Close Reading in the Gothic Horror Novel: The Monkey's Paw

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 4

The Monkey's Paw

A lesson in close reading within the Gothic Novel

Horror

Horror is a genre of speculative fiction which is intended to frighten, scare, or disgust. It creates an eerie and frightening atmosphere. Horror is often divided into either the psychological horror and supernatural horror sub-genre. Often the central menace of a work of horror fiction can be interpreted as a metaphor for the larger fears of a society. Prevalent elements include ghosts, demons, vampires, werewolves,  dystopian and apocolyptic worlds, serial killers, psychopaths, cults, and dark magic.

E.A. Poe's The Raven by Gustave Doré

2 renditions of the same book 1884

Gothic

In the late 1800s the gothic emerged as a literary genre. Gothic novels are commonly set in isolated, mysterious, and often strange settings; involve characters, including a fallen hero, with complex family dynamics; and feature melodrama, the supernatural, and architecture. Several other genres grew out of the gothic, at least in part: the mystery/detective genre, science fiction, horror, and the weird tale.

Bram Stoker's Dracula

Melodrama

 In modern usage, a melodrama is a dramatic work wherein the plot, which is typically sensational and designed to appeal strongly to the emotions, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue, which is often bombastic or excessively sentimental.  Melodramas are typically set in the private sphere of the home, focusing on morality and family issues, love, and marriage, often with challenges from an outside source, such as a "temptress", a scoundrel, or an aristocratic villain. 

Overlapping genres

The Monkey's Paw has all the elements of the Gothic novel, the horror story and many elements of the melodrama.

Radio Drama and text

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmYDQcaB2c8

https://shortstoryamerica.com/pdf_classics/jacob_monkeys_paw.pdf

Video: listening and reading. 

Summary of the story: 

The short story involves Mr. and Mrs. White and their adult son, Herbert. Sergeant-Major Morris, a friend who served with the British Army in India, comes by for dinner and introduces them to a mummified monkey's paw.

Three wishes are granted to the owner of The Monkey's Paw, but the wishes come with an enormous price for interfering with fate.

First wish: 200 dollars, paid by son's death

Second wish: return of dead son

Third wish: undoes second wish, story ends

Tone & Mood

Causal relationship between tone and mood. 

Relationship between the events of the story and the diction used by the author. 

Repetition

Tone = attitude of the author

Mood = feelings conjured in the reader

Knowing the chain of events, what kind of mood does the story have?

Is the mood only created by the death of the sound (by the action of the story), or does diction also take part in it?

CR is required to find that out!

The tone of this story is dark and malicious because of the mood. The context of the story is filled with evil words and fear-filled thoughts from the characters. The story also has a sad tone due to the fact that the couple's son died. From then on, the narration and speech took on a more negative tone.

Outside, the night was cold and wet, but in the small living room the curtains were closed and the

fire burned brightly. Father and son were playing chess; the father, whose ideas about the game

involved some very unusual moves, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary danger that it

even brought comment from the white-haired old lady knitting quietly by the fire.

“Listen to the wind,” said Mr. White who, having seen a mistake that could cost him the game after

it was too late, was trying to stop his son from seeing it.

“I’m listening,” said the son, seriously studying the board as he stretched out his hand. “Check.”

“I should hardly think that he’ll come tonight,” said his father, with his hand held in the air over the

board.

“Mate,” replied the son.

“That’s the worst of living so far out,” cried Mr. White with sudden and unexpected violence; “Of

all the awful out of the way places to live in, this is the worst. Can’t walk on the footpath without

getting stuck in the mud, and the road’s a river. I don’t know what the people are thinking about. I

suppose they think it doesn’t matter because only two houses in the road have people in them.”

“Never mind, dear,” said his wife calmly; “perhaps you’ll win the next one.”

Mr. White looked up sharply, just in time to see a knowing look between mother and son. The

words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty smile in his thin grey beard.

Passage 1

read together

First sentence indicates a contrast;

cold and wet outside vs warm fire burning brightly inside

Mood – In a literary work, the mood is the feeling that the reader experiences while reading literature.

• Author’s will use imagery and descripEve words to create a mood.

• Specific word choice and sensory details help create a mood

As you read, analyze the text for clues that reveal the story’s mood. 

Mood – In a literary work, the mood is the feeling that the reader experiences while reading literature.

• Author’s will use imagery and descriptive words to create a mood.

• Specific word choice and sensory details help create a mood

As you read, analyze the text for clues that reveal the story’s mood. 

Outside, the night was cold and wet, but in the small living room the curtains were closed and the

fire burned brightly. Father and son were playing chess; the father, whose ideas about the game

involved some very unusual moves, putting his king into such sharp and unnecessary danger that it

even brought comment from the white-haired old lady knitting quietly by the fire.

