Be Careful What You Wish For

The Monkey's Paw

This thread develops the familiar warning through the family’s apparently harmless request, its cruel fulfillment, and the final consequences of wishing again.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Warning in the Tale The Warning in the Tale from "The Monkey's Paw". The Warning in the Tale A Moral Premise Morris explains that The monkey’s paw was enchanted to show that interference with Fate brings sorrow.

The Warning in the Tale from "The Monkey's Paw". The Warning in the Tale A Moral Premise Morris explains that The monkey’s paw was enchanted to show that interference with Fate brings sorrow.

The Warning in the Tale A Moral Premise Morris explains that The monkey’s paw was enchanted to show that interference with Fate brings sorrow. The danger is stated plainly before the family acts. A Warning Heard as Entertainment The Whites treat the account as a curiosity. Their response establishes how easily an explicit warning can be ignored when its danger feels remote.

A Harmless-Sounding Wish A Harmless-Sounding Wish from "The Monkey's Paw". A Harmless-Sounding Wish Two Hundred Pounds Mr. White asks for a modest sum after Herbert suggests it.

A Harmless-Sounding Wish from "The Monkey's Paw". A Harmless-Sounding Wish Two Hundred Pounds Mr. White asks for a modest sum after Herbert suggests it.

A Harmless-Sounding Wish Two Hundred Pounds Mr. White asks for a modest sum after Herbert suggests it. The request seems useful, limited, and unconnected to anyone’s safety. Hidden Consequences The wish is dangerous precisely because its terms do not address how the money should arrive. The family’s practical aim cannot control the method of fulfillment.

Fulfillment Turns Cruel Fulfillment Turns Cruel from "The Monkey's Paw". Fulfillment Turns Cruel A Fatal Cost Herbert dies in a machinery accident, and two hundred pounds is offered as compensation.

Fulfillment Turns Cruel from "The Monkey's Paw". Fulfillment Turns Cruel A Fatal Cost Herbert dies in a machinery accident, and two hundred pounds is offered as compensation.

Fulfillment Turns Cruel A Fatal Cost Herbert dies in a machinery accident, and two hundred pounds is offered as compensation. The wish succeeds through the event the family would least have chosen. The Saying Becomes Reality The exact sum makes the warning impossible to ignore. A desire fulfilled literally can still destroy the purpose for which it was made.

Another Wish, Another Risk Another Wish, Another Risk from "The Monkey's Paw". Another Wish, Another Risk Grief Reaches for Reversal Mrs. White wants Herbert returned and urges her husband to use another wish.

Another Wish, Another Risk from "The Monkey's Paw". Another Wish, Another Risk Grief Reaches for Reversal Mrs. White wants Herbert returned and urges her husband to use another wish.

Another Wish, Another Risk Grief Reaches for Reversal Mrs. White wants Herbert returned and urges her husband to use another wish. Her desire is understandable, but it again asks the paw to alter what cannot be safely controlled. Caution Arrives Too Late Mr. White remembers the state of Herbert’s body, yet he makes the wish under pressure. The family repeats the act with more knowledge but no greater certainty.

The Cost of the Final Wish The Cost of the Final Wish from "The Monkey's Paw". The Cost of the Final Wish Desire Changes Direction At the threshold, Mr. White wishes to stop what is knocking.

The Cost of the Final Wish from "The Monkey's Paw". The Cost of the Final Wish Desire Changes Direction At the threshold, Mr. White wishes to stop what is knocking.

The Cost of the Final Wish Desire Changes Direction At the threshold, Mr. White wishes to stop what is knocking. The final request is not for gain but for protection from the results of another wish. No Simple Escape The road is empty, and the family remains bereaved. The ending gives force to the warning: wishes cannot reliably deliver what their makers hope to receive.

during Morris’s account

late on the first evening

the following day

about ten days after the first fulfillment

near the ending, as the door is opened