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10 Cards in this Set

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Plot: Before going into analyzing the beginning of the story,i wanted to focus on the title. it sounds a little “off", as if the story is about someone who wins a rocking horse as we actually get deeper into the story, we realize that the situation is reversed. It is not Paul who wins the rocking horse, but rather the rocking horse that “wins" Paul.

The beginning of this story is very effective, mostly because it focusses on the mother and how everyone sees her to be an incredible mom, however only her and her children know it was not at all that way. It also goes into great detail about how her life began with many advantages but she has no luck at all. Yet one of the main themes of this story, was luck. It was very descriptive of her, yet throughout the story she was vaguely mentioned unless talking about money.

The ending however, i felt to be was the most effective and meaningful part, because it is just stone cold. Literally. Hester had never been very affectionate toward Paul, but by the time of his illness and death, she seems to become even colder and, as the author describes, her heart "turned actually into a stone.”

After we witness Paul's death, we patiently wait for his mother to finally express some grief or motherly emotion. We wanted her to give Paul what he so desperately craved in life: Her motherly love. It throws the reader off completely which is what makes it so effective.

Characterization: The first characteristic I chose for Paul is how deeply emotional he is. Paul is introduced as a small boy who feels a lot. He is very sensitive to his emotions and doesn't quite know how to control them. He's short enough to receive a rocking horse for a Christmas present, but the intensity of his emotions is way too big for him to handle. When his feelings are hurt, he is very hurt. When he is anxious, he is very anxious.

This quote was found on page 233 where he said “Its Malabar!” He screamed. in a powerful strange voice. “its Malabar”. His eyes blazed at her for one strange and senseless second, as he ceased urging his wooden horse.” So when he is focused on a goal, such as "knowing" the winning horse, he is very, very focused.

Secondly I believe that Paul was a very assertive child. For example on page 222 and 223, he was curious as to why his mother was so unhappy. One day he inquired and his mother told him that they were the poor ones in the family because they were unlucky. But Paul, in an attempt to please his mother told her that he was lucky. His mother belittled this idea causing Paul to feel rejected.

Lawrence wrote “The boy saw she did not believe him, or rather, that she paid no attention to his assertion. This angered him somewhat, and made him want to compel her attention.” Paul went in search of luck to gain his mother's approval and prove himself.

Finally the third trait i would use to describe Paul is obsessive, At the beginning of the story Paul would "sit on his big rocking horse, charging madly into space..." later it says, "He knew the horse could take him to where there was luck, if only he forced it" (223). This shows how Paul's outlook on luck is distorted due to his mothers reasoning. He becomes obsessed with riding his rocking horse to go where there is luck which all boils down to money, and in the end Paul dies because of him riding the horse.

Setting: I think a suitable location for a movie version of this story would be Bangor, England. The population is fairly large however it is an upscale neighbourhood which would suit this short story. This city in England has the nicer houses and lavish living which is what this family was aiming to live like, and it also has a horse race track nearby called the Chelmsford City Racecourse.

Theme: The Pursuit of Acceptance can be Self-Defeating


The first quote i have chosen was just to show why Paul felt the need to be accepted by his mother. “Everyone else said of her: “She is such a good mother. She adores her children” Only she herself, and her children themselves, knew it was not so” Symbolically, it was greed, or materialism that killed Paul because his mother constantly sought out more and more money, and in a conversation with Paul, revealed that luck is "what causes you to have money."

However Paul could already sense that she "could not love him," so, in his mind, he thinks that if he can be lucky, and make money, then she will love him. The second quote is now as his mother and others start to begin noticing that he is self destructing. “His mother had sudden strange seizures of uneasiness about him. Sometimes, for half an hour, she would feel a sudden anxiety about him, that was almost anguish.” And even she, who hardly ever showed affection towards him, sensed a change and a sense of uneasiness when she thought of him.”

Yet had no idea that it was only happening because he craved her love and acceptance. His desire to be loved was spurred by her materialistic greed. Even when he does win money for her, it does no good. The final quote being “I've got to know for the Derby! I've got to know for the Derby!" the child reiterated, his big blue eyes blazing with a sort of madness.”

By the end of the short story, it was practically all the time that he felt he must be winning more money or earning his mothers love. Showing that he really was not the child he first was. So, just as greed, and the desire for more money, is an insatiable and never-ending black hole of need, and so was Paul's obsession with it, and his life was the sacrifice that in the end, was paid.