Language

The language of “The Monkey’s Paw” by W.W. Jacobs is constructed in a way that is fitting with the horror genre. The language is not hard to follow but filled with expressions designed to create mystery, suspense and horror. Here are a few examples that you can take note of: “the beastly, slushy, out-of-the-way places”, “in darkness, and the sound of subdued weeping”, “a look of horror”.

The story combines dialogue with narration in similar proportions, giving it a balanced language structure. The dialogue adds dynamism and authenticity to the story while the narrative passages help the author insert suspenseful, macabre elements.

These general language traits are completed by a number of linguistic features which can help you with better understanding the text and the author’s style:

Imagery

Commonly, imagery is used in literature to convey mental images about the action, setting and characters via descriptive passages. In “The Monkey’s Paw” most of the imagery is related to actions and setting, and less to the characters.

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Similes

Several similes (brief creative comparisons) are used in the text. The story about the monkey paw “Sounds like the Arabian Nights”, a simile which is also an allusion to...

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Metaphors and Hyperbole

A very vivid metaphorical phrase is: “The words died away on his lips, and he hid a guilty grin in his thin grey beard”.

The words are implicitly associated with persons (personification).

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Repetition

Various examples of repetition are employed in the short story with the purpose of mimicking real life speech influenced by certain feelings (confusion, horror, fear). Repetition is also used to...

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