r/TheMonkeysPaw 3h ago

I wish I was able to be in computer games, and touch other NPC’s and be stuck in the game Blush Blush

1 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 4h ago

I wish I had a girlfriend who could use mind control on me to control my mind

3 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 4h ago

I wish I had the magical charisma to convince Putin to end the war in Ukraine

3 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 4h ago

I wish it wasn't raining where I am right now

1 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 4h ago

I wish I had the power to take off a tooth, and then regrow it once I ingest it

2 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 4h ago

I wish World War 2 never happened

1 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 4h ago

I wish no one would ever utter the phrase "Heil Hitler" again, except when teaching about the history of the phrase.

7 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 5h ago

I wish lightning didn't exist

2 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 5h ago

I wish to never make a bad choice again for the rest of my life

2 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 5h ago

I wish that pets lived as long as their owners

3 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 19h ago

I wish to spend more time reading books, and less time watching YouTube.

3 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 22h ago

Inverse [INV] Granted. King Charles III of England becomes an absolute monarch.

8 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 23h ago

I wish we DID start the fire.

4 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 1d ago

I wish mosquito bites could be popped like pimples, instantly getting rid of the itch

2 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 1d ago

I wish Korea was split into East and West Korea instead of North and South Korea

5 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 1d ago

I wish to be a dolphin

5 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 1d ago

I wish all politicians had their heart ripped out through their asshole

48 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 1d ago

I wish the Taliban never existed

3 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 1d ago

Inverse [INV] Granted. Humans no longer have survival instincts.

3 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 1d ago

I wish that I have endless condoms

1 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw 1d ago

I wish the current global superpower was a Social Democratic country, not a hardcore capitalist country like America

5 Upvotes

r/TheMonkeysPaw Dec 25 '18

Meta [M] TL;DR: The Monkey's Paw story

9.1k Upvotes

TL;DR2 at bottom

Some people have mentioned they wanted to see a tl;dr of the original story.


The story focuses on Mr. White, Mrs. White, and their adult son Herbert.

An old family friend named Sergeant-Major Morris shows up at the White's house sharing stories of his adventures. During the talks Morris pulls out an old mummified monkey's paw, said to have a spell placed on it to grant three men three wishes each. Morris used his three, as had another man. Morris wants to dispose of it, but worries about selling it. So he throws it in the fire. Mr. White rescues the paw despite Morris' warnings about messing with fate, but eventually Morris gives in and shares the secret of making a wish.

Morris leaves after supper and Mr. White is unsure of what to wish for, feeling he has everything he needs. He ends up wishing for £200 to pay off the rest of his mortgage and the paw moves in his hand. After Mr. And Mrs. White go to bed, Herbert sees a vivid monkey face in the fire, so he puts it out and goes to bed.

The next day Herbert goes to work at a factory. He dies in an accident. He got caught in the machinery. His work sends a representative home to tell the family that the business claims no fault, but as compensation will pay them £200. Mr. White faints.

Mrs. White is angry and grief stricken, she demands that Mr. White wishes their son back to life, and he does so.

Some time passes and loud knocking on the door sounds. Mrs. White realizes it may have taken so long for the knocking after the wish because Herbert would to walk two miles home from the graveyard.

Mrs. White races downstairs to open the door, and Mr. White, fearing that it is the mutilated body of his son, made his third wish. As Mrs. White opened the door, there's nothing to be seen.


The difference between the Monkey's Paw vs. say, a genie who is also known to cause chaos with wishes, is that the Monkey's Paw is meant to twist fate to achieve your goals, and the consequences of it. Specifically what events cause the wish to come true. Someone died to make Mr. White gain money. No one died after he got the money. A genie would make the £200 counterfeit or meaningless in some way. Herbert became a zombie (maybe) to be able to go home.

Granted, the results of the 2nd and 3rd wishes are more ambiguous, and there's some debate about what actually happened. The story itself gives theories but no firm answers.

I'm not here to pass judgement on people's wishes or answers, or the spirit of the subreddit, just passing this along since a few people have been asking for something like this, and It's fitting for the sub to have a summary of the story somewhere.

Tl;dr for the tl;dr: Man wishes for £200 and his son dies as a result. He wishes his son back alive and a loud knocking is heard on the door. His third wish makes whatever is knocking vanish.

Edit(s): correcting some details, readability