Essay Comparing Rocking-Horse Winner And The Prodigal Son

“The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story by the English novelist, essayist and literary critic D.H. Lawrence. It represents how the author cautions about the negative effects of materialism, as it can never fully satisfy the human need and will eventually end in tragedy and unhappiness. Lawrence does so through the archetypes of the terrible mother, the hero, and the anti-wise old man.

In the short story “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, by David Herbert Lawrence, there is this family, as the family wants to keep their economic status, the mom want’s to have money all the time. The Mom has a mental mindset of the family being rich, as she believes that she has money, but in reality, the family is not rich and they have no money as they are in debt. The mom is unhappy as the parent's marriage is unsatisfactory, the mom thought she was lucky before she got married to her husband, so she thinks that her husband gave her bad luck. Both parents have no luck. The mom does not like her own children. The mom tells his son Paul, that she and Dad have no luck. This short story has many secrets that various of the characters keep from one another. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, the theme is a Moral Obligation as Hester the mom does not like her kids and only her and the kids know, Paul keeps from his mom that him, uncle Oscar, and Bassett have been betting on horse races and that the “Rocking-Horse” gives Paul luck.

"And aren't you lucky either, mother? I can't be if I married an unlucky husband. But by yourself, aren't you? I used to think I was, before I married. Now I think I am very unlucky indeed"(77). In the written story Hester also appears to be greedy. When Paul arranges for her to receive one thousand pounds a year for five years, Hester wants it all at once. "He said Paul's mother had had a long interview with the lawyer, asking if the whole five thousand could not be advanced at once, as she was in debt"(83).

Parenting played a big role in shaping the two boys lives. Having a parental mentor is important because they assist and guide children to take the right decisions about their lives. The author had his two parents at the beginning of his life. Also, the author’s parents, especially his mother, tried to raise him in an effective way wanting him to know the right from wrong at an early age. “No mommy loves you, like I love you, she just wants you to do the right thing” (Moore 11). This quote was a live example of the author’s life with his parents. It reflected the different ways his parents used to teach him “the right thing.” Though his mother was upset from his action toward his sister, his father

The relationship between the two fathers and the two sons is a very important theme in this book. Because of their different backgrounds, Reb Saunders and David Malters approached raising a child from two totally different perspectives.

The father knows that his dream of knowledge and university will never be fulfilled, and consequently, tries to accomplish this goal through his children. In doing so, he also sacrifices his relationship with his wife who despises him and his “room and all it stood for” (MacLeod 266). They both try to maintain a positive atmosphere in the house, regardless of their differences, by working hard to raise their children. As the only boy in the family, the narrator idolizes his father and eventually begins to believe that “it was very much braver to spend a life doing what you really do not want rather than selfishly following forever your own dreams and inclinations” (MacLeod 274). As a result, the narrator promises to help and protect his father until he dies, and the father, in return commits to the ultimate sacrifice of death to set his son free. The author is showing that true love goes beyond life itself and that no sacrifice is too great for a parent in order to give their children the chance of a better life. By implementing the seed of knowledge in his children, the father knew that his sacrifice is not in vain,

Several things that happen in this book are a result of what the father and son do in their relationships for

There are people in this world who think that money can give them anything. This can be food to water to ease and joy. Consequently, they comprehend that money will have a life filled with ease and happiness. But what you don’t visualize is that building these thoughts will lead to an obsessive, joyless, person going the extra mile to get that cash. Why this is unacceptable I might add is where is the ease and the joy you endured obsessively to have? Suffering long hours so you have ease but have no 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, “The Rocking

In the Bible, the parable of the Lost Son tells the story of how a father’s son “got together all he had, set off for a distant country and [squandered his wealth in wild living]. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. (New International Version Luke 15: 11-32) With nothing to eat, he had no choice but to return to his father in shame. The son was fearful his reputation with his father was ruined, and that he would be forced to work as a slave to his father. However, the father was cheerful he had returned and celebrated with a party. The son’s reputation was not ruined and was instead restored with his