“Listen to the wind,” said Mr. White who, having seen a mistake that could cost him the game after

it was too late, was trying to stop his son from seeing it.

“I’m listening,” said the son, seriously studying the board as he stretched out his hand. “Check.”

“I should hardly think that he’ll come tonight,” said his father, with his hand held in the air over the

board.

“Mate,” replied the son.

“That’s the worst of living so far out,” cried Mr. White with sudden and unexpected violence; “Of

all the awful out of the way places to live in, this is the worst. Can’t walk on the footpath without

getting stuck in the mud, and the road’s a river. I don’t know what the people are thinking about. I

suppose they think it doesn’t matter because only two houses in the road have people in them.”

“Never mind, dear,” said his wife calmly; “perhaps you’ll win the next one.”

Mr. White looked up sharply, just in time to see a knowing look between mother and son. The

words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty smile in his thin grey beard.

5-7 minutes

5 minutes to work

2 minutes to discuss what they have noted down

Passage 2

Write an explanatory paragraph that identifies and states the mood of the short story, “The Monkey’s Paw.” Pay close attention to the details Jacobs uses to create the mood. Be sure to include a topic sentence, quotations, and explanations in your paragraph.

"But her husband was on his hands and knees feeling around wildly on the floor in search of the paw. If only he could find it before the thing outside got in. The knocks came very quickly now echoing through the house, and he heard the noise of his wife moving a chair and putting it down against the door. He heard the movement of the lock as she began to open it, and at the same moment he found the monkeys’s paw, and frantically breathed his third and last wish.

The knocking stopped suddenly, although the echoes of it were still in the house. He heard the chair pulled back, and the door opened. A cold wind blew up the staircase, and a long loud cry of disappointment and pain from his wife gave him the courage to run down to her side, and then to the gate. The streetlight opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road."

5 minutes

Stylistic devices

• Techniques to give an additional and/or supplemental meaning, idea, or feeling.
• The goal of these techniques is to create imagery, emphasis, or clarity within a text in hopes of engaging the reader.

Example: metaphor

techniques have to be unraveled to discover a deeper meaning. 

also, these techniques beautify a text and make it more literary/aesthetically pleasing.

stylistic devices

Examples: metaphor, simile, alliteration, hyperbole, allegory etc. 

1. allusion
2. metonym
3. alliteration
4. repetition

alliteration = the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

allusion: an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

"an allusion to Shakespeare"

metonym: a word, name, or expression used as a substitute for something else with which it is closely associated. For example, Washington is a metonym for the US government.

"Fear knocked on the door"
is an example of:

1. Onomatopoeia
2. Symbolism
3. Personification
4. Hyperbole

personification = the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

onomatopoeia: the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle ).

symbolism: a writer uses one thing—usually a physical object or phenomenon—to represent something more abstract.

hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

"he vowed revenge with oaths and hyperboles"

I can resist anything but temptation.

1. paradox
2. metonymy
3. synecdoche
4. personification

Paradox: A paradox is a statement that contradicts itself, or that must be both true and untrue at the same time

Metonymy: it is a way of replacing an object or idea with something related to it instead of stating what is actually meant. (Crown. (For the power of a king.)

The White House. (Referring to the American administration.))

Synecdoche: where a word for a small component of something can stand in rhetorically for the larger whole, or vice versa ("The captain commands one hundred sails" is a synecdoche that uses "sails" to refer to ships.)

Personification: the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Passage 3

As you read, look for examples of figurative language. In the spaces provided, write a quote that includes figurative language, and then explain the type, meaning, and effectiveness of the figurative language.

“I wish for two hundred pounds,” said the old man clearly.

A fine crash from the piano greeted his words, broken by a frightened cry from the old man. His

wife and son ran toward him.

“It moved,” he cried, with a look of horror at the object as it lay on the floor. “As I wished, it

twisted in my hand like a snake.”

“Well, I don’t see the money,” said his son, as he picked it up and placed it on the table, “and I bet I

never shall.”

“It must have been your imagination, father,” said his wife, regarding him worriedly.

He shook his head. “Never mind, though; there’s no harm done, but it gave me a shock all the

same.”

They sat down by the fire again while the two men finished their pipes. Outside, the wind was

higher than ever, and the old man jumped nervously at the sound of a door banging upstairs. An

unusual and depressing silence settled on all three, which lasted until the old couple got up to to go

to bed.

As you read, look for examples of literary devices/figurative language. Write down quotes that include figurative language, and then explain the type, meaning, and effectiveness of the figurative language.

“I wish for two hundred pounds,” said the old man clearly.

