The Monkey's Finger
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The Monkey's Finger is a humorous science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the February 1953 issue of Startling Stories and reprinted in the 1975 collection Buy Jupiter and Other Stories. The story is based on a disagreement between Asimov and editor H.L. Gold over the story "C-Chute". The title is a reference to W.W. Jacobs' story "The Monkey's Paw".
Marmie Tallinn, a fantasy writer and his editor Lemuel Hoskins are locked in a heated dispute over a story that Tallinn is writing for the magazine Hoskins edits. To prove his point, Tallinn introduces Hoskins to a university Professor who has experimented on a monkey to enable it to write stories based on a given style and flavour. The monkey is given Tallinn's unfinished story to consider; the monkey finishes the story as the editor requested. Tallinn declares this as proof of his point: if he writes his story as Hoskins requests, then Hoskins is no better than a monkey. Tallinn finishes his story his way.
| Buy Jupiter and Other Stories |
| Darwinian Pool Room | Day of the Hunters | Shah Guido G. | Button, Button | The Monkey's Finger | Everest | The Pause | Let's Not | Each an Explorer | Blank! | Does a Bee Care? | Silly Asses | Buy Jupiter | A Statue for Father | Rain, Rain, Go Away | Founding Father | Exile to Hell | Key Item | The Proper Study | 2430 A.D. | The Greatest Asset | Take a Match | Thiotimoline to the Stars | Light Verse |
