Sergeant-Major Morris begins to arouse both the White family and the reader’s curiosity over the Monkey’s Paw by approaching the subject of it in an ambiguous way. When the family question him about the mysterious paw he claims ‘it is nothing worth hearing about’ and conceals what he doesn’t want told. He says this in ‘haste’ towards the family clearly showing his sincerity towards the paw. At this point the atmosphere changes from happy and jolly to secretive and suspicious. As he begins to tell the ‘magic’ of the paw the listeners’ attention is drawn towards him as they all ‘lean in eagerly’. He describes the paw as a mummy, which suggest curses and evil, like an Egyptian mummy carries. When he takes the paw out from beneath his cloak Mrs White draws back with a ‘grimace’, therefore it must look horrifying, however, it just encourages them to listen further, and it intrigues them. The Sergeant Major talks of ‘spells and wishes’, which refer to dark magic and an evil craft of some sort, this suggests the paw’s power and corruption it may bring. The traveller goes on to tell the family about the wishes he had granted, at this point his face becomes ‘blotchy’ and ‘whitened’. To show the family is still aroused the author uses Mrs White’s inquisitive questions, for example, ‘And has anybody else wished?’ He replies in a short grievous tone, which causes a ‘hush to fall upon the group’. A dramatic effort from the Sergeant-Major forces him to throw the ‘mischievous’ paw and the ‘fairytale’ it promotes upon the fire. He claims in a ‘solemn’ state ‘Better let it burn’, however, this is done to no avail and Mr White rescues the paw from the flames against the traveller’s precautions. The visitor tells him to ‘Pitch it on the fire again, like a sensible man,’ this makes the reader wonder why he would want to destroy such a ‘lucky’ charm and makes the reader realise the reality of the threats caused by the paw. The Sergeant-Major leaves, as he does he tells the family ‘gruffly’ to ‘wish for something sensible’ and ‘grabs’ Mr White’s arm, this shows his aggression towards the paw and his disagreement with them keeping it after his stern warnings.
Both stories have moments that create tension and suspense, ‘The Black Veil’ creates this when the doctor is ushered into the room within the house in Walworth. It is caused by the noises heard by the doctor in the room where he has been told to remain. The ambiguous thumps and deafening noises are described in small detail, which prove elusive to the doctor. The doctor’s baffled reaction to this is described when the noises ‘strike his ear’, like thunder, creating a loud and threatening image which proves enough to ‘startle’ the doctor. He then hears ‘footsteps’ and ‘low shuffling’, the doctor realises something oblivious to him is being brought into the house. The ‘creaking’ of the staircase confirms something is being taken upstairs and provokes a haunted image in the reader’s mind, as it is a characteristic of a haunted house.
‘The Monkey’s Paw’ creates a similar tension when Mr White makes a wish upon the paw. The family thinks of the trinket and the riches it may bring, however, disbelieve to an extent in the paw’s power, this is represented by sarcasm. ‘Why we’re going to be rich, and famous and happy,’ claims Herbert, with ‘pretended horror’. They continuously fool around, ‘Wish to be an emperor, father, to begin with; then you can’t be henpecked,’ Herbert darts around the table pursued by the maligned Mrs White. They decide to wish for two hundred pounds to clear their house, a sense of foreboding is created because you know this money isn't going to be received without a disastrous consequence. The tension is built up by the actions of Herbert; coincidentally he is the one who suffers the consequences of the wish. He plays a few ‘impressive chords’ on the piano; however, when the last ‘fine chord’ is played they are ‘greeted’ by a ‘shuddering cry from the old man’. The family is alarmed and rushes to his side. Mr White’s reaction to the monkey’s paw is dramatic, he states that ‘it twisted like a snake in my hand’. The simile used tells us of the sudden movement made by the paw. Snakes are associated with evil; this makes the paw seem more sinister and deadly. A sense of fear has been established throughout the household, this represents a turning point in the story. The cheerful atmosphere in the family has changed to bemused. The weather hazards become heightened, ‘the wind was higher than ever’ and the house becomes increasingly insecure, ‘the old man started nervously at the sound of a door banging upstairs’, therefore, making the outside threat real once again. The paw is obviously still playing on their minds’, as an unusual silence is apparent. Herbert’s vision in the flames is an omen of terrible things to come, when he gazes into the ‘dying flames’ he sees ‘horrible’ faces. The way in which the author has described the fire as ‘dying’ suggests a fatal occurrence will happen. The fire itself symbolises danger and hazards; this warns us something disastrous is going to happen. The attention then returns to the paw when Herbert goes to grab water to throw upon the fire but instead ‘grasps’ the monkey’s paw. His reaction towards this fatal warning shows his fear of the paw as he goes to bed with a ‘little shiver’.
