1. How does the setting contribute to the story? 2. How does the tone of the text shift after the White family hears the story of the “Monkey’s Paw?”

The story is set in England around the turn of the twentieth century. It opens with the elderly Mr. and Mrs. White and their son Herbert in their cozy family home one stormy evening. Father and son are playing chess while Mrs. White knits by the fire. From their conversation, it is apparent they are expecting a visitor. The weather outside might possibly foreshadow the storm (trouble) that will soon descend upon their home. There is a sense of peaceful domesticity that will later be juxtaposed with the coming chaos. With the introduction of the paw, the tone of the text shifts to an ominous sense of expectation and dread.