The Rocking Horse Winner
ENG 4U-B
The Rocking Horse Winner
ENG 4U-B
June 17, 2113
Andrew Barr
Key question 1. a) The reading strategies used while reading "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence are as follows. Before reading, identification of the purpose of reading this story was paramount. This was quite apparent as it was an expectation of the course, in which the focus was to analyze the subject of identity. I already know that the story was about a mother that does not love her children and I assumed that the story will revolve around her or one of her children. It turns out, the later was true. The approach during reading was to read the text carefully while highlighting and making notes in the margins to ensure a thorough understanding of the story. This has always been my preferred method and most effective approach as it helps to reiterate the important points throughout the story making it easy to return to important points at later times. You find out later that the protagonist is actually the son, Paul, who seems to have an uncanny ability to identify the winner of upcoming horse race will be after he rides his rocking horse that he received as a child. Apparently this ritual was at time, a little disconcerting which makes one wonder where he goes in the trance like spells.
After reading I had a multitude of questions which remained unanswered such as: * Why did Paul die? * How did his mother feel after his death? * Did she realize her love for him then or was she still as apathetic as ever? * What enabled his ability to predict the winner of the races?
In general the ending seemed incomplete in its resolution of the boy's situation and the feelings of his parents. The moral of the story seemed to be about the effects of Paul's childhood and his parents obsession over money which lead to his intrigue with luck, money and horse racing.
In conclusion one must think of the common conundrum of whether it is nature or nurture
The Rocking Horse Winner
ENG 4U-B
June 17, 2113
Andrew Barr
Key question 1. a) The reading strategies used while reading "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence are as follows. Before reading, identification of the purpose of reading this story was paramount. This was quite apparent as it was an expectation of the course, in which the focus was to analyze the subject of identity. I already know that the story was about a mother that does not love her children and I assumed that the story will revolve around her or one of her children. It turns out, the later was true. The approach during reading was to read the text carefully while highlighting and making notes in the margins to ensure a thorough understanding of the story. This has always been my preferred method and most effective approach as it helps to reiterate the important points throughout the story making it easy to return to important points at later times. You find out later that the protagonist is actually the son, Paul, who seems to have an uncanny ability to identify the winner of upcoming horse race will be after he rides his rocking horse that he received as a child. Apparently this ritual was at time, a little disconcerting which makes one wonder where he goes in the trance like spells.
After reading I had a multitude of questions which remained unanswered such as: * Why did Paul die? * How did his mother feel after his death? * Did she realize her love for him then or was she still as apathetic as ever? * What enabled his ability to predict the winner of the races?
In general the ending seemed incomplete in its resolution of the boy's situation and the feelings of his parents. The moral of the story seemed to be about the effects of Paul's childhood and his parents obsession over money which lead to his intrigue with luck, money and horse racing.
In conclusion one must think of the common conundrum of whether it is nature or nurture