Analysis Of The Rocking Horse Winner - 922 Words

In â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner,† the author, D.H. Lawrence, reveals the character of Paul through a series of events which result in his death. Upon first glance, Paul is presented as a young boy, unloved by his mother, who tragically dies trying to prove himself lucky to her. However, upon further inspection, Paul is actually a rather complex character. In order to understand why he dies and for what he dies, readers must examine how the narrator depicts Paul’s behavior and demeanor, particularly as seen in his obsession with gambling (in the form of horse races), his interactions with his mother, and his physical descriptions. Throughout the story, there is a main goal that Paul seems to be striving towards: to quiet the whisperings of the house. It is a continuous and unconscious whisper, â€Å"There must be more money† (101). The words seem to haunt not only the house, but also Paul as the story unravels. It becomes so intense that Paul, terrified, throws himself into horse racing and gambling. The horse races begin as a way for Paul to become â€Å"lucky,† but inevitably become a coping mechanism for the voices in his head, constantly whispering. He believes that if only he can win enough money, he will make them stop. However, this backfires as the more money Paul makes off of races, the worse the voices get. This creates a vicious cycle that Paul only escapes in death. The rocking-horse that he uses to meet these ends is particularly important to understanding the character ofShow MoreRelatedThe Rocking Horse Winner Literary Analysis728 Words   |  3 PagesThe Significance of The Rocking Horse Winner (An Analysis of Three Messages From Rocking Horse Winner By D. H Lawrence) D. H Lawrence was the author of The Rocking Horse Winner, which was one of his most famous stories, published in 1926. D.H Lawrence was intrigued with fate and destiny of life. The story was based around a young boy with intense amounts of determination because he felt he had to please his mother. D. H Lawrence expresses the conflict of economics and family, causing issues atRead MoreAnalysis Of The Rocking Horse Winner And The Lottery772 Words   |  4 PagesAn Analysis exploring the irony in â€Å"The â€Å"Rocking-Horse Winner† and â€Å"The â€Å"Lottery† Often times an author will use irony as a literally technique to throw a twist in his story, whereby allowing the outcome of it to be completely different from what the reader expected. In D.H. Lawrence’s â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner† and Shirley Jackson’s â€Å"The Lottery,† Mrs. Hutchinson and Paul, despite their motivation, are victims of misguided reasoning, resulting in the irony of each character’s demise. In fact, eachRead MoreCritical Analysis Of The Rocking Horse Winner1178 Words   |  5 PagesThree Messages From â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner† ( A Critical Analysis of â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner†) D.H Lawrence (1885-1930) achieved a generous amount of things during his days, and was known for his award winning stories, like for instance â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner.† â€Å"D.H. Lawrence is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th century† (Guy). Throughout this story in particular, there are many messages that are represented and reflect the way of life or in other wordsRead MoreLiterary Analysis Of The Rocking Horse Winner819 Words   |  4 PagesDaniel Moos ENGL 1302 Prof. Heflin 7/14/17 Analysis of â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner† In the short story â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner,† by D.H. Lawrence, the use of many literary elements creates an enticing and inspirational approach to how the story is told. These literary elements help to form the story throughout the beginning, middle, and end. The ones that mostly develop the story are point of view, tone and style, and symbol. The story begins in an omniscient point of view or third person to makeRead MoreThe Rocking Horse Winner Analysis742 Words   |  3 Pagesare seen as core parts of the human body â€Å" The eye is the lamp of the body† ( Matthew 6:22). In the Rocking-Horse Winner, special precedence is put on the eyes,as eyes are mentioned 21 times in the entire story. Eyes are distinguished as a core motif in The Rocking Horse Winner, as eyes represent the characters emotional state and physical state throughout the story. The Rocking Horse Winner is a story about a middle-class Englishwoman who feels that she has underperformed society’s expectationsRead MoreCritical Analysis : The Rocking Horse Winner827 Words   |  4 Pages Critical Analysis: The Rocking-Horse Winner The short story, â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner†, by D.H. Lawrence tells the story of young boy named Paul whose fortune turns out to be misfortune. Lawrence focus on the idea of parental love, what we need opposed to what we want, and the dangers of an obsession. Paul’s mother, Hester, firmly believes in the statement, If you re rich, you may lose your money. But if you re lucky, you will always get more money. (18) Paul’s obsessive need to earn moneyRead MoreThe Rocking Horse Winner Analysis956 Words   |  4 Pagesno time to rest. Tolerating days of labor to find happiness, but find yourself empty when you have nothing to show yourself for it. D.H. Lawrence demonstrates this perfectly in his short story by including foreshadowing and symbolism, â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner,† D.H. Lawrence demonstrates that the greediness of wanting money leads to insanity and unhappiness. D.H. Lawrence, throughout the story teaches that the greed of wanting money leads to insanity and unhappiness by using foreshadowing. InRead MoreThe Rocking Horse Winner Character Analysis797 Words   |  4 PagesThe familiar theme in the two fictional stories, â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner,† by D.H. Lawrence, and â€Å"Dog,† by Richard Russo, is the parents’ motivation to achieve a greater source of income or popularity, which ultimately results in the neglection of the children, thus affecting the children’s own motivation to ‘win over’ their parents. Through the financial crisis of the family exemplified in â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner,† or simply through the negligible manner of the parents in â€Å"Dog†, readers canRead MoreA Critical Analysis of The Rocking-Horse Winner and The Destructors1240 Words   |  5 PagesA Critical Analysis of The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence and The Destructors by Graham Greene In both stories, The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence and The Destructors by Graham Greene we see the common theme of wanting to be envied by others because of what we have or can do. The need to do better, have prestige and more power than anyone else is a very common human conflict that is dealt with on all levels of humanity. The emotional environment that man growsRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Rocking Horse Winner 1702 Words   |  7 Pageslife, which locks us in a dark prison of expectations and the key to freedom gets thrown away. Living a life where you care so much about what others think of you is as if we are nothing but sheep being herded to the final slaughterhouse! In â€Å"Rocking Horse Winner†, the author D.H. Lawrence paints a portrait of how the mother Hester can never truly be satisfied with what she poseses since she is always worried about the status and ranking of her class. The most important concern to her is looking respectable