The passage describes a visit from an old soldier friend to the White family. He warns them about a magical monkey's paw that can grant wishes but should not be meddled with. Despite the warning, Mr. White takes the paw home to test its power. He makes a hesitant first wish that is granted, but the results are not as expected.

1. A unit for advanced level
native Hebrew speakers
January, 2014

2. ‫יד‬ ‫כף‬/‫רגל‬paw =
paw
Noun
1. the foot of an animal having
claws (‫.)ציפורניים‬
2. the foot of any animal.
3. Informal: the human hand,
especially one that is large,
rough, or clumsy (‫:)מגושם‬ Keep
your paws off my property.
The title: what’s “paw”?

3. 
An old friend visits the White
family. He shows them a monkey’s paw.
He says that it can grant wishes (‫משאלות‬ ‫.)למלא‬
He warns the family not to take the
monkey’s paw. The Whites take it
anyway and wish on it. The results
are not what they expected.
Summary

4. 
The Context ‫ההקשר‬

5. 
 Jacobs was born in 1863 in London, England, to an impoverished (‫)מרוששת‬
family. His mother, Sophia, died when Jacobs was a young boy. His
father, William Jacobs, managed a wharf (‫נמל‬ ‫)רציף‬ in South Devon.
 After receiving his degree from Birkbeck College, the satirical magazines
the Idler and Today published some of his stories in the early 1890s.
 Jacobs’s first short-story collection, Many Cargoes (1896), became quite
popular, and he quit working as a clerk and begin writing full-time.
 Jacobs wed Agnes Eleanor, a prominent suffragette (‫נשים‬ ‫לזכויות‬ ‫)לוחמת‬, in
1900, and they had five children together.
 He had spent a lot of time hanging around the wharves in London, and
many of his stories and novels concern seamen’s lives and adventures.
 Jacobs published thirteen collections of short stories, five novels, and a
novella, many of which sold tens of thousands of copies. He also wrote a
number of one-act plays.
 Jacobs died in 1943.
William Wymark Jacobs

6. 
 The story was published in Jacobs’s short-story collection The Lady
of the Barge (1902). It is his most famous story.
 The story became extremely popular around the world.
 The story was included in approximately seventy different collections!
 The story was also turned into a play, parodied (‫כפרודיה‬ ‫)הוצג‬ on The
Simpsons, and made into eight separate movies.
 Stephen King wrote about “The Monkey’s Paw” in The Dead Zone (1979)
and Apt Pupil (1982) and based his novel Pet Sematary (1983) on its
themes.
Important note: we are going to read a re-write of the story in simple
English – it is not the original text!
The Monkey’s Paw

7. 
The Horror Story Genre
Pre-Reading Activity I
‫ז‬'‫אנר‬‫אימה‬/‫זוועה‬

8. What words come to
mind when we say
“horror stories”?

9. 
 A horror story is a story in which the focus is on creating a feeling of
fear.
 Such stories are of ancient origin (‫עתיק‬ ‫)מקור‬ and form a large part of folk
literature ( ‫עממית‬ ‫ספרות‬/‫פולקלור‬ ).
 They can describe supernatural forces (‫טבעיים‬ ‫על‬ ‫)כוחות‬ such as ghosts
(‫רפאים‬ ‫)רוחות‬, witches (‫)מכשפות‬, or vampires (‫)ערפדים‬, or they can address
(‫אל‬ ‫)לפנות‬ more realistic psychological fears (‫מציאותיים‬ ‫פסיכולוגיים‬ ‫)פחדים‬.
 At first, these stories were created as a way of dealing with (‫עם‬ ‫)התמודדות‬
human fears.
 In Western literature, the use of fear and curiosity (‫)סקרנות‬ for
entertainment (‫)בידור‬ emerged (‫)הופיע‬ in the 18th-century. The genre ( ‫ז‬'‫אנר‬ )
was invented by Horace Walpole, whose Castle of Otranto (1765)
founded the horror story as a literary form (‫ספרותית‬ ‫)צורה‬.
What are horror stories?

