The Destructive Nature of Greed

The Destructive Nature of Greed Upon first glance at “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence, one would not expect the said winner to in fact lose his life. The irony in the title gives way to the theme of the story, being that greed is destructive; even of life itself. Lawrence uses elements such as plot, point of view, and characters to further portray the destructive nature of greed in the story. A plot is the events that flow together to make a story. The first event in a story is the exposition, in which the characters, setting, and theme are introduced. The first character introduced in the story is the mother, Hester, who is obsessed with being wealthy and has no love for her family. The next major character introduced is Paul, who wants nothing more than for his mother to love him. The story takes place in London, most likely in the middle of the 1920’s, since the story was published in 1926. The theme of greed is introduced early on in the story with the mother and further exaggerated when the house begins repeating the haunting phrase, “there must be more money” (560). This is also an instance of foreshadowing as it alludes to the destruction that greed will cause. The next event in the plot is the complicating incident, or problem. The complicating incident in this story is that the mother, who does not love her family, and the father, who is not spoken about in length, enjoy living a lifestyle they cannot afford. Their problem is their need for more money to be satisfied. The rising action of the story is when Uncle Oscar learns that Paul is betting money on horses and winning large amounts. This leads up to the technical climax when Hester finds Paul rocking furiously on his horse. Paul “fell to the ground… unconscious” and was injured seriously (568). The falling action in the story is the time when Paul lies ill in bed yet Bassett places his money on Malabar, whom Paul is sure will win. Malabar wins the Derby and Paul makes “over seventy thousand pounds” leaving him with about eighty thousand. After learning of his fortune, he asks his mother “Do you think that I am lucky?” (569). This shows that all Paul ever wanted was the love and acceptance of his mother. He knew this would only come if he could provide her with money. The denouement, or resolution of the story, comes when Paul dies. Hester does not take time to mourn her loss, because as Uncle Oscar says, she is “eighty odd thousand to the good, and a poor devil of a son to the bad” (569). Point of view is used to develop characters and tell a story. “The Rocking Horse Winner” is told in third person omniscient. The narrator uses pronouns such as he, she, and they to describe the characters. The narrator also gives the reader access to the characters thoughts throughout the story. One can see into the conscious of the mother many times, such as when the narrator says, “she felt that she knew the noise” (568). The narrator also lets readers into the mind of Paul throughout the story, such as when it is said, “he was in agony for the Lincoln” (566). The narrator is a nonparticipant in the story and is impartial since he does not comment on the character’s thoughts or feelings. This point of view allows a story to be told without persuasion to pick sides, but also lets the reader know what is going on in the minds of the characters. Without knowing the thoughts of the characters, the story would be significantly confusing. The reader would not know that the mother does not love her son since “only she herself, and her children themselves” knew it was true (559). There are two major characters in the story. While there are many minor characters, such as Uncle Oscar and Bassett, they do not serve a great purpose in developing the theme of the story. The first major character is Hester, who is the antagonist. She is “a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck… only she herself knew that at the center of her heart was a hard little place that could not feel love” (559). Lawrence opens with the mother character in order to explain her role as the head of the household and as one of the major characters. She takes great pride in being superior to those around her, and is never satisfied with the luxuries she has. She does not love her husband or her children, which will eventually drive her son to his death. It is implied that she is from a wealthy background, but lost her wealth upon marrying her husband. She is a static character because she does not grow in any sense during the story. She ends as greedy and unloving as she begins. Hester also helps the development of the protagonist, Paul. Paul is a round character because he grows from a young neglected boy into a winner of horse races who accomplishes his goal of providing for his mother. Paul has “long, curly hair… and his eyes were like blue stones” (568). It can be deduced that he is in his early teenage years since he is preparing to go to Eton, which is a boarding school for ages thirteen to eighteen. He has “a secret within a secret” that he can ride his rocking horse and know the winner of an upcoming horse race (567). He is angry that his mother does not love him nor does she believe that he is lucky. His longing for affection from his mother makes him want money more than anything so that he can win her love. The destructive nature of greed is portrayed throughout the story with plot, point of view, and characters. The plot builds until it reaches the denouement where greed, even though well-intentioned, kills Paul. Greed also stands in the way of Hester mourning her son’s loss because she can only focus on the eighty thousand pounds that she inherits. The point of view of the narrator lets readers know why the characters act the way they do, and how greed drives their actions. The character of Hester shows that greed destructs a family and takes away from the love a mother should provide. Her lack of affection towards Paul drove him to his greed which induced him to provide for his mom in order to win her love.

Lawrence, D. H. "The Rocking Horse Winner." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. By X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 11th ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 559-69. Print.