The weight of the world hangs heavy on Mr White’s shoulders – a man ground down by a life of hard work and meagre pay. Tinged with sadness he looks back on a life of ordinariness and missed opportunities.
Mrs White tries hard to envelop her little family with love and happiness. She is particularly close to her son Herbert, overly protective perhaps, after the death of Herbert’s elder brother in childhood.
Unlike his father, Herbert is at the start of his working life, full of optimism and ambition. He is generous to a fault.
A weary old soldier full of tales of his adventures in the farthest flung corners of the British Empire. But is he more than that? He brings to the White’s attention the story of the Monkey’s Paw, thus setting the ball rolling as the family head towards their final fate.
The man from the factory, given the unenviable task of delivering the baddest of news to the Whites.
Providing atmospheric support.