10. What are the names of two
famous horror stories written
in the 19th century?

11. The answer is…
Frankenstein, 1818
By Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Dracula, 1897
By Bram Stalker

12. If you were going to write
a horror story, what are some of
the elements you would use?
narrative
‫נרטיב‬
account of events

13.  Imagery (‫)דימויים‬ or symbols
haunted house / knife /blood / death / grave yards
 Setting
night time / abandoned warehouse – dangerous, scary
 A “good against evil” narrative
monster terrorizing a community / supernatural against normal
 Tone and style
music that creates suspense (‫מתח‬) / terror (‫)אימה‬
 Characters
vampires (‫,)ערפדים‬ ghosts, demons (‫,)שדים‬ monsters
vulnerable (‫)פגיעים‬ young people, beautiful women
 Themes
conflict, struggle (‫)מאבק‬
The answer is / could be…

14. 
Fate versus Choice
Pre-Reading Activity II
‫לעומת‬

15. From Latin fata (“prediction” ‫חיזוי‬ ),
fatus 'spoken', fari (“to speak”).
♣ A power that is believed to control what happens in the future
♣ The things that will happen to a person or thing (their future)
‫גורל‬

16. 
The specific meanings of “fate”
1. The will or principle or determining
cause by which things in general are
believed to come to be as they are or
events to happen as they do: destiny
2. a : An inevitable and often adverse
outcome, condition, or end
b : Disaster; especially : death
3. a : Final outcome
b : The expected result of normal
development <prospective fate of
embryonic cells>
c : The circumstances that befall
someone or something <did not
know the fate of her former
classmates>
4. Plural capitalized : the three
goddesses who determine the course
of human life in classical mythology
.1‫הרצון‬ ‫או‬ ‫המניע‬ ‫הכוח‬ ‫או‬ ‫העיקרון‬
‫מאורעות‬ ‫או‬ ‫נוצרים‬ ‫דברים‬ ‫שלפיו‬
‫שהם‬ ‫כפי‬ ‫מתרחשים‬(‫ייעוד‬).
.2‫א‬.‫נמנע‬ ‫בלתי‬ ‫סוף‬ ‫או‬ ‫תוצאה‬.
‫ב‬.‫אסון‬,‫ובמיוחד‬:‫מוות‬.
.3‫א‬.‫סופית‬ ‫תוצאה‬.
‫ב‬.‫מצופה‬ ‫תוצאה‬.
‫ג‬.‫מישהו‬ ‫של‬ ‫בגורלו‬ ‫שעלו‬ ‫הנסיבות‬
‫משהו‬ ‫או‬.
.4Fates:‫את‬ ‫שהגדירו‬ ‫אלות‬ ‫שלוש‬
‫האדם‬ ‫חיי‬ ‫מהלך‬,‫המיתולוגיה‬ ‫לפי‬
‫היוונית‬.

17. What do you
think of the
word “fate” ?
ideas
positive / negative

19. Map of related words
fate ‫גורל‬,‫דין‬
• inevitable
• final
(negative)
destiny
• ‫ייעוד‬
• will,
cause
fortune
• ‫מזל‬,‫הון‬
• luck
(positive)
Pay attention to the fine meanings of the words!

20. Who performs the act in the sentence?
They thought they will
never meet again, but fate
brought them back
together.
A surprising turn of fate.
She believes it is her
destiny to become a
nurse.
He is motivated by a
sense of destiny.
He hoped to achieve
fame and fortune.
They had the good
fortune to escape
injury when their
car crashed.
He made a fortune.

21. 21st century
fate
lack of
control
destiny
assumes some
control
fortune
could be a lot
of control
Man’s desire to have control over fate‫תשוקה‬ ‫לשלוט‬
past

22. rich
fate
lack of
control
destiny
some
control
fortune
could be a lot
of control
Who has better control?
poor
‫הביניים‬ ‫מעמד‬Middle Class

23. 
Fate in literature
For thousands of years, literature
has addressed the question of
how much control we have over
the paths of our lives.
Why might fate be a common
theme in literature?

24. Beliefs about fate and destiny

25. Different perspectives on life
Fate Choice
‫מבט‬ ‫נקודות‬,‫פרספקטיבות‬

26. Talismans ‫למזל‬ ‫קמעות‬

27. 
Make three wishes
If you had a magical talisman,
what three wishes would you make?
How would you make sure that
nothing bad happens to you as a
result?

