Question

Select the correct text in the passage. Which two parts of this excerpt from W. W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw" show that the White family does not believe in the talisman's power? The other shook his head and examined his possession closely. "How do you do it?" he inquired. "Hold it up in your right hand, and wish aloud," said the Sergeant-Major, "But I warn you of the consequences." "Sounds like the 'Arabian Nights,'" said Mrs. White, as she rose and began to set the supper. "Don't you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me." Her husband drew the talisman from his pocket, and all three burst into laughter as the Sergeant-Major, with a look of alarm on his face, caught him by the arm. "If you must wish," he said gruffly, "Wish for something sensible." Mr. White dropped it back in his pocket, and placing chairs, motioned his friend to the table. In the business of supper the talisman was partly forgotten, and afterward the three sat listening in an enthralled fashion to a second installment of the soldier's adventures in India.

Answer 1

The White family's disbelief in the talisman's power in "The Monkey's Paw" by W. W. Jacobs is shown when Mrs. White compares it to the 'Arabian Nights' and when the family laughs as Mr. White takes out the talisman.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question asks which two parts of an excerpt from W. W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw" indicate that the White family does not believe in the talisman's power. The two parts that show the family's skepticism are:

• Mrs. White's comparison of the talisman to a story from the 'Arabian Nights,' which suggests she sees the talisman as fictional or fantastical, not real.
• The family's laughter when Mr. White takes out the talisman, indicating they find the idea of the talisman having power amusing rather than serious.

These instances showcase the family's disbelief and lighthearted attitude towards the talisman, setting the tone for the subsequent events in the story.

Answer 2

The two parts of this excerpt from W. W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw" show that show the White family doesn't believe in the talisman's power are:

"Sounds like the 'Arabian Nights,'" said Mrs. White, as she rose and began to set the supper.

The 'Arabian Nights' were stories made up by the narrator Scheherazade and told to the King over 1001 nights so that he would not kill her as he had done with so many other women in the past. In this way, it signifies that Mrs. White believes this story to be a made-up tale.

and

"Don't you think you might wish for four pairs of hands for me." Her husband drew the talisman from his pocket, and all three burst into laughter

Mr. White is jokingly asking to be given four pairs of hands, something that isn't sensible or realistic, because he does not believe in the power of the talisman to grant wishes. In the end the three burst in laughter as they do not take the talisman, or the story of it's power, seriously.