Fate and Theme
Sergeant-Major Morris warns in Para. 26 that those who interfere with fate do so to this result.
What is sorrow / tragedy?
In Para. 41, Morris throws the monkey's paw here, foreshadowing its danger.
What is into the fire / hearth?
The character who sarcastically suggests wishing for £200 to pay off the house in Para. 51.
Who is Herbert White?
The country where Sergeant-Major Morris spent 21 years and got the paw (Para. 18).
What is India?
The visual style or filter used in the film opening to establish a somber/sad mood.
What is stark black-and-white lighting?
Morris’s core warning about fate from Para. 26 stated in one sentence.
What is "Nobody should try to control fate"?
Herbert’s joke in Para. 69 about "something horrible squatting on top of the wardrobe" hints at this upcoming visitor.
What is an evil/monstrous presence or the man who announced Herbert's death visiting after they get money?
The character who frantically demands the second wish to bring their son back in Paras. 106–112.
Who is Mrs. White?
The exact amount of money Mr. White wishes for in Para. 53.
What is 200 pounds (£200)?
How the film's soundtrack changes as Mrs. White begs for the second wish.
What is it gets louder and more foreboding/suspenseful?
In Para. 26, the first owner of the paw used his third wish for this, proving its dark nature.
What is death?
In Para. 78, Mrs. White "scurrying" to the door at the postman’s knock reveals this hidden feeling.
What is she secretly believes in the paw's power and is excited to receive the money?
Mr. White’s main motivation for frantically searching the floor in Para. 142 to make his final wish.
What is to stop whatever is knocking at the door / prevent his wife from seeing a monster?
The game Mr. White and Herbert are playing at the very beginning of the story (Para. 1).
What is chess?
In the film clip, Mrs. White explicitly blames Mr. White for this, which is not reflected in the book.
What is killing their son / making the wish that killed Herbert?
The overall lesson or moral illustrated when the Whites receive their money (in Paragraphs 137–143.)
What is greed?
What is meddling with fate brings destruction?
or
What is be careful what you wish for?
In Para. 67, Mr. White seeing horrible, monkey-like faces in the hearth fire foreshadows this.
What is the evil consequences / terror the paw will bring?
In Para. 111, the reason Mr. White is terrified of bringing Herbert back to life.
What is he knows Herbert was horribly mutilated in the machinery?
or
What is he fears that Herbert won't be his normal self?
The exact compensation offered to the Whites by Maw and Meggins for Herbert's death in Para. 137.
What is 200 pounds?
A sound detail/flashback added to the film during the knocking scene that isn't voiced in the book.
What is the echoed voice of Morris warning to "wish for something sensible"?
The reason W.W. Jacobs sets the opening scene in Para. 1 inside a warm home surrounded by dark, stormy weather.
What is to contrast comfort/safety while foreshadowing incoming doom/danger?
In Para. 128, the Maw and Meggins representative says Herbert "is not in any pain," which foreshadows this realization.
What is Herbert is already dead?
In the film clip (visual reference), this moment shows Mrs. White experiencing a sudden wave of desperate hope.
What is when she remembers two wishes still remain?
According to Para. 26, the spell was put on the monkey's paw by this person.
Who is an old fakir (holy man)?
The final shot of the film adaptation puts a dramatic spotlight on this object alone.
What is the monkey's paw?