The Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence Essay

Throughout the story the characters have come to the conclusion that money brings happiness. In this part of the story, it specifies that instead of elation comes misery because no matter how much money there is, there will never be that joy that they have been striving for. After endless times of trying to transform money into joy it is still not working, but it is not stopping them from trying. No matter how much money they receive, they will still strive for more because in their minds that is the only option to find joy but it only leads to a cycle of disappointment.To conclude, D.H. Lawrence, demonstrates that insanity and unhappiness is shown through foreshadowing because their greed for money and their misunderstanding of happiness.

Is money more important than family? Many families are broken because a somewhat loving guardian is so obsessed with work, or better yet, the money. From long, distress-filled tears to painful mornings and nights (and everything in between), this situation unfortunately faces thousands of kids daily. People with jobs and families should be against choosing their job over family because it allows for a closer bond to form, more family time, and everlasting love for eachother. The story “Contents of a Dead Man’s Pocket” and the TED Talk “Can we all ‘have it all?’” featuring Anne-Marie Slaughter will be represented in this essay.

In The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence, the family was unable to see what they really had going for them. Corrupted Conformity Many times, people believe that they must achieve a certain social status within a community due to the need of acceptance, or perhaps, simply the fear of being rejected. Communities normally demonstrate

They found that children from higher income families and households were advanced over their peers in both reading and cognitive reasoning skills. When we start to see Paul’s irrational and erratic behavior, specifically rocking violently back and forth on a childhood toy at what I assumed was teenage age, one has to question his cognitive and rationalizing skills. He seems to be out of touch with reality and almost entranced by this rocking horse and its fantasy. The rocking horse in fact was one of those extravagant gifts given to Paul and his sisters at Christmas. It’s ironic to me that this gift ultimately plays a large part in Paul’s unraveling and undoing.

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

In both “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the authors take critical aim at two staples of mainstream values, materialism and tradition respectively. Both authors approach these themes through several different literary devices such as personification and symbolism; however, it is the authors' use of characterization that most develop their themes. We'll be taking a look at the parallel passages in the stories that advance their themes particularly when those passages involve both of the authors' subtle character descriptions, and why this method of character development is so powerful in conveying the authors' messages.

Eventually the luck, or in this case, the unluck, had to run out, and it did. Paul's continual confusion leads him to find his "luck" of know the winning horses. Paul is successful at reaching this goal and fulfilling his mother's definition of luck. The whole belief of his mother's was the basis for Paul's confusion. Good luck for Paul would be to see his mother happy. He knew that money was what made her happy. According to

The atmosphere within the setting of “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” was also one of depression, stress, anxiety and fear. Although not all the symptoms were present in all of the characters, Paul’s mother was the one that had all the symptoms due to the lack of money. Paul and his other siblings had fear as on of their symptoms when that house started saying, “There must be more money,” one

The author depicts a common demon the human race faces that is greed and society's need for more possessions and money. This is projected throughout the story showing that Paul's family enjoyed living in style yet always lived beyond their means. There is never enough money, causing a great deal of anxiety in the house (Lawrence 221). The family believes that they are

Paul also hears the cry, "there must be more money" echoing through the house's walls (Lawrence 525). "Paul . . . takes upon himself the intolerable burden of attempting to solve mother's 'problem' . . . the lack of money" (Jinkins 88). He takes this challenge hoping to receive his mother's love in return. Instead Paul rides himself to his death because he is unable to meet his "devouring" mother's needs (Jinkins 89).

Paul desire his mother’s love more than anything. However he believes he needs to prove he is lucky. He struggles to prove that he is to make his mother happy. Paul wants his mother to love him more than anything. For Paul’s mother money equals luck, and this will gain her love. “There must be more money”(19). He hears these voices throughout the house. They hear these voices when hey are receiving items of joy, especially around Christmas time. The other children can hear the voices and so can the rocking horse Paul received. Even though they can hear the voices they do not say anything. This is due to the fact that every one is used to it so it would be like saying “we are breathing”(20). This led Paul to realizes that there family is in debt and he believes that in order for them to get out of this debt, he has to take action. This shows that he is willing to take the problem into his own hands because he believes that no one else can do anything about

“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.

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 Paul talks to his mother regarding luck, he instantly determines that he will dedicate his life towards the pursuit of luck. Although Paul is told he cannot be lucky since his parents are not lucky, Paul sets his goal and uses his circumstances to achieve this goal. Paul has an old rocking horse in his room, and is encouraged to bet on horse races by his uncle, Oscar Creswell, and his friend, Bassett. Since Paul is determined to become lucky, he uses his environment and event he has no control over to work at achieving his goal. By riding his rocking horse with a strict determination, Paul can discover which horse will win the upcoming races. This unnatural talent achieved Paul’s goal of becoming lucky, and only resulted because he utilized the circumstances he faced towards becoming lucky. If Paul followed the influence of society, he would not ride his rocking horse, but likely find a job so he can earn money and buy material goods. Thus, Paul achieved his goal in life because he was determined to use the situations he encountered to achieve his goal, instead of just following the influence of society.

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.