What is the resolution in "The Monkey's Paw"?

The resolution at the end of "The Monkey’s Paw" is left ambiguous. After Mr. White’s first wish accidentally results in the death of his son Herbert, Mrs. White forces him to wish that Herbert was alive again. In the final moments of W. W. Jacobs’s short story, Mr. White uses his final wish, and the knocking at the door goes away. When he opens it, no one is there, and we learn that “The streetlight...

The resolution at the end of "The Monkey’s Paw" is left ambiguous. After Mr. White’s first wish accidentally results in the death of his son Herbert, Mrs. White forces him to wish that Herbert was alive again. In the final moments of W. W. Jacobs’s short story, Mr. White uses his final wish, and the knocking at the door goes away. When he opens it, no one is there, and we learn that “The streetlight opposite shone on a quiet and deserted road.” "The Monkey’s Paw" works through themes of fate and causality, and the lack of clear resolution at the end emphasizes these themes.

Mr. White’s first two wishes appear in the story in the form of dialogue, and thus the reader knows precisely what he has asks for. With the first wish in particular, we are able to analyze the chain of cause and effect: we can see how his wish for 200 pounds brings about the death of his son.

With the final wish, this dynamic is reversed: we see the first signs of his wish (its effect), but we do not know what he has asked for. Morris tells the White family that the paw was designed to show the power of fate and teach a lesson to those who try to challenge it. The first wish certainly supports this idea, and the final line of the story reveals an unnerving degree of isolation. We know that their son is not there, and given the cursed origin of the paw, we can assume that another tragedy probably awaits the White family. Did Mr. White wish for his son to go away, or for there to be no one outside his door? What if no one is left alive in the world except Mr. and Mrs. White? The ambiguity at the end draws attention to the risk of trying to control fate.