28. 
Reading & understanding part I

29. 
Vocabulary part I
knitting – ‫סורגת‬
banged – ‫דפק‬,‫הלם‬
spell – ‫כישוף‬ ‫מילת‬
grant – ‫להעניק‬
pale – ‫חיוור‬
curiously - ‫בסקרנות‬
ordinary – ‫רגיל‬
shaky – ‫רופף‬,‫מעורער‬
adventures – ‫הרפתקאות‬
mortgage - ‫משכנתא‬
pounds – ‫שטרלינג‬ ‫לירות‬
twisted – ‫התעקם‬

30. 
Answer the following questions, using
past progressive when appropriate:
 Where and when? Describe
 the setting inside and outside the house
 Who
 are the family members and their guest
 What
 game were Mr. White and Herbert playing?
 stories was the soldier telling?
 was the monkey’s paw power?
 was the number of wishes to a number of people?
 Who
 has/have already used the paw?
The setting & plot I

31. 
 What
 did they ask for?
 became of their wishes?
 did the Sergeant-Major say about the paw?
 did the Sergeant-Major did with the paw?
 did Mr. White do to save it?
 Why
 didn’t the Sergeant-Major want to give the paw to Mr. White?
 was a spell put on the paw?
 did the Sergeant-Major explain to Mr. White how to work the
monkey’s paw?
 did Mr. White hesitate to test the paw’s power?
 did he decide to try it in the end?
The setting & plot II

32. 
Literary elements in part I

33. 
 What images and symbols are used in part I?
 The house interior versus the house exterior
 Names
 Banging gate and heavy footsteps
 Strange places and wars
 A monkey’s paw
 Three wishes
 A spell
 India
 A money bag in the middle of bed
 What do these images and symbols stand for?
Images and symbols

34. 
The symbolic meanings of the images
 The house interior
versus the house exterior
 Names
 Banging gate and heavy
footsteps
 Strange places and wars
 A monkey’s paw
 Three wishes
 A spell
 India
 A money bag in the
middle of bed
 a protected home vs. a rough
world; man vs. nature
 White = purity, innocence (‫)טוהר‬
 scary sounds; something
threatening; suspense
 conflict, disagreement
 desire (‫)תשוקה‬ and greed (‫)חמדנות‬
 folk legends (‫עממיות‬ ‫)אגדות‬
 witchcraft (‫)כישוף‬ stories
 West vs. East
 “finding fortune in a field”
tales (‫)מעשיות‬

35. 
Foreshadowing (forewarning ‫התראה‬/‫התרעה‬- )
What foreshadowing
elements can you find
in lines 64-73?
Based on these clues,
predict how the story
is going to evolve !

36. 
Preliminary analysis

37. 
Who has what perspective on the paw?
Perspective
1. Who believed in the paw’s
secret powers?
2. Who made fun of the belief
in the magic paw?
3. Who believed that fate
ruled our lives and you
cannot change it?
4. Who was curious about
the paw?
Character
a. Mr. White.
b. The wise man.
c. The Sergeant-Major.
d. Herbert.
‫מבט‬ ‫נקודת‬,‫פרספקטיבה‬
Match each perspective with the character that holds it:

38. 
Applying (‫)יישום‬ to your own life
If you had the same chance,
would you use the paw?
Why, or why not?

39. 
Reading & understanding parts II-III

40. 
Vocabulary parts II-III
nonsense - ‫שטויות‬
an accident – ‫תאונה‬
a candle – ‫נר‬
a company – ‫חברה‬
courage – ‫אומץ‬
pale – ‫חיוור‬
horrible – ‫ונורא‬ ‫איום‬
a knock – ‫דפיקה‬
pain – ‫כאב‬
compensation - ‫פיצוי‬
a scream – ‫צרחה‬
to scream – ‫לצרוח‬
to swear – ‫לקלל‬/‫להישבע‬
to tremble - ‫לרעוד‬
uncomfortable – ‫נוח‬ ‫לא‬
unnatural – ‫טבעי‬ ‫לא‬
unusual – ‫רגיל‬ ‫לא‬

