THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER

In D. H. Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner," we have two different views of the world. Paul's magical world allows him to rock on his horse and he is clairvoyant in being able to pick the winners at the race track. This is for him a gift and he does not attach any specific value to the money that has been won. He would do it without making the money, as this is just an ability that he has that can't be explained. It is how he expresses himself as a child.

His mother's world is very different from Paul's. She is materialistic and unloving. Her idea of luck is much more clearly defined in terms of money: "'Is luck money, mother?' he asked rather timidly. 'No, Paulo. Not quite. It's what causes you to have money'" (Lawrence 149). For the mother, everything leads to money and she measures all her luck and success by it.

Her character is set up immediately by Lawrence with a skill toward detail: "There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them" (Lawrence 147).

As character development, this would have been enough to have shown the woman's attitude toward her offspring. But Lawrence makes an interesting addition that cuts like a knife. It shows definitely that the world of Paul and the world of his mother do not really meet. "Everybody else said of her:

Related Essays

The Rocking-Horse Winner .... is to show how DH Lawrence combines social criticism, psychological realism, and elements of dreaming and fantasy in "The Rocking-Horse Winner." The plan of .... (1645 7 )

The Rocking Horse Winner In David Herbert (DH) Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner," the protagonist of the story is a small boy name Paul. Paul will eventually .... (1002 4 )

The Rocking Horse Winner and The Destructors: A Comparison A. Compare and contrast AThe Rocking Horse Winner@ and AThe Destructors.@ 2. Paul destroys himself for money and love 3. Theme of materialism vs human values .... (1252 5 )

The Rocking-horse Winner In DH Lawrence's The Rocking-Horse Winner, a ne'er-do-well family includes a son who has a gift of feverishly riding his rocking-horse until he experiences a .... (2534 10 )

The Destructors & The Rocking-Horse Winner The Destructors & The Rocking-Horse Winner Graham Greene's "The Destructors" and David H. Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner" share a common thread. .... (826 3 )

well, but she doesn't understand his obsession. Ironically, Oscar's greed pushes Paul into more and more forecasting, and this begins to lead to his spiritual burn-out. The boy is very possessed by the "brain-fever" and he continues to call the horses no matter what anyone does to him. The mother may have periodic twinges of conscience and look in on him at night, yet unconsciously she must remember that she doesn't adore her child like people think she does. Uncle Oscar is the villain of the story, and the mother stands between him and Paul. She might be able to prevent the exploitation of the boy, but she still loves the money that the boy's predictions can bring. When the boy becomes ill, the mother watches over him with sadness: The third day of the illness was critical: they were waiting for a change. The boy, with his rather long, curly hair, was tossing ceaselessly on the pillow. He neither slept nor regained consciousness, and his eyes were like blue stones. His mother sat, feeling her heart had gone, turned actually into stone (Lawrence 165). The boy becomes gravely ill and he shouts the winner of the Derby--"Malabar"--and Bassett knew enough to put money on the horse. Bassett comes to see the boy, as he truly c

Category: Literature - T