The Rocking Horse Winner and The Destructors: A Comparison

2. Paul destroys himself for money and love

3. Theme of materialism vs human values

This paper will compare and contrast two English short stories: D. H. Lawrence=s AThe Rocking Horse Winner@ and Graham Greene=s AThe Destructors.@ The stories will be compared in terms of theme, plot, characters, setting and mood and the purpose of each author. Both stories deal with destruction at the physical and allegorical levels.

Greene=s purpose can be best explained by reading AThe Destructors@ as an allegory on the destruction of stable life in London caused by World War II and its aftermath. Lawrence=s story can be explained as a symbolic illustration of the terrible consequences of the destruction of human values that he believed were caused by the materialism and greed of modern society. The mood of both stories is dark and prophetic; the destruction of society by violence and false values will have an adverse and often horrific impact on children.

The child in Lawrence=s story is Paul, a young boy who is driven to be lucky in order to please his mother and thereby receive her love. The mother=s character is set up early b

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t the mother, who does not know about the rocking horse, becomes concerned about his health. His uncle on the other hand cares only about Paul=s forecasting abilities and encourages him. Paul rides his rocking horse to the point of death, and his one last prediction pays off, but both his mind and body are destroyed. His last words to his mother are those of a madman who is convinced that he is lucky because he can bring money through his gift. On his sick bed he shouts to his mother, A > I never told you, mother that if I can ride my horse, and get there, then I=m absolutely sure....I am lucky!=...But the boy died that night@ (Lawrence 166). Trevor, the boy in AThe Destructors@ is not as wildly obsessed as Paul, but he is driven as well. His family had money and social status prior to the war when his father was a successful architect. In the postwar period, the family=s fortunes have changed, and their lives are characterized by hardships. The father is a clerk and the family suffers both economic hardships and reduced social status. The story takes place in 1954 in a bombed out London. The setting is a makeshift car park which is the site of the last bomb of the first blitz of London in 1941. The setting can be seen as a m
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Lawrence AThere, AThe Destructors@, Christopher Wren, Common Gang, War II, Horse Winner, Trevor Greene=s, III Conclusion, rocking horse, athe destructors@, Destructors@ Greene=s, Rocking Horse, horse winner@, athe rocking horse, athe rocking, rocking horse winner@, lawrence=s story, car park, human values, social status, horse winner@ athe, 1 central, central character, rides rocking horse, 1 central character,
Approximate Word count = 1252
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page)