41. Wish no. 1
Mr. White wishes
for 200 pounds.
Herbert is killed at
work. His parents
receive 200 pounds.
Wish no. 2
Mr. White wishes
for Herbert to come
back to life.
There is a knock on
the front door.
Wish no. 3
Mr. White wishes
for what he believes
to be Herbert to go
away/be dead
again / or?
The knocking stops.
The door opens and
a cold wind rushes
in.
The three wishes

42. 
 "Be careful what you wish for, you may
receive it“ is a saying that appears in the
original W.W. Jacobs’ text.
 It became a popular expression.
 What do you think it means?
Be careful what you wish for

43. 
Literary elements in parts II-III

44.  What are the three different settings of the story?
 Part one
Time & weather: Place:
evening, rainstorm living room
 Part two
Time & weather: Place:
morning, bright day breakfast table
 Part three
Time & weather: Place:
night, chilly & windy bedroom and front door
 How do these settings contribute to the evolution of the
story?
The different settings

45. 
A plot is all of the events that happen in a story. The plot
includes a conflict, or a struggle (‫)מאבק‬. The plot follows a pattern
(‫)דפוס‬ like the one shown below.
 Exposition: background information about the
characters and the story.
 Rising (‫)עולה‬ action: events that increase the conflict.
 Climax: the highest point of the story. The conflict is about to
be solved.
 Falling (‫)נופלת‬ action: the things that happen after the climax.
 Resolution: the final outcome.
The plot

46. Plot diagram activity
Exposition
background
information
Rising action
conflict
increased
Climax
highest
point
Falling action
following
climax
Resolution
final
outcome

47. 
 What are the four types of conflict in the story?
 character vs. character
 character vs. nature
 character vs. society
 character vs. self
 How does the story depict (‫)מציג‬ each one of
the conflicts?
The conflicts in the story

48. 
Further analysis

49. 
 Theme: use of the number three.
 The structure of “The Monkey’s Paw” is centered
around a pattern of threes.
 The number three is repeated on a number of
occasions in the story.
The number 3

50. 
Why does Jacobs do this?
 This helps to create a threatening atmosphere ( ‫אוירה‬
‫)מאיימת‬.
 There is a famous saying: “bad luck comes in
threes”. This connects to the theme of the text.
 Twos commonly occur in nature (we have two legs,
two eyes, two hands, and so on), threes are often
used in literature to produce an unnatural effect.
The number 3

51. 
The number 3
How many things that occur
three times can you find in
the text in 5 minutes?

52. 
 There are 3 members of the White family.
 Three men can wish on the monkeys paw.
 Mr. White is the third owner of the paw.
 There are 3 wishes.
 The story is split into three parts. Each part takes place
at a different time of the day, with a different type of
weather.
 Mrs. White asks her husband to wish Herbert alive 3
times.
 The “thing” (dead Herbert) knocks on the door three
times.
The number 3

53.  There are many books featuring the granting of three wishes to
a person.
 Nearly all of them suggest that successful wishing is impossible
because magic never works the way people want it to work.
 Jacobs also uses the same pattern (‫)דפוס‬ in “The Monkey’s Paw”:
 the first wish leads to unexpected and dissatisfying results,
 the hastily (‫)בחיפזון‬ made second wish fails to reverse the first wish
and only worsens (‫)מחמירה‬ the situation,
 and the third wish manages to undo the disastrous (‫)הרסני‬ second
wish.
The three wishes pattern

54. 
Concluding discussion

55. 
Can fate be changed?
Suggest another ending to the
story. What might have happened had
Mr. White not made a third wish?

56. 
The magic power of the paw
Since no one sees the
dead Herbert at the door,
perhaps the monkey’s
paw doesn’t have any
power at all. How does
this change the theme of
the story?

57. 
A special type of horror story
What is special about
“The Monkey’s Paw”
compared to other
horror stories?

58. 
An alternative interpretation
Can you think of another
interpretation for “The
Monkey’s Paw”? What if it
wasn’t a horror story?

60. 
Note
This unit is based on an
easy-reading version of the story
The text may be found in
Looking into Literature, Book 2
by Anna Louisa Birger
UPP