In the short story “the Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D. H. Lawrence, though its precise setting is not stated, the author lived during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and the Derby is an English horse race, so it can be guessed that the story took place in England at the turn of the 20th century . A great unrest pervaded the country as the disenfranchised grew more and more dissatisfied. This turmoil displayed itself in Paul, the young protagonist. Paul, a young boy, wanted desperately to…
hand for Torvald, who is obsessed with maintaining social presentations for his new-found job at the bank. In a similar fashion, Ibsen's "A Doll's House", connects to D.H Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner" in ways that aid the reader to understand both works better. Paul, the protagonist in "The Rocking-Horse Winner", is determined to prove his mother's presumption about luck wrong. He too acts in secrecy; however, it is to inadvertently take on the role as the family's breadwinner. Hester,…
The short stories The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and The Rocking Horse – Winner by D.H. Lawrence have a dark side. Attempting to control the outcome in their lives the character’s irrational behavior demonstrate the loss of winning. In Jackson’s The Lottery, the reader is transported in time to a bright sunny early summer day; a sense of warmth and tightly knit community is developed. Certainly this warm summer day with rich green grass and blossoming trees is a setting of joy, playful…
In D.H. Lawrence’s compelling and tragic short story, “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, the author discusses the relationship between a mother depressed by her lack of wealth and success, and her son, Paul, who desperately attempts to gain the affection of his distant mother. Lawrence’s story revolves around a family of a status in society that is neither rich nor poor, they possess and desire the luxurious way of life, but neither one of the parents obtains an income large enough to afford it. The…
We often associate winning with some amount of luck being had by said winner. But we don’t often think about the times when being the winner at something comes with a more unsavory prize. In the short stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence, both authors demonstrate a situation in which winning may not be the preferred option, and making it to the winner’s circle does not involve luck. And while luck is often the precursor to winning something…
and changes the course of his life in that one night. In The Rocking Horse Winner, D.H. Lawrence reflects on his childhood in the poverty in the short story. Lawrence tells a story of a young boy who attempts to gamble his way to his mother’s love and risks his life in doing so. Both The Rocking-Horse Winner and Young Goodman Brown are extremely different in plot,…
Who to Blame: (A discussion of where the responsibility of Paul’s death from The Rocking Horse Winner, should fall) Ever watched a car crash in slow motion, the metal bending, twisting, and glass shattering? What were those people thinking in the last moments before impact? Who did they blame God, themselves, the other driver? Watching something like that causes you to cringe, but also look for answers. Where did it go wrong? This question isn’t driven by pure curiosity, rather self-preservation…
In the movie Toy Story Three and the short story The Rocking Horse Winner the main characters both just want to be loved. In the Rocking Horse winner the boy Paul was born into a situation where his mother an educated woman wasn't very happy with her marriage to her husband a coal miner. This rubbed off on Paul and when he found out that he could predict horse races he thought he could make his family happy again. Same thing happened in Toy Story three the main characters who are the toys…
205 Addiction and Disease: How do they differ? Both the “A Domestic Dilemma”, by Carson McCullers and the “The Rocking Horse Winner”, by D.H. Lawrence have mothers who cope with their problems’ in very different ways. Emily, who is the mother in “A Domestic Dilemma”, is an alcoholic whereas Hester, who is the mother in the “The Rocking Horse Winner”, deals with her problems by overspending. The two women’s problems negatively affect their kids. Emily cannot care for her children because her…
Paul, a young boy in “The Rocking Horse Winner” a short story by J.D. Lawrence, is constantly creating ways to satisfy his mother’s never-ending need for materialistic objects. Paul is coming from a well off family, where Hester, Paul’s mother describes their living situation as “poor”, she has an ideology of herself where she must present herself as a wealthy member of society. The family always lives in fear of running out of money due to Hester’s way of living expectations. She blams the…