Gothic Settings– The setting of the play is gloomy and dark with an atmosphere and decorum building. The tumultuous opening of the play and the sudden appearance of Sergeant Major and his bringing of monkey’s paw to the White family creates an atmosphere of odd sensation. The Sergeant’s story about the monkey’s paw is incredibly fascinating with is itself supernatural as it was given by some fakir to him in India who cast a magical spell on the paw granting human wishes about three but with a very big cost. This sudden declaration of Paw’s ability sounded skeptic to Herbert and his parents but Sergeant’s seriousness add more supernatural realism to its very existence and truth. It is fantastically added with the atmosphere of tumultuous weather outside to make the play appear supernatural and horror. The most intriguing part is in the last scene when the wish to retrieve back the dead son is beautifully carried out with the candles shooing off , the loud sound of the clock, the creaking of the stairs along with the noises created by a mouse adds an enthralling and gothic experiences to the horrifying arousal of dead person knocking on the door.
Supernatural Occurrences– The instances of supernatural occurrences is also seen in the play. When Sergeant Major leaves the house , Mr. White felt that the paw moved like a snake on his palm which reflects the supernatural occurrence in the play. It is symbolical because the snake represents death or tragedy to the family. The implication of death and tragedy is forecast in the play with the supernatural element. However, when Herbert’s parents went to bed Herbert was all alone in the living room sitting next to a fire and sees a realistic monkey faces on the fire that also adds to the gothicism in the play.
Mysteriousness of the Monkey’s Paw– The mystery and suspense is one of the traits of gothic literature. The Monkey’s Paw is very much a mysterious object and the story is giving implication that the magical reality about the paw is true. When the White family decided to grant wish for two hundred pounds , the grant was given with a very big cost because Herbert died in the machinery and the news directly came from the stranger who visited their house the next day with an amount of two hundred pounds. This clearly reflects the mysteriousness and an implication of the realism of Paw’s ability but with a very big cost. The Whites family were struck with the reality and Mrs. White wanted to use a second wish to bring back their son and the wish was granted for they hear a knock on the door implying that Herbert has resurrected from the grave but Mr. White did not let his wife open the bolt from the door while trying to reach the paw to make the last wish that stopped the knocking and Herbert was gone.
