D.H. Lawrence’s cautioning short story “Rocking Horse Winner” presents the theme of the dangers of secrecy by depicting an avoidable death of a child, through the use of perspective. Within a loveless household, an unlucky mother and son seek to improve their family’s financial prospects. Things go awry when Paul, only a young boy, uses malevolent means to secure winning bets at the derby. His success in gambling ultimately leads to his demise. The opportunity to avoid Paul’s death is hindered by each character’s limited point of view, and observed by the reader due to third person omniscience. When Paul’s mother receives a large sum of money from him, instead of questioning who would give it to her so generously, she goes to the bank and
…show more content…
As Paul becomes more involved in money, he displays physical signs of a negative manifestation, such as having “...big, hot, blue eyes…” (6) which were even described as “...blue fire.” (7). These descriptions have a subtly malevolent, or even insidious connotation. It is implied that others are unsettled by this, but ignore it because they would rather take advantage of Paul’s luck (6). If the story were solely from Paul’s point of view, he would not have noticed this. These details would be lost upon a young, crazed boy. If instead his mother was the speaker, then the reader would not be aware of Paul’s mysterious luck at the derby and his physical state would not make any sense at this point in the plot. While the point of view is third person omniscient overall, the limited third person perspective shifts between Paul and his mother provide a better view of the things that they keep from each other. A third person point of view contributes greatly to the story’s atmosphere of secrecy.
In “Rocking Horse Winner”, an impressionable young boy succumbs to a mysterious power. This force may represent greed, past familial misdeeds, or repressed feelings. What can be sure is that he would not have died, if only his family had been more open with each
As Paul becomes more involved in money, he displays physical signs of a negative manifestation, such as having “...big, hot, blue eyes…” (6) which were even described as “...blue fire.” (7). These descriptions have a subtly malevolent, or even insidious connotation. It is implied that others are unsettled by this, but ignore it because they would rather take advantage of Paul’s luck (6). If the story were solely from Paul’s point of view, he would not have noticed this. These details would be lost upon a young, crazed boy. If instead his mother was the speaker, then the reader would not be aware of Paul’s mysterious luck at the derby and his physical state would not make any sense at this point in the plot. While the point of view is third person omniscient overall, the limited third person perspective shifts between Paul and his mother provide a better view of the things that they keep from each other. A third person point of view contributes greatly to the story’s atmosphere of secrecy.
In “Rocking Horse Winner”, an impressionable young boy succumbs to a mysterious power. This force may represent greed, past familial misdeeds, or repressed feelings. What can be sure is that he would not have died, if only his family had been more open with each