Similarities Between The Lottery And The Rocking Horse Winner

In the stories “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence, you see how tradition, society and family are an integral part of the story. “The Lottery” shows a society that is bound by tradition through their yearly lottery event. In contrast, “The Rocking Horse Winner,” shows a child that valued his family at his own expense.

“The Lottery” portrays a tradition that is practiced annually by the people of a town. The tradition was considered the utmost important event of the town. However, we see that this tradition, unlike most traditions, has become meaningless. Throughout the story there are subtle hints indicating that meaning has been lost. Right at the offset, it stated that, “the whole lottery took

Ironically, the outcome of stoning the individual was not forgotten. Tradition seemed to rob the townspeople of a sense of morality. As a whole they followed society and societal norm, which was to stone a member of their town. The people could not envision what it would be like to stop this event. Mrs. Adams actually mentioned that “some places have already quit the lottery”, however this got a response of “nothing but trouble in that” from Old Man Warner. This old tradition propelled friends to go against each other; Mrs. Delacroix, who we originally see as a friend of Mrs. Summer, was the first to start she “selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands”, she then urged Mrs. Dunbar by saying “come on…hurry up.” Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Dunbar are both a product of society, where they act according to society’s

Paul wanted his relationship with his mother to work. Wanting to feel loved and hoping to see his mom pay attention to him, Paul mounted his rocking horse and rocked to oblivion. He would rock until he would get a name of a horse and he would say “Well I got there.” He would then give the name of the horse to Bassett, the stable boy to place a bet. The pressure that was placed on his little shoulders was tremendous. After giving his mom a large gift of money, the pressure intensified since he saw that it did not make his mom happy. Paul, now desperate to win money goes about it despite the effect it will have on him. He rides until he says “Malabar! It’s Malabar! Bassett, Bassett, I know! It’s Malabar” and then collapses in unconsciousness. The urge to get money for his mother caused him his