![]() White make light-hearted comments about Herbert’s return and his reactions to an arrival of the money. In the morning, Herbert leaves for work and tells his parents not to break into the money before he comes home that evening. His father does so, while Herbert plays dramatic chords on the piano in accompaniment. The Sergeant-Major tells them that a fakir has put a spell on the paw “to show that fate ruled people’s lives.” Those who tamper with fate “did so to their sorrow.” But Herbert coaxes his father to wish for something modest, like 200 pounds. White snatches it out and keeps it for himself. One man has died and the Sergeant-Major has used up his three wishes. The paw is magical, allowing three men three wishes each. They share a few drinks and the Sergeant-Major tells them some tales about his trips to India, where he obtained a monkey’s paw. Soon, there is a knock at the door and the Sergeant-Major enters. White loses the game and becomes agitated and exasperated. White and his son Herbert playing a game of chess. Many of his early works were reissued, and he wrote some adaptations of his stories for the stage. However, it was in these years that Jacobs enjoyed great popularity with readers and someįame. At that time, the rate at which he wrote new material slowed dramatically, and he wrote very little during the last seventeen years of his life. The writer was very prolific during the early years of his career, producing a book nearly every year until 1911. This fact may have contributed to the negative depiction of women that runs through most of his fiction. ![]() His wife, a militant suffragette and socialist, was very different from the conservative Jacobs, and their marriage was not a happy one. However, Jacobs was a cautious man, and he did not quit his civil service job to devote himself to writing until his third book-another volume of stories, entitled Sea Urchins-was published in 1899. His first collection of stories, Many Cargoes, was published in 1896, and the following year, he published two novellas in a single volume- The Skipper’s Wooing/The Brown Man’s Servant. When he was about twenty years old, he began writing stories and articles for fun, and by 1885 he began to publish them in magazines. Jacobs attended private schools and entered the civil service as a clerk in 1879, a job that he hated. The docks and wharves of seaport towns later provided the setting for many of his stories. He grew up in Wapping, a seaport section of London. William Wymark Jacobs, born September 8, 1863, was the son of a wharf manager and his wife. ![]() Jacobs was one of the most popular humorists of the early 1900s, although his most famous story, “The Monkey’s Paw,” is considered a horror classic. His careful, economical creation of setting and atmosphere add suspense to the tale, while his use of dialogue and slang (another Jacobs trademark) help readers to feel that the characters are genuine. Jacobs uses foreshadowing, imagery and symbolism in this story to explore the consequences of tempting fate. Morris warns the Whites not to wish on it at all-but of course they do, with horrible consequences. White a mummified monkey’s paw, said to have had a spell put on it by a holy man that will grant its owner three wishes. Sergeant-Major Morris, home after more than twenty years in India, entertains his hosts with exotic stories of life abroad. The story opens with the White family spending a cozy evening together around the hearth. “The Monkey’s Paw” is probably the best example of this. In addition to humor, Jacobs explored the macabre in several of his tales. Many of his stories are set on the waterfronts and docks of London, which Jacobs knew from his own childhood. Henry’s stories, Jacobs’ tales are tightly constructed, humorous stories that usually revolve around simple surprise-ending plots. Henry, Jacobs was famous during his lifetime for writing a particular type of story rather than for any particular work. ![]() The story was also very popular with readers. “The Monkey’s Paw” was well received when Jacobs first published it the story garnered rave reviews from some of the most important critics writing at the turn of the century. The story has since been published in many anthologies, adapted for the stage, and made into films. It first appeared in Harper’s Monthly magazine in 1902, and was reprinted in his third collection of short stories, The Lady of the Barge, also published in 1902. Jacobs’ most famous story and is considered to be a classic of horror fiction.
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