Chess Symbolizes Life in the Monkey Paw Story

William Wymark Jacobs was an English author of short stories and novels. Although much of his work was humorous, he is most famous for a 1902 horror story, The Monkey’s Paw. The Monkey’s Paw is a story about the White’s family and a magical monkey’s paw that has the power to grant three wishes. W.W. Jacobs ghost story has been used to value the significance of the number three, the impact of working conditions, and the meaning behind the game of chess.

The structure of the story is full of threes. For example, the story is divided into three parts. There existed three separate owners to the monkey’s paw. The White’s family consisted of three people. Sargent Morris drank three glasses of whisky while he talked about his adventures in India to the three listeners. The monkey’s paw granted three wishes. The representative from Maw and Meggins approaches the gate three times before entering.

Mrs. White urges her husband three times to wish their son alive. At the end of the story the mysterious visitor knocks on the door three times. Most relevant to the story is the saying “bad luck comes in threes”. The significance of the number three comes from one of the most common representations of a group of three is in the Holy Trinity from Christianity: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. The monkey’s paw has been cursed by an Indian holy man and disregards Christianity and the Holy Trinity, bringing unfortunate consequences to the family that indulges in it.

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As said in the story, Herbert White works at the factory called Maw and Meggins. Maw and Meggins sends a well-dressed man to the White’s house to deliver bad news and the compensation money. The author doesn’t let us know whether Herbert’s death was caused by unsafe conditions or a carelessness mistake on his part. But, this event in the story highlights one of the story’s more serious issues; working conditions in factories in the early 1900s. Working conditions in the early 1900s were miserable. Workers often got sick or died because of the long hours and unsanitary conditions. Many workers worked outside in all seasons, exposed to rain and snow, extreme heat and extreme cold. The machines that made mass manufacturing possible were often very dangerous. During 1900, 35,000 workers were killed in industrial accidents. Herbert’s White death was not a coincidence. Herbert’s dedication, time, and effort towards Maw and Meggins is what prompted the factory to give his family the 200-pounds. The compensation money, in other words, was a way of saying “thank you” for Hebert’s service.

W.W Jacobs begins his ghost story with the White’s family playing a game of chess. Chess symbolizes life in The Monkey’s Paw story. Those who play a daring, risky game of chess, for example, will lose, just as those who take unnecessary risks in life will die. The game of chess Mr. White and Herbert play mirrors the story’s outcome. The chess game is symbolic of Herbert’s carefulness and Mr. White’s recklessness. One wrong move can end the game for a player. The risks and mistakes Mr. White makes playing chess parallel the risks and mistakes he makes wishing on the monkey’s paw.

The Monkey’s Paw, a ghost story written by W.W Jacobs, expresses the importance of the number three by writing the structure of the story full with threes. This ghost story also makes the reader understand that Herbert’s death was caused by working conditions in the 1900s and how the game of chess actually depicted the story outcome.