The Monkey's Paw Foreshadowing

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Suspense is a feeling of unease and/or anticipation about what may occur. In “The Monkey’s Paw, W. W. Jacobs”, the suspense is created by foreshadowing, irony, and the atmosphere. W. W. Jacobs used foreshadowing to create suspense, an example of this is,“‘Hark at the wind,’ said Mr. White, who, having seen a fatal mistake after it was too late, was amiably desirous of preventing his son from seeing it”. In this sentence, Mr. White makes a mistake (a wrong move in chess) and tries to distract his son (Herbert) so he does not see and can win the game. Although his plan did not work, and his son, Herbert, ends up seeing the move his father made and ended up winning. This creates suspense because this foreshadows the future, later in the story, …show more content…
Instead of them receiving 200 pounds in cash, they got it in a bill from Herbert’s company, which gave them money so they would not have any hard feelings against them for causing their son’s death. This is suspenseful because their wish quickly turned from a blessing to a curse, they were picturing their life with their mortgage paid off, and were really happy, but ended up feeling devastated, since their son ended up dying. Finally, in “The Monkey’s Paw”, the suspense was created by the atmosphere an example from the text is, “Neither spoke, but sat silently listening to the ticking of the clock. A stair creaked, and a squeaky mouse scurried noisily through the wall. The darkness was oppressive, and after lying for some time screwing up his courage, he took the box of matches, and striking one, went downstairs for a candle. At the foot of the stairs the match went out, and he paused to strike another; and at the same moment a knock came so quiet and stealthy as to be scarcely audible, sounded on the front door”. This creates a suspenseful atmosphere by using most of the senses and all the details the author