Paul gets Bassett, his "young gardener, who had been wounded in the left foot in the war and had been batman for Oscar Creswell" (pg. 649), to keep him posted on the racing events and starts winning money with the first ten shilling note he receives from uncle Oscar . By the time Uncle Oscar learns about Paul's gambling habits, Paul had made about 1560 pounds. After the Leger event Paul had made 10560 pounds which he considered a considerable amount and gave half of it to his mother to drive that haunting phase away. Hester was supposed to be getting a thousand pounds every year for the next five years on her birthdays. Hester's greed however insisted on getting the five thousand all at once which is then used to decorate the house and send the kids to good schools

In “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence, an immense amount of attention is poured towards the focus of money. Today, who someone is depends drastically upon the amount of money they have. Sadly, money determines who you are before you even realize it. The same idea is developed into this story. An essay says, “While his father is a hard worker, he does not bring in enough money to satisfy the expensive tastes of the latter’s wife. Because of this, Paul’s mother resents her husband and makes it clear that she wants more monetary benefits out of life” (Pierce). Although she may not realize it, Paul’s mother is beginning to demand so much of her husband that it not only wears out her husband, but continually rubs off onto Paul. Paul becomes so bothered by the thought that his family has little to none money, and his only desire is to change that feeling for his family. He begins to realize that he wants nothing but money for his family so they can experience life in such a way that they are able to enjoy what they have and obtain more. As Paul is growing up amid such an issue, he begins to realize that no matter what he is doing, he is constantly being reminded that his family is destitute. “He was looking so extraordinarily foolish for no other reason but that he heard the secret whisper all over the house: “There must be more money” (Page 1248). Given the circumstances, everything that Paul did reminded him subtly about the family issue. Because of

When a person is lucky, it does not have to mean that they are fortunate with money. Luck is the chance for things to go the way you want them to go with out having any control over the situation. In The Rocking Horse Winner, Hester, the mother seems to believe that luck is strictly having money, and when there is no money, there is no luck. Hester's idea of luck meaning money brings forth the two ideas of greed and death throughout the story.

The role of money is merely to buy attention. Hester wants to use it to buy acceptance in the higher classes, and Paul wants to use it to buy his mother’s affection. The attention the characters seek is only superficial, however. The attention is based on outward signs of prosperity. Hester’s family is considered the best on the block because everything they own looks rich and expensive, but they are in great debt. Hester’s compassion for Paul is also based on this money- presents are the only things that show her love. This never stops Hester from pushing for more luxuries in an attempt to win this false admiration. Of course, in the end, Hester’s vanity will cost them

“The Rocking Horse Winner” is a short story written by D.H Lawrence that follows the short and tragic life of a boy named Paul, who assumes he has amazing luck after realizing he can predict racehorse winners by furiously riding his rocking horse until he reaches a trance-like state. Unfortunately, as his family takes advantage of his gift and starts gaining more money, Paul’s luck begins to kill him. Literally. Throughout the story, there are several themes evident, such as wealth, life, conscious, existence; luck, family, and greed. The conflicts displayed are man vs man, man vs self, and man vs. society. The rocking horse has become an obsession for paul and the potential benefits it would have on his family, ultimately not knowing the actual harm it will cause.

The Rocking Horse Winner, by D.H. Lawrence, is an informative story about luck and one's own fortune.  In this story, Lawrence attempts to illustrate how one can guide one's own fate, instead of allowing things to happen by chance.  He believes that the only person that affects what happens to someone, is really that person himself.  "Everything is what you make of it," is Lawrence's message to the reader.  By his use of characterization, instructional images, and irony in The Rocking Horse Winner, D.H. Lawrence attempts to convey to the reader that success and luck are not something that one simply waits for to arrive, but things that one must works to achieve.