The Rocking-Horse Winner

574 Words3 Pages
The Rocking-Horse Winner The story, "The Rocking-Horse Winner" written by David Herbert Lawrence is a striking story about a boy Paul who rides his rocking horse in order to determine the winner in a real horse race. Throughout the story, the author portrays numerous important ideas regarding the attitude of society at the time. Paul's mother clearly demonstrates these societal attitudes by neglecting her son, obsessing over money, and believing in the power of luck. At the beginning of the story the narrator tells the reader, “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.” Even though she has everything she needs, a stable family and enough money to support her needs, she still wants more. She says that she is “very unlucky” because she “married an unlucky husband”. Instead of taking the responsibility upon herself that she is unlucky and does not have everything she wants, she blames others for her lack of happiness. In the end she turns out to be the luckiest character in the story because with Paul’s luck she gains all of the money he won. Paul's mother, who is very much preoccupied with the material elements the society has to offer, fails to provide Paul with the love he needs to develop into a normal, mentally stable child. She does not see her children as hers. She does not love them, and all she cares about is having money. Her son loves her beyond measure, but she herself can "not feel love, no, not for anybody." By being so distant she disregards Paul causing him to want to make her happy. He bets on horses in order to win money for her. By doing so, he believes that he will make his mother happier, which will make her love him. Therefore, Paul’s mother

More about The Rocking-Horse Winner

Open Document