The Monkey’s

PawW. W. Jacobs

Words to Know!

• Credulity – a tendency to believe too easily; gullibility

• Peril-- danger

• Grimacee– a facial expression of pain or disgust

• Surveying – looking over carefully

• Fate – a power that is supposed to determine the course of events

Build Background

• Many folk tales and horror stories involve magic or magical objects. In the story, the magical object is a monkey’s paw that gives unusual powers to anyone who owns it.

• Can you think of anything that people believe have special powers?

Lucky. . . . .

• In the western culture, a rabbit’s foot was once believed to bring luck, and lucky horseshoes still hang on the doors of many barns and farmhouses.

• Most stories involve a plot, or sequence of events.

• Rising action refers to events in a story that move the plot along by adding complications.

• Writers often try to create suspense, a feeling of growing tension and excitement, as the rising action builds toward the climax, or turning point of the plot.

About the Author

• W. W. Jacobs was born on the docks of London on September 8, 1863. Most of his stories came from his early life of living on the docks. He heard many of the tales that all of the sailors told, and used that type of folklore in almost all of his stories. Jacobs published most of his stories in his midlife. The horror story "The Monkey's Paw" was his best seller of all time.

• After Jacob's death in 1943, many of his stories were still published.

• The Monkey's Paw is a short story by W. W. Jacobs, written in 1902. The story is based on traditional stories in which three wishes are granted. In the story, the paw of a dead monkey is a talisman that grants its possessor three wishes, but the wishes come with an enormous price.