The Monkey’s Paw: Gothic Extract and Paragraph Plan

A two-page PDF for close reading and analytical writing on the final scene of W. W. Jacobs’s The Monkey’s Paw. Students explore how Jacobs creates fear and suspense through Gothic conventions and language.

The resource includes a short introduction to the scene, the extract, an analytical question and three suggested topic sentences. These follow the passage from the threatening domestic setting, through the repeated knocking, to the ambiguous ending. A brief writing reminder encourages students to select short quotations, analyse individual words and methods, and connect their ideas to Gothic conventions.

Suitable for Gothic fiction work at KS3 or GCSE, the sheet can support a class discussion, a planned written response or independent practice. The paragraph support gives students a starting point while leaving them to select evidence and develop their own analysis.

Supplied as a two-page PDF.