Compare And Contrast The Rocking Horse Winner Short Story

The two short stories I chose to compare are “The Rocking Horse Winner” and “Young Goodman Brown”. “The Rocking Horse Winner” was written by D.H. Lawrence and “Young Goodman Brown” was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. In “The Rocking Horse Winner” the main conflict of the story is that Paul’s and his parents are struggling mightily with their economic situation. The story is about a family that consists of a father and mother, a son named Paul and his two sisters. Paul is always curious about his family’s financial situation. Paul hears whispers in his house that say, “There must be more money”. One day Paul decides to ask his mom why they are so poor. His mom tells him that they are poor because his father is unlucky. Paul takes on the …show more content…
D.H. Lawrence states that Paul is focused on a way to bring wealth to his family. This materialistic thinking leads Paul to a life of a gambler. Paul becomes gambling partners with his uncle Oscar and his friend Bassett. To Oscar’s surprise Paul can accurately predict the winning horse of each race! Paul is able to do this by riding on his magical rocking horse that he received as a Christmas gift. Through gambling on horse races, Paul is able to resolve his family’s financial conflict. Paul uses positive thinking and focuses on a way to help his family through a rough time. Paul willed this wealth into his life. “The Rocking horse winner” is a metaphor that teaches us, the readers, how to resolve conflicts in our …show more content…
Goodman Brown goes on a journey in the middle of the night despite the fact that his wife, Faith, begs him not to go. Goodman Brown encounters many characters along his journey that influence his actions. It is symbolic that Goodman Brown’s wife is named Faith. In this short story Goodman struggles to keep grasp of his faith in the good deeds the world has to offer. These two short stories deal with the main characters dilemma of keeping positive to in order to see the light at the end of the tunnel. In “The Rocking Horse Winner” Paul’s actions are influenced by his mother. Paul talks to his mother and realizes he needs to take action to solve his and his parent’s problems. Goodman Brown takes another route, Goodman encounters many characters that he considers evil. Goodman Browns then stars to lose faith in the good the world has to offer. Goodman Brown falls into depression and lives a sad life and eventually dies alone. In “The Rocking Horse Winner” Paul’s life also comes to an end when he falls off his rocking horse while riding it on the second floor of his