Analysis Of The Story 'The Rocking-Horse Winner'

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Love is the Mirage in the Desert

The Rocking-Horse Winner is a story about a dysfunctional family. The father is largely ignored as he does not bring in the necessary funds to support the lifestyle the parents are accustomed to. The story only mentions the husband so that the reader knows he is present, and then put aside for the remainder of the story. Uncle Oscar and the gardener Bassett both serve as role models throughout the story in his place. Both parents seek to live far beyond their means, as a result of this the house echos with the words “There must be more money!” (890) This brings about the idea of the house being haunted although it is never voiced aloud. Paul attempts to fix the family money woes with the help of his rocking

horse. In The Rocking-Horse Winner by David Lawrence, the rocking horse symbolizes luck, greed, love, and illustrates the theme of a young boy longing for his mothers affection and acknowledgment.
Luck is something that is stated by Paul's mother as having money. It is never clearly defined as such but best put as “if you're lucky, you will always get more money” (891). In order to obtain this luck Paul seeks out any way possible to make