"The Monkey's Paw" (page 30)
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Critical Reading Identify the letter of the choice that best answers the question.
____
1. Which line foreshadows what happens to Herbert?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
2. What fact about Mrs. White helps you predict what the second wish will be?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
there is a crash from the piano, which Herbert is playing.
Mr. White faints.
Herbert urges his father to wish to be an emperor.
Mr. White loses the chess game to his son.
6. Why is Mr. White afraid to wish a second time?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
“I don't know what to wish for, and that's a fact.”
“Never mind, though; there's no harm done.”
“As I wished it twisted in my hand like a snake.”
“I expect you'll find the cash tied up in a big bag in the middle of your bed.”
5. The effect of the first wish is foreshadowed when
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
a retired sergeant major who brings a magical monkey's paw home from India
an unsuspecting son who dies as a result of his mother's greed
a monkey's paw that grants three wishes to three different people
a magical but evil monkey's paw that ruins the quiet life of a family
4. Which line helps you predict that the first wish will come true?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
She is a loving mother.
She does not fear death.
She does not believe in the monkey's paw.
She is very angry.
3. What is “The Monkey's Paw” about?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
“I don't see the money … and I bet I never shall.”
“Why, we're going to be rich, and famous, and happy.”
“If you only cleared the house, you'd be quite happy ….”
“I expect you'll find the cash tied up in a big bag ….”
He does not believe the paw can grant wishes.
He is so grief-stricken that he forgets the paw.
He has become angry since Herbert's death.
He realizes his wishes can have bad consequences.
7. In the resolution of “The Monkey's Paw,” what happens to Herbert?
a. He is killed in an accident.
b. He returns to the grave.
c. He mocks the monkey's paw.
d. He beats his father at chess.
____
8. In “The Monkey's Paw,” which line spoken by Mr. White hints that the wishes can only change his life for the
worse?
a.
b.
c.
d.
“And what is there special about it?”
“It seems to me I've got all I want.”
“There's no harm done, but it gave me a shock all the same.”
“The things happened so naturally ….”
Short Answer
Write your responses to the questions in this section on the lines provided.
9. What is family life like in the White household when “The Monkey’s Paw” opens? Think about what the
characters are doing and saying to each other. Support your description with two details from the story.
10. In “The Monkey’s Paw,” how do Sergeant Major Morris’s comments foreshadow the harm that the monkey’s
paw will cause? Identify two remarks.
11. In the boxes below, list three chronological events that are part of the rising action in “The Monkey’s Paw.”
Then, on the line below, explain how you know these events are part of the rising action.
12. What event would you consider the climax of “The Monkey’s Paw”? Briefly explain why this event qualifies
as the climax.
13. The narrator never directly tells us Mr. White’s third wish in “The Monkey’s Paw,” but the story’s events
suggest the answer. What is Mr. White’s third wish? How did you come to that conclusion?