the rocking-horse winner
The Rocking-Horse Winner
"The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a short story written by David Herbert Lawrence, an English novelist, poet, and short story writer. The story was published in July 1926, in Harper 's Bazaar, and then appeared in the first volume of Lawrence 's collected short stories. After that, the story was made into a film released in 1949. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story that incorporates elements of the fable, fantasy, and fairy tale. Like a fable, it presents morals. Like a fantasy, it presents chimerical events (the boy’s ability to predict the winners of horse races, the whispering house). Beside that, it is a tragic story demonstrating the destructive effects of materialism. D.H. Lawrence employs symbolism to develop the idea that love and happiness can be destroyed by money. Lawrence utilizes the character Hester as a symbol of greed to display the effects of materialism. The author’s use of symbolism is mainly to show that children require love and compassion. Also, Lawrence uses money to prove that greed and negligence of a mother can contribute to the deterioration of an innocent young child. The central theme of D. H. Lawrence’s story is that greed destroys love, affection, and in some cases life. The theme also shows the negative effect of materialism on English society.
“The Rocking-Horse Winner” relates the desperate and cursed efforts of a young boy to win his mother’s love by seeking the luck that she bitterly maintains in her life. By bringing her the luxurious life that she wants, Paul hopes to win her love to compensate her for the unhappy life she lived with his father and to bring peace to their anxious unhappy household. He determines to find luck after a conversation with his mother in which she tells him that luck is better than money because luck brings money. In response, Paul clearly accepts the unspoken invitation to take his father’s place in fulfilling his mother’s dreams of happiness. His purpose seems to be
"The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a short story written by David Herbert Lawrence, an English novelist, poet, and short story writer. The story was published in July 1926, in Harper 's Bazaar, and then appeared in the first volume of Lawrence 's collected short stories. After that, the story was made into a film released in 1949. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story that incorporates elements of the fable, fantasy, and fairy tale. Like a fable, it presents morals. Like a fantasy, it presents chimerical events (the boy’s ability to predict the winners of horse races, the whispering house). Beside that, it is a tragic story demonstrating the destructive effects of materialism. D.H. Lawrence employs symbolism to develop the idea that love and happiness can be destroyed by money. Lawrence utilizes the character Hester as a symbol of greed to display the effects of materialism. The author’s use of symbolism is mainly to show that children require love and compassion. Also, Lawrence uses money to prove that greed and negligence of a mother can contribute to the deterioration of an innocent young child. The central theme of D. H. Lawrence’s story is that greed destroys love, affection, and in some cases life. The theme also shows the negative effect of materialism on English society.
“The Rocking-Horse Winner” relates the desperate and cursed efforts of a young boy to win his mother’s love by seeking the luck that she bitterly maintains in her life. By bringing her the luxurious life that she wants, Paul hopes to win her love to compensate her for the unhappy life she lived with his father and to bring peace to their anxious unhappy household. He determines to find luck after a conversation with his mother in which she tells him that luck is better than money because luck brings money. In response, Paul clearly accepts the unspoken invitation to take his father’s place in fulfilling his mother’s dreams of happiness. His purpose seems to be
Cited: Lawrence, D. H. “The Rocking-Horse Winner.” The Story and Its Writer. Ed. Anna Charters. Compact 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 525-36. Print. Lawrence, D.H. "The Rocking Horse Winner." The Oxford Book of Short Stories. Comp. V.S. Prichett. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981. 275-289. Print. Lawrence, D. H. “The Rocking-Horse Winner.” Grand Rapids Magazine: Kessinger, 2004. Print.