The Monkey's Paw: Difference between revisions
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It is also frequently parodied on television shows, [[comic book]]s and [[manga]]. |
It is also frequently parodied on television shows, [[comic book]]s and [[manga]]. |
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The term Monkey Paw can also be referred to a person's peculiar shaped hands. Rachel has monkey paws. |
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===Music === |
===Music === |
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Revision as of 11:11, 12 June 2009
| "The Monkey's Paw" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by W. W. Jacobs | |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Horror, Short story |
| Publication | |
| Publication date | September 1902 |
"The Monkey's Paw" is a short story of horror by author W. W. Jacobs. It was published in England in 1902.
The story is based on the famous "setup" 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.
Plot
The story involves Mr. and Mrs. White and their grown-up son, Herbert. Sergeant-Major Morris, a friend of the Whites who has been part of the British force in India, leaves them with the monkey's paw, telling of its mysterious powers to grant three wishes, and of its journey from an old fakir to his comrade, who on his third and final wish, wishes for death.
Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds. Their son is killed by machinery at his company, and they get compensation of 200 pounds.
Ten days after they bury Herbert, Mrs. White, almost mad with grief, asks her husband to wish Herbert back to life with the paw. He is very reluctant, but does so. After a delay there are knocking sounds on their door. Mrs. White fumbles at the locks in an attempt to open the door. Mr. White knows however that he cannot allow the son in, as he was mutilated by the accident and had been dead for more than a week. He wishes his third wish. The knocking stops. Mrs. White opens the door to find no one there.
The moral of the story is contained in this description of the paw: "It had a spell put on it by an old fakir," said the sergeant-major, "a very holy man. He wanted to show that fate ruled people's lives, and that those who interfered with it did so to their sorrow".
Versions in other media
- A one-act play was first performed in 1907.
- There were numerous film adaptations in the silent era, as well as a 1933 talkie, a 1948 British remake, and more recent film versions.
- "The Monkey's Paw" was adapted as a radio play in 1980 as part of the CBC radio drama series Nightfall, available for free at iTunes, as part of the "Old Time Radio Thrillers" podcast.
- Texas Radio Theatre Company recorded a radio play version by Tim Wardell and Richard Frohlich in front of a studio audience in 2003.
- Three opera versions have been created: One composed by Carlo Martelli in 1991, one by composer Stephen J. Grieco and premiered at Michael C. Rockefeller Arts Center in 1996, and one by composer Jonathan N. Kupper in 2008.
- Season 3 Episode 26 of the Alfred Hitchcock Hour was titled "The Monkey's Paw - A Retelling", setting the story in the then-current times.
Variations, parodies
A great number of novels, stories, movies, plays and comics are variations or adaptations of the story, featuring similar plots built around wishes that go awry in macabre ways, occasionally with references to monkey's paws or to the story itself.
It is also frequently parodied on television shows, comic books and manga.
The term Monkey Paw can also be referred to a person's peculiar shaped hands. Rachel has monkey paws.
Music
The song "Monkey's Paw" by the band Smalltown Poets speaks of consequences one must pay from getting one's wishes over obedience to God.
"Monkey's Paw" is a song on Laurie Anderson's 1989 album Strange Angels.
External links
