Traumatic Loss In The Monkey's Paw, By W. Jacobs

People say, “You pay for what you wish for,” and for this family, they suffered a traumatic loss because of a wish. This family invited a guest over, Morris, and he brought along the monkey’s paw. Weeks before hand, he had brought it up to Mr. White, who would eventually be the third and last person to use the monkey’s paw. In the story The Monkey’s Paw, written by W. W. Jacobs, a man named Sergent-Major Morris is at fault for the family’s traumatic loss. The first time the monkey paw was brought up was when Sergeant Major Morris told Mr. White about it a day or two before. It’s easy to tell when Mr.White says “ ‘What was it that you started telling me the other day about a monkey’s paw?’ “(Jacob 1). Mr.White at first thought the paw wasn't really real until it was proven when he wished on it.
Major Morris never prevented Mr.White from using it either, he even told Mr.White how to use it, “ ‘’Hold it up in your right hand and wish aloud,’ “. Jacob 2) However, you could say its Mr.Whites fault, hes the one who used it and made such a wish. Mr.White wished for money, yes he got the money but at a cost, his son had to die in return. “ ‘He was caught in the machinery,’...’they wish to present you with a certain sum as compensation’,”(Jacob 4). His wish killed his son, later causing his wife, Mrs.White, to yell and order him to wish for his son to return. Mr.White does as she wishes but later on, uses his last and final wish for his son to go away. Even though Mr. White could be at fault for the use of the paw, Major Morris was still the one who brought it up first. Sergeant Major Morris brought the paw to the White family’s house, most likely knowing that someone was bound to use