Animals may indicate feelings, such as many people may see snakes as being evil. This is because the devil took the form of a snake in the Garden of Eden in the Bible. Also, people may see young animals as being cute, such as bear cubs, even though they are quite the opposite when fully grown. In 'The monkey's paw', you automatically want to know what this is. Monkeys may be often are seen as troublesome creatures. For example, many people have arachnophobia, so an artifact called "The Spider's fang" could be seen as something associated with great fear. The fact that monkey's are troublesome could lead you to believe that the monkey's paw is a relic that would cause alot of problems. Again, you don't actually know what a "Monkey's paw" is, so you want to read on and find out about it.
The setting of a novel can often give an atmopshere of what is in or about the place, or what you would feel about it. For example, a house that is falling down with decomposing trees around it, would give an uneasy feeling about entering. In "The Red Room" the setting is described as "The long, drawingly subterranian passage...". For example, a small cottage, with a nice cosy fire, is going to give you the feeling of relaxtion. This corridor gives the feeling of curiosity, what is at the end of the corridor, what is IN the corridor? You don't know, and it amasses caution and anxiety because of the fact you want to know whats at the end.
In "The Monkey's Paw", the old man describes the area as "of all the beastly slushy out of the way places to live in, this is the worst." This gives the feeling that the area is very remote, and far away from anyone at all. This makes you wonder if something was to happen, would there be anyone around to hear it, would there be anyone at all to rescue them if something terrible happened. It opens up a whole new load of possibilities to lead the story in different directions. For example, people could think that if there is a murder, a "beasty slushy out of the way place" is most probably the most accurate place to hide a body, or to get rid of evidence. The perfect setting for a piece of writing of this genre, as it make you think of countless choices that could happen.
In "The Monkey's Paw", there is a soldier from India that visits the family. Very little information is given, and because they are in such a remote location, you know he must be there for a reason. The soldier seems to casually mention the paw during normal conversation, though you can tell there is something going on between the old man and the soldier. The arrangement seemed to have been planned before hand, and that previous talking had happened with them. The soldier seems too happy to part with the paw, for apparantly no fee. It seems odd to me that the soldier would come such a long distance, just to stay for a short time, and by coincidence bring this paw, and part with it on the same night. Again you wonder about the mystery that is unfolding, and who the soldier actually is; wether his story is true. The tension keeps on mounting.