Dickens vivid description of Walford and the surrounding neighbourhood creates a strong sense of foreboding. By describing the houses, residents and the natural features it makes us wonder what may happen to the doctor in such a hostile place. Walworth is described as a ‘straggling’, ‘miserable’ and ‘dreary’ area, which is a distance from the surgeon’s home. Distance suggests insecurity for the doctor, he is away from his comforts and this means he has nothing to rely upon. It appears ‘un-inhabited’ except for a few ‘questionable characters’. They are described as ‘dark’, just like their threatening surroundings. This suggests that the doctor isn’t in good company but is surrounded by people he wouldn’t want to meet and feels threatened by them. The houses in Walworth are the ‘rudest’ and ‘most miserable’ the doctor has ever seen, they are ‘sprinkled’ about like in a suburban area. The appearance of the town is ‘haunted’ and ‘supernatural’ in many ways, the doctor realises this and is extremely cautious. He claims, ‘just one trip to this place provokes feelings of anxiety or depression’. The trip is represented as nightmarish and distressing, the nature of this area makes you wonder what the effects are on the young doctor. Everything that he describes is diseased, dead or disfigured. The area is made up of ‘marshy commons’, ‘irregular lanes’, ‘ruinous and dismantled cottages’, ‘stunted trees’ and ‘pools of stagnant water’. ‘Lonely old women’ are the only inhabitants living in this state of poverty, only the ‘old and withered’ live here as ‘spirits of the young are squashed’. The ‘cold damp’ that covers the town makes the scenery more deceiving, as you can’t see what obstacles may be ahead and what problems they may cause. Coincidentally the appearance of the house he is visiting is the worst in the area; this doesn’t bode well for the doctor.
WW Jacobs releases the tension from the previous night effectively as he describes the White family’s ‘merry’ relationship. They continue to joke about the paw, as Herbert says, ‘Well, don’t break into the money before I come back,’ as he leaves for work. The paw still creates a certain amount of tension as every time the door is heard, even the postman’s knock,’ Mrs White ‘scurries’ to the door. This shows that although they say they don’t believe in such ‘nonsense’, they obviously do. A conversation between the husband and wife, about the paw, creates foreboding, as you know something connected to their wish will happen shortly after. Mrs White then becomes attracted to the ‘mysterious movements’ of a man outside, he ‘peers in whilst trying to decide whether to enter,’ his actions prove his uncertainty and that he bears bad news because of this. However, the expectant Mrs White has already made a ‘mental connection’ with the two hundred pounds that was wished for the night before. The man appears to be ‘well-dressed’ and wears a ‘silk hat of glossy newness’; these are signs of wealth.
The tension is re-created as the visitor ‘flung’ open the gate and begins to walk up the path whilst an excited Mrs White ‘hurriedly unfastens the strings of her apron’. At this point we think their meeting will be productive but are soon informed the visitor is ‘ill at ease’ and ‘preoccupied’. He begins ‘strangely silently’, then claims he is a representative from ‘Maw and Meggins,’ Herbert’s workplace. Mrs White begins to realise the visitor is here on a grave issue and begins asking questions in a ‘breathless manner’, ‘Has anything happened to Herbert? What is it?’ However, her husband knows what is wrong but appears to be in a state of confusion as he reassures his wife that the visitor ‘hasn’t brought bad news’, although seemingly knowing it is as he eyes the representative ‘wistfully’. As we are told of how Herbert tragically died ‘in the machinery’ the couple become silent. The ‘old woman’s face becomes white, her eyes staring and her breath inaudible’ and her husband ‘wore a look such as his friend the Sergeant Major might have wore on his first action’. Then the sinister paw resurfaces, ‘they wish to present you with a sum of compensation’. Mr White raises to his feet and gazes in ‘horror’ at the visitor, he asks, ‘How much?’ with ‘dry lips’. The reply was created with foreboding from Mr White’s reaction to the compensation, it was ‘two hundred pounds’. Mrs White’s ‘shriek’ sums up the horrific reaction that is caused by the revelation.
