The story in one page
In the cozy, firelit parlor of Laburnam Villa, the White family hosts Sergeant-Major Morris, who carries a shrivelled monkey’s paw from his time in India. He claims a fakir enchanted it to show that fate rules lives and that interfering leads to sorrow. Despite Morris’s warnings and his attempt to burn the relic, Mr. White rescues it. He makes a lighthearted wish for two hundred pounds. The money arrives as a settlement for the gruesome death of his son, Herbert, who is caught in the gears at work. When a second wish brings a rhythmic, heavy knocking to their front door, the couple faces the terrifying reality of what they have summoned.
Who's who
- Mr. White
The father who risks his king in chess and his family's safety.
- Mrs. White
The mother whose grief eventually overcomes her fear of the supernatural.
- Herbert White
The frivolous son who treats the paw as a joke until work.
- Sergeant-Major Morris
A blotchy-faced soldier who tries to burn the cursed object.
What it's really about
- Fate
- The danger of attempting to circumvent the natural order.
- Grief
- Desperation driving people to ignore the obvious costs of their desires.
Why it's memorable
- The paw twisting in Mr. White's hand like a snake as he makes his wish.
- The sound of a chair scraping against the floor as the mother reaches for the bolt.
The ending, explained
Spoilers — show the ending
While his wife struggles with a stiff bolt to admit the knocker, Mr. White grovels on the floor for the paw. He finds it and whispers a final wish just as the door swings open to an empty, flickering street.
For your book club
- The precision of the 'coincidence' that fulfills the wish through a tragic industrial accident.
- The psychological terror of the unseen guest knocking in the dark.