“The Monkey’s Paw” Literary Elements

Foreshadowing The fire is described as a “dying fire,” and the face is “hideous.” This description helps us (the reader) predict that someone will die and/or the death will be hideous! The way Sergeant Major Morris talks about one man making 2 wishes and the 3rd one was for death foreshadows that nothing good can come from wishes made with the monkey’s paw!

Point of View We do not really know the personal thoughts of any character. We know what everyone is saying. The story is third-person limited, because we don’t see Herbert die. We just know what Mr. and Mrs. White find out at the end (that Herbert is dead now).

Theme Theme means message. Think to yourself: What is the author trying to say about greed? Is it good? Bad? What will happen if we’re greedy? In “The Monkey’s Paw,” the theme, or message, seems to be that greed is bad. For example, even though the White family has been warned not to use the paw, they still wish for money. This wish causes their son to die. So, the theme seems to be that the author is warning people that greed can hurt us. Mr. White himself says that he needed nothing more to be happy in the start of the story. Then he got greedy and wished for money.

Setting and Mood Setting is when and where something happens, plus what’s going on in the scene. Mood is the way the author wants the reader to feel because of what’s happening in the setting. The setting is in a home in England. The mood is scary because of the storm, the paw moving in Mr. White’s hand, the horrible monkey face in the fire and the pounding on the door after the second wish.

Setting and Irony The story opens on a dark, stormy cold night. This helps set the stage for the family to find out about the monkey’s paw and to make their first wish. The next day the sun is out and it is a beautiful day. The reader thinks that all will be well. The irony is that Herbert dies a terrible death on that sunny, beautiful day. Irony is the opposite from what you were expecting happening in a story.