Fate And Greed In 'The Monkey's Paw'

1. The theme of the story “The Monkey’s Paw” is fate and greed. I believe that the moral of the story and the overall message is do not alter with fate. In the short story, Mr. White uses the power of the monkey’s paw to wish for money to pay off his mortgages. Mr. White is tampering with fate and is using the paw for his own greed. Consequently, his wish ends up rebounding and ends in a negative way. In the text, it says “He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow." This quote indicates that the paw is evil and every wish made upon the paw will have a backfiring consequence. In fact, Mr. White is also warned of the consequences that he will have to face if he puts the paw to use. However, he goes and uses it and suffers the consequences of his greed.
2. The author W. W. Jacobs sets the mood of the story through setting and atmosphere to create a horror/mysterious vibe to the reader. He uses nature and the surroundings of the characters to create mood as he describes the atmosphere of location. Jacobs begins the novel with “Outside, the night was cold and

The short story had many hints along the course of the story that foreshadows occasions that will happen later in the story. For example, the first event of foreshadowing is the first death in the story. In the text, Sergeant-Major Morris says, “I don’t know what the first two were, but the third was for death,” when the White family asks what the old man who owned the paw before wished for. As a result, this foreshadows that there is evil in the paw and it is more of a pittance than a fortune. Moreover, Sergeant-Major Morris prompts the family that he can not be blamed for anything that happens due to the danger of the paw. Another example of foreshadowing is when Mr. White says there is a “Hark at the wind.” This is foreshadowing because the heavy wind blows through the house at the end of the story when Herbert is wished away by Mr.