A fine crash from the piano greeted his words, broken by a frightened cry from the old man. His

wife and son ran toward him.

“It moved,” he cried, with a look of horror at the object as it lay on the floor. “As I wished, it

twisted in my hand like a snake.”

“Well, I don’t see the money,” said his son, as he picked it up and placed it on the table, “and I bet I

never shall.”

“It must have been your imagination, father,” said his wife, regarding him worriedly.

He shook his head. “Never mind, though; there’s no harm done, but it gave me a shock all the

same.”

They sat down by the fire again while the two men finished their pipes. Outside, the wind was

higher than ever, and the old man jumped nervously at the sound of a door banging upstairs. An

unusual and depressing silence settled on all three, which lasted until the old couple got up to go

to bed.

Passage 3

Hand out a list of literary devices, give them 4 minutes to look at the list and then 5 minutes to use the list to analyse the passage. 

Passage:

Multieple xamples of similes

personification: "A fine crash from the piano greeted his words" AND "a door banging upstairs"

Passage 4

As you read, look for examples of literary devices/figurative language. Write down quotes that include figurative language, and then explain the type, meaning, and effectiveness of the figurative language.

"In the huge new cemetery, some two miles away, the old people buried their dead, and came back to the house which was now full of shadows and silence. It was all over so quickly that at first they could hardly realize it, and remained in a state of waiting for something else to happen – something else which was to lighten this load, too heavy for old hearts to bear.

But the days passed, and they realized that they had to accept the situation – the hopeless acceptance of the old. Sometimes they hardly said a word to each other, for now they had nothing to talk about, and their days were long to tiredness.

It was about a week after that the old man, waking suddenly in the night, stretched out his hand and found himself alone. The room was in darkness, and he could hear the sound of his wife crying quietly at the window. He raised himself in bed and listened." 

5 minutes

hint: metaphors in the passage

Work due in MS Teams

Hand in the work from slides 13, 14, 15, 21 and 21 in teams. The title is The Monkey's Paw LessonUp 1. Use the whole story as a source for your examples and paragraph.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing – A literary device in which a writer provides the audience with hints and clues about what will happen next.

• Foreshadowing usually appears toward the beginning of a story.

• Foreshadowing allows readers to make better 

predictions about what will happen next.

Foreshadowing, closely related to structure.

the clues should not be confused with the theme!!

picture (Starwars): the shadow of Darth Vader behind Anakin foreshadows who Anakin will grow up to be

think about the literature you've read, can you name an example of foreshadowing...

Othello: the emphasis on Desdemona's chastity and innocence and Othello's appreciation for all that, foreshadows that the downfall of everything will be caused by adultery

Passage 5

As you read, look for examples of foreshadowing. Write down a quote that includes foreshadowing, and then explain why this is an example of foreshadowing.

"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. He put a spell on it so that three separate men could each have three wishes from it.”

His manner was so impressive that his hearers were conscious that their light laughter jarred somewhat. "Well, why don't you have three, sir?" said Herbert White, cleverly.

The soldier regarded him in the way that middle aged men usuallt regard presumptuous youth. "I have," he said, quietly, and his blotchy face whitened.

"And did you really have the three wishes granted?" asked Mrs. White.

"I did," said the sergeant-major, and his glass tapped against his strong teeth.

"And has anybody else wished?" persisted the old lady.

"The first man had his three wishes. Yes," was the reply; "I don't know what the first two were, but the third was for death. That's how I got the paw."

5 minutes

Final Passage

As you read, look for examples of foreshadowing. Write a quote that includes foreshadowing, and then explain why this is an example of foreshadowing.

"If you've had your three wishes, it's no good to you now, then, Morris," said the old man at last. "What do you keep it for?”

The soldier shook his head. "Fancy, I suppose," he said, slowly. "I did have some idea of selling it, but I don't think I will. It has caused enough mischief already. Besides, people won't buy. They think it's a fairy tale; some of them, and those who do think anything of it want to try it first and pay me afterward.”

"If you could have another three wishes," said the old man, eyeing him keenly, "would you have them?”

"I don't know," said the other. "I don't know.”

He took the paw, and dangling it between his forefinger and thumb, suddenly threw it upon the fire. White, with a slight cry, stooped down and snatched it off.

"Better let it burn," said the soldier, solemnly.

"If you don't want it, Morris," said the other, "give it to me.”

"I won't," said his friend, doggedly. "I threw it on the fire. If you keep it, don't blame me for what happens. Pitch it on the fire again like a sensible man."

till the end of class

Final Assignment

Answer the following questions about the text, your teacher can also send you this set of questions in teams:

More information and details

https://www.coursehero.com/lit/The-Monkeys-Paw/