The Monkey's Paw Foreshadowing Essay

William Jacobs, in his short story “The Monkey’s Paw,” details parents who kill their only son by wishing for money using a talisman-- a monkey’s paw. The White family consists of Mr. and Mrs. White and their only son who lives with them at Laburnam Villa, Herbert White. The Whites receive the monkey’s paw from a family friend, Sergeant-Major Morris, who warns them of the deathly consequences of using the paw; however, they ignore him. With his use of devices such as foreshadowing, dramatic irony, and imagery Jacobs communicates that one should not interfere with fate as the White family did.
Jacobs takes the road less traveled by using the peculiar chess scene of the short story to foreshadow that once one a critical mistake has been made, it cannot be undone. As Mr. White and his son play chess, he makes the wrong move and “having seen [his] fatal mistake after it was too late, [is] amiably desirous of preventing his son from seeing it.” This …show more content…
White uses the paw, Herbert sees a “face was so horrible and so simian.” This example of visual imagery foreshadows that the wish Mr. White’s wish will implicate Herbert. The word “simian” relates to monkeys-- the monkey’s paw and the face being “horrible” indicates that something grim might happen to Herbert. Next, Jacobs provides a visual image of the stranger who “paused at the gate” of the White house three times as if debating whether to entire the house. This allows the audience to infer that the stranger might be there to deliver bad news; new about Herbert’s death. After the stranger informs Mr. and Mrs. White of their son’s death he states that Herbert was “caught in the machinery” at work. This reveals that Herbert died a gruesome and painful death because the Whites had to pay the high price-- Herbert’s life, to obtain what they

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