"The Rocking Horse Winner" and its Themes

Paper Summary:

This paper reviews D.H. Lawrence's story, "The Rocking Horse Winner", about how a young boy named Paul is plagued by his parents' obsession with money. It looks at how the author conveys the theme through the characters and their reaction to life. It examines how the conflicts that the characters face become integral to their psychological development and how the ways in which these characters change, or in the case of Paul's mother, refuse to change, indicate the central message, or theme, of the narrative. It discusses how the various characters do not alter their perception of reality during the course of the story and how they, instead, perpetuate their unhappiness by buying into their materialistic dreams.

From the Paper:

"One of the sources of dysfunction and mental illness in the family is the inability of either parent to communicate effectively with each other or with their children. The anxiety pervading the house was mostly unspoken. Instead of overt abuse, the parents delivered covert messages about inadequacy. Paul imagines he hears the house constantly whispering "There must be more money!" but no one said it to him aloud. The unspoken becomes more powerful than anything iterated by either of the parents. Their silence represents the withdrawal from love, affection, and genuine nurturing. Rather than appreciate the many blessings she has, Paul's mother blames her sense of inadequacy on bad luck."

More papers on "The Rocking Horse Winner" and its Themes:

• Analytical Essay # 128436 : "Thematic Analysis: The Rocking Horse Winner"
• Analytical Essay # 46989 : "The Rocking-Horse Winner": A Critique"
• Book Review # 66785 : "The Rocking Horse Winner"

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