When the doctor is shown into a ‘cold and bare’ room, he hears sinister sounds as something unknown to the doctor is being brought into the ‘haggard’ house. After a cryptic silence, the veiled woman leads the doctor to a room upstairs. The room has obviously been neglected, just like the rest of the ‘damp’ house. A dim light is emitted through a curtain’ and the objects in the room prove ‘indistinct’ because of this. The doctor’s eye rests upon an object as the woman ‘frantically’ rushes past him and ‘flung herself on her knees by the bedside’. The room is described as a ‘chapel’ because the light is dim, it is silent and a body lay upon the bed. ‘Closely enveloped in a linen wrapper and covered with blankets, lay a human form, stiff and motionless’, the way in which the body is described suggest the person is dead and has been lovingly preserved. Dickens goes on to say; ‘The head and face, which were those of a man, were uncovered, the eyes were closed, the left arm lay heavily across the bed, and the woman held the passive hand.’ You realise this is the man whom the woman was raving about when she visited the doctor’s surgery. As a professional, the doctor pushes the woman ‘gently’ aside and holds the man’s hand. After a few seconds he exclaims, ‘the man is dead!’ However, we aren’t given an explanation as to why the man died immediately after his death, this intensifies the mystery of the situation as his death may have been natural but is more likely to be supernatural in a place such as Walford. After the woman’s ‘frantic burst of passion’ and ‘effort to save him’ the doctor tells her it is pointless but he does tell her to ‘undraw the curtains’ in an ‘agitated’ tone, she replies, ‘I darkened the room on purpose’ because she didn’t want the body to be exposed. The doctor himself is ‘forced to tear open the curtains’ and ‘emit the full light of day’, he concludes, ‘this man died no natural or easy death’, this heightens the suspense and puzzles the reader. This makes you want to read on so you can discover the sinister reality behind the death. The woman’s appearance is finally revealed when she removes the ‘mournful’ black veil and shows her ‘deadly pale face; with a nervous contortion of the lip, and an unnatural fire in her eye’. This suggests to the reader that the reason behind the death will be revealed just as the ‘old woman’s’ secretive identity is revealed. The doctor announces ‘this man has been murdered’ and the marks left upon his throat prove he was one of the ‘men hanged this morning’. The tension is then lost and the story begins to unfold. One woman’s insanity was caused by her son’s destructive behaviour in such uncontrollable circumstances.
After the funeral of Herbert the atmosphere becomes dreary and depressing as the couple mourn the obscure death of their son. However, the tension is again heightened by Mrs White’s hysterical demand to wish for the return of her son from the grave. She ‘quivers with excitement’ at the idea of having her son again, whilst her husband fiercely warns her, ‘I could only recognise him by his clothing. If he was too terrible for you to see then, how now?’ However, the woman is so obsessed by the thought of ‘her baby’ being returned to her, she doesn’t think of the consequences that may arise. The way in which Mr White ‘regards the talisman fearfully’ suggests he never wanted to make the wish but was forced to by his overpowering wife. As the candle expires a sense of foreboding is created; this signifies the return of their deceased son. When Mr White goes to retrieve a new candle, at the foot of the stairs, he hears a ‘quiet and stealthy knock sound upon the door’. As this knocking on the door becomes increasingly louder a struggle ensues between husband and wife. The frantic Mr White searches for the paw to reverse the wish before Mrs White manages to unbolt the door. This creates lots of suspense and contributes to the climatic end to the story. A ‘perfect fusillade of knocks reverberated through the house,’ at this moment the creaking of the bolt is heard and ‘his third and last wish’ is granted. The knocking ceases suddenly and ‘the street lamp flickering opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road,’ the suspense is lost and the reader is left wondering and to an extent in a state of disbelief.
In conclusion, both stories achieve a sense of mystery, suspense and foreboding. However, I think ‘ The Monkey’s Paw’ is more effective because it achieves all three requirements to a superb level. ‘The Black Veil’ isn’t as successful and the ending is poor compared to the dramatic suspense of W.W Jacob’s story. More foreboding and suspense is created around the paw whereas only a certain amount of mystery and secrecy is made by the veil.