The Lottery vs. the Rocking-Horse Winner

To us, a lottery is a game of chance with the possibility of riches. The grand prize is something all players want. In “The Lottery”, this is not the case. Jackson uses our view of this traditional game of luck and gives it an ironic twist. As the story progresses, the foreshadowing that is presented is often ignored, as the reader does not realize its importance.

I. The townspeople in “The Lottery” and the family members in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” are caught up in their passions.

In “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D. H. Lawrence, and “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, the two authors illustrate symbols and themes throughout their stories in which one common idea is present: perhaps winning is not always positive.

The first of the two stories I chose to compare and contrast is titled “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and the second story is titled “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence. I will compare each of their themes, characters, and plot developments in which they are both similar and different. One of the strongest comparison would be that both stories deal with the subject of luck in one sense or another. The Lottery being considered a game of chance in which luck plays an important factor in being the chosen winner but Luck in the Lottery has a different twist of fate because the winner of the Lottery is actually the

“The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” may have a few similarities, but when it comes to their conflict, plot, and structure, they differ for the majority.

“The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence is an unpredictable, fairytale-like short story about a mother of three who constantly worries about her financial problems. She has a son who is fervent about figuring out a solution to her predicament. This story also has an abrupt ending that gives off strong emotion. Another short story, called “The Lottery”, has the same spectacle of ending the story with suspense. Written by Shirley Jackson, this story begins with a sunny day in a village, but miserably ends with the stoning of one of the villagers. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Lottery” are two sensational stories that have tragic ironies; however, they differ in tone

Thesis Statement-The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Lottery” delivers two different uses of the conflict, theme, and tone. Though, the authors use some similar approaches to grab the reader’s attention by the things the characters do, say and want. The conflict in the two short stories are diverse in almost every way, yet they both lead to the death of a character in the end. In “The Rocking Horse Winner” the conflict of the story was instantly clear. The struggle relates to the Monetary challenges of the family. The need to gain more money lies at the middle of all the conflict that arises in the story. Paul knows his mother desires more money, which encourages him to try to be “lucky”. Paul can foresee the winning race horse after riding his rocking horse. Which lead to Paul covertly betting on horse races, and his uncle and Basset the gardener teaming up with him. Paul got money for his mother; but in the end, it wasn’t enough. The pressure began to effect Paul, as he is determined to make more money. Paul’s obsession with

In "The lottery", Shirley Jackson describes every single character by staunch definition. It effects to changing character and explains exactly what happens follow through the lottery story. The author creates this story with the steady construction of the thesis such as the initial situation, conflict, specific statement, suspense, argument, and a surprise conclusion. By portrayed processes of character, the ending of lottery's bloody nature is highlighted, foreshadowed, and written to keep reader in suspense.

The actions of young boys, the lottery items and rituals, and the crowds increasing nervousness demonstrates Shirley Jackson's skillful use of foreshadowing in the short story "The Lottery" to show the danger of blindly following tradition.

B. Irony: Even though the mood is relaxing, there is a premonition of something bad to come

In literature, authors have the power and authority to use different settings and literal devices to present their ideas and cases to their readers. In the short story “the rocking-horse winner” and “the lottery” the authors provides two different sets of setting to emphasize the state of being in the story as well as driving their messages across. However, on the other hand, the authors also employ different settings of the short stories to distract the reader and the other to build their stories. Assignment outline Introduction Summary of the short story “The Lottery.” Summary of the short story “The Rocking-Horse Winner “

D.H. Lawrence’s beloved short story Rocking Horse Winner is known for its deep meaning and tragedy. It addresses a cause-and-effect event that leaves an impression on all of the characters in the story. This story is very real and emotional in the events that occur. It demonstrates the problem on gambling and a parent’s influence in a child’s life. Three bold messages from Rocking Horse Winner are: family, luck, and economics.

Tessie’s personality is somewhat similar to Paul’s but they also have their differences. Paul is very hopeful about winning the money his family needs, he has an incredible love for his mother. He is also very passionate about horse-races. He has a real gift for picking a winner and it’s this attitude that leads him to make money for his mother and save their house from haunting them. Tessie is also hopeful, hopeful that she will not ‘win’ the lottery. Of course, we find as we read that this doesn’t happen. Tessie does ‘win’ the lottery and she seems to be the only one that is saddened by this fact. Little Paul is a very hopeful, fortunate boy. He so vividly pictures the horse races to come while riding his rocking-horse, it’s as if he’s in the race himself and the rocking-horse is the winning horse. In “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, Lawrence really paints a imaginative picture with descriptions such as with Paul’s "big blue eyes that had an uncanny cold fire in them”, and in “The Lottery” Jackson paints a picture with words such as The town's children are collecting rocks like young children regularly do. The men are "speaking of rain, planting, tractors and taxes." The women are making small talk with one another. It seems like a regular day in a regular town.” So, in both stories the setting is different and the people are different but they have a similarity in the fact that they are all gambling for something, whether good or bad. In reading these

“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 Psychological State of Paul “If you’re lucky you have money” (Lawrence 2) this is a lesson from a mother to her little boy which leads him to death. Paul who is a little boy is a major character in the short story “The Rocking- Horse Winner”. Neither his mother nor his father has the ability to provide love for him or for his brothers and sisters. The lack of love and the needs of more money make Paul to get the role of his father in his mother life.