Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Reading Check

1. What are Herbert and Mr. White doing at the beginning of the story?

2. Where did Sergeant-Major Morris get the monkey’s paw?

3. What is Mr. White’s first wish?

4. What happens to Herbert White after his father makes the first wish?

5. What is Mr. White’s second wish?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Sergeant-Major Morris try to burn the monkey’s paw?

2. Why does the man from Maw and Meggins visit the Whites?

3. How does Mr. White react to his wife’s wish?

4. Why does Mrs. White say, “You’re afraid of your own son” (140)?

5. Why does Mrs. White have to ask Mr. White to make the wish?

Recommended Next Reads 

“The Necklace” by Guy de Maupassant

• “The Necklace” follows the story of Madame Loisel, a dissatisfied woman who borrows a beautiful necklace for a fancy event, loses it, and spends the next 10 years of her life in poverty, only to realize that her desire for wealth and social status led her to a tragic and regretful outcome. 
• Shared themes include The Dangers of Wishful Thinking.
• “The Necklace” on SuperSummary