What I Learned In The Rocking Horse Winner

The short story that has the best quality off literary fiction would be, The Rocking-Horse Winner by D H Lawrence, a story about a young boy trying to win his mother’s love by seeking the luck she thinks she does not have also, wanting to give her the luxurious lifestyle she dreams of by betting on horse races he begins to make money to hopefully make everything better. This short story represents setting, plot, theme, symbol and character very well. Without these main points of emphasis being made a short story would have no structure so that’s what I feel is most important.

Have you ever tried so hard to impress you parents? Have you ever felt like you needed to be something for them? Can you remember a time when you were a kid, and your parents said something that you have never forgotten? Can you ever really impress your parents? Does it feel like you 're doing so much, but they don’t realize it? In the story The Rocking- Horse Winner, by D.H. Lawrence explains how a little boy named Paul tries to prove to his mother that he is lucky. This young man had started to gamble on horse races to make money for his mother, so she would be happy. A young child literally killed himself trying to give his mother the best of everything. The three messages from The Rocking- Horse Winner are, the parents influence, economics, and Luck.

Miline, Ira Mark. Short Stories for Student. Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Short Stories Volume 8Virtual Reference Library. Detroit, Mich: Gale. Web. 13 Jan. 2010.

The short story I read was “A Christmas Memory” by Truman Capote. The book was mainly about two characters, Buddy and his friend, and a memorable Christmas that they spent together a couple of years back before Buddy’s friend passed away. Basically the whole story is a memoir, his own memories and experiences , because Buddy is reminiscing on the past and is speaking upon the memories that he remembers from that Christmas spent with his friend. Even though it was a short story, Capote did a well enough job of describing not only the characters, but also their relationship with literary devices such as figurative language, symbolism, theme, and many more.

George Saunders once said, “When you read a short story, you come out a little more aware and a little more in love with the world around you” (Quote). This quote is absolutely relatable because short stories are filled with wisdom and advice that one can typically compare their own life circumstances to. Short stories can have multiple life lessons hidden within the text, requiring the reader to dig deeper and reread the story until the messages are clear. While reading them, it is important to try and identify the point of view, plot, character, setting, and theme within the piece. This will help you relate to the story on an exceptional level, and will give you insight on what the author is trying to convey. With all of these elements in mind, you will be able to relate to the story on a more personal level, and will ultimately get more out of it.

Had she not passed away at the too-young age of 39 from lupus, today would have been legendary Southern Gothic author Flannery O’Connor’s 87th birthday. To celebrate her legacy of pitch-perfect short stories and razor-sharp wit, we’ve collected a few of our favorite works from some of the best short story writers of all time, all available online — though we can’t promise reading them that way will be as satisfying as hefting a huge tome of collected stories. This is not meant to be a definitive list of the best short stories in the world, but merely a celebration of the form and a collection of ten of our many favorites, limited to those that we could track down online, to make your Sunday afternoon a little better. Click through to read ten stories from some of literature’s greats, and link us to your own favorites in the comments!

1. I would have to say my favorite short story is "A Hunger Artist" by R.Crumb. When the story starts off, we look at a character who is fasting as a form of art. Many of the towns people would come out to exhibit him in a cage fasting, and nit pick at him to eat. They would count the days that he last ate and eventually it became a show.

Theme Discussion: The mother in “ The Rocking Horse Winner” is seemingly the root of all the problems in the story. Without her constant need for money and materialistic possessions, the other members of the family would not feel obligated to please her. The overwhelming need to please others and selflessness are two important factors in this story. Hester, the mother, has a strong need to have the finer things in life. Readers can see from the beginning of the story the strain money puts on the family. Lawrence says, “They read it in each other’s eyes” (Lawrence). From this statement the audience notes how apparent the struggle for money is. Readers can also see how selfless Paul is. He risks his own life for the sake of his mother’s well-being. After “looking into each other’s eyes” and sensing the need for money, Paul takes matters into his own hands. He feels the need to provide for his mother, so he tells the gardner, Bassett, all of his choices for the big races. Lawrence says, “I’ve got to know for the Derby! I’ve got to know for the Derby!”(Lawrence). From this, readers see Paul’s extreme urgency to win more and more money. As time progresses, Paul seems to worry immensely over helping his mother. Eventually, he starts to get sick. One night Hester heard a strange noise, but could not pinpoint it. Lawrence describes this noise saying, “It was a soundless noise”(Lawrence). The author’s use of hyperbole in this sentence makes readers feel almost eerie. Late in the night, the boy dies. The hypothetical “Rocking Horse of Life” is the cause of Paul’s death, even if no one else can distinguish it. Many recent movies carry the theme of selflessness just like “The Rocking Horse Winner”. In The Blind Side, Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy take in Michael Oher, a football prodigy with awful living conditions. Even though they had an abundance of money and kids of their own, the Tuohy’s took Michael into their home as one of their own. In spite of the dirty looks they would get, the Tuohy’s did not care about their social status; however, they remained selfless and took care of Michael well past his college days.The theme of

The mysteries of the world are mysteries for a reason, because nobody knows them. D.H. Lawrence tells a story, where a young boy tries and seems to find out those mysteries, called The Rocking-Horse Winner. He gives three messages on the mysteries of life in this story. He starts with money. Does our money make us who we are? Then he talks about the strength and power of ones words. Lastly Lawrence talks about luck. Can a person be lucky or is that just what life gave them.

Short stories are defined as pieces of fiction in literature which can easily be read in one sitting. Each short story tends to have a certain meaning or theme behind it, followed by structural elements. These themes and structural elements are significant in impacting one’s reading experience. Each short story is created with the author’s willingness to make you reflect, or think back on your own experiences. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, A Rose for Emily, and The Things They Carried,” are all short stories which involve these specific characteristics.

Certain individuals have a drive that can lead them to achieve what they desire most. In the Short story “The Rocking Horse Winner”, D.H Lawrence showcases this through character motivation and symbolism. He further this using pursuit of desire, and how if you take it to a certain extent it can result in tragedy if the individual chooses not to conform. Paul wants to please his mother because his mother feels that there family has no luck, but Paul proclaims that he is lucky. Paul suddenly becomes consumed with this sudden spree of good luck and feels this is the only way he will be able to gain to the affection of his mother. D.H Lawrence reveals that Paul has a certain flaw that turns him to believe that the only way he will be able to gain his mothers love and affection is by winning money in the horse races. He leads this pursuit of desire to the standards he thought he wanted to, but not to the standards that would have achieved what he wanted, which leads to his down fall. When individuals desire love from another, they may choose to conform their beliefs and actions to that person. At first they may feel successful, however if they sacrifice everything, in pursuing this kind of goal, they may pay a heavy price instead of gaining there hearts desire.

There have been countless times in life when two individuals have looked upon the same exact object, yet have seen two entirely different things. The way people view things is a matter of perspective and each unique perspective is based largely off of one’s own life experiences. The knowledge and wisdom humans gain through their time on this earth, and those things which they are familiar with, will often be projected onto something or someone else. Human beings look for what they know and it is because of this that a single story can, and almost inevitably will, be depicted in a plethora of different ways. In literature, the reader-response

The Impact of Intimacy “Intimate relationships are a gold mine for literature to explore, to understand, to describe.” ~A. B. Yehoshua Whether due to the discomfort surrounding the topic or the fact that most feel it should be a private matter, sex is widely considered a taboo subject. Perspectives on sex can range from celebrating its intimate nature to feelings of disapproval and shame. Interestingly enough, as Yehoshua once held, it is rather common to write about it, pushing the limits on what is socially acceptable.

Imagine a world without some of the most interesting short stories. Some of the most interesting short-story reads come from, or are based off of the father of short stories, Anton Chekhov. Although Anton Chekhov faced many problems throughout his life, he still managed to achieve great success. Some believe that these problems are what influenced his works the most. The events that impacted Chekhov’s writings the most were impoverish childhood conflicts, financial struggles between different classes, and experiences of poor island prisoners.

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.