergeant-major’s story was but remarks thatthree hundred pounds couldn’t do any harm.They could, Herbert jokes, if the money fell outof the sky onto his father’s head. Mr. Whiteanswers that people often mistake coincidence forgranted wishes. Herbert then leaves for work.

Later that day, Mrs. White notices a strangeroutside dressed in nice clothes. The strangerhesitantly approaches their gate three timesbefore opening it and coming up to the door.

Mrs. White ushers him in. He nervously statesthat he is a representative of Maw andMeggins, Herbert’s employer. Mrs. Whiteasks whether Herbert is all right, and the

representative says he is hurt, but in no pain.For a moment, Mrs. White feels relieved, untilshe realizes that Herbert feels no pain becausehe’s dead. The representative says that Herbertwas “caught in the machinery.” After a pause,Mr. White says that Herbert was the onlychild they had left. Embarrassed, therepresentative stresses that he is simply obeyingMaw and Meggins’s orders. He then explainsthat the company will not take anyresponsibility for the death but will give theWhites three hundred pounds. Mrs. Whitescreams, and Mr. White faints.

The Whites bury Herbert and several dayspass, and the couple feels exhausted and hopeless.A week after the burial, Mr. White wakes upand hears his wife crying by the window. Hegently urges her to come back to bed, but sherefuses. He dozes off again until Mrs. Whitesuddenly cries out that she wants the monkey’spaw. In hysterics, she tells him to go downstairsand wish Herbert back to life. Mr. Whiteresists and tells her that Herbert’s death and thethree hundred pounds they had received hadnothing to do with his wish the previous night.Mr. White says that he didn’t want to tell herbefore, but Herbert was so deformed that hehad to identify the body by looking at theclothes. Mrs. White doesn’t listen, however, andcontinues to insist on wishing Herbert back tolife with the monkey’s paw.


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Mr. White retrieves the paw from its placedownstairs. Mrs. White orders him to make thewish two more times until he finally complies.He makes the wish, and as they wait, the candlegoes out. At last Mr. White goes downstairs, hehears a knock at the door. Another knocksounds, and Mr. White dashes upstairs.

Mrs. White hears the third knock and says it’sHerbert. She realizes he hadn’t returned rightafter the wish had been made because he’d hadto walk two miles from the graveyard to theirhouse.

Mr. White begs her not to open the door, butshe breaks free and runs downstairs. As shestruggles to reach the bolt, the knocking becomesmore insistent. Mr. White searches franticallyfor the paw, which had dropped to the floor. AsMrs. White pulls back the bolt, Mr. Whitefinds the paw and makes a final wish. Theknocking stops and Mrs. White cries out. Mr.White runs downstairs and sees that beyond thedoor, the street is empty.


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COMPREHENSION QUESTION ACTIVITIES

1. Choose the best question word and then answer the question.

……… were friends when they were young? _________________________________________________ ……… was a soldier in India for many years? _________________________________________________ ………. was strange about the monkey’s paw? ________________________________________________2. These are untrue sentences. Change them into correct ones.

Herbert wanted his father to wish for happiness. ………. ____________________________________ Mr. White wished for a million pounds. ……….. ______________________________________________ Later, Mr. White saw a face room the living-room wall. ……… _____________________________ The next morning Herbert went out to play football. …….. _________________________________

WATCH THE VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfZghr026bIActivities:

While watching the video find words which mean:

Wet: Destiny: Desire: Imagination: Comment:

Answer the following questions:

When did Sergeant Major Morris arrive to England?

How long did Sergeant Major Morris live in India?

Where did Herbert work?

What happened to Herbert at the end of the story?

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The monkey's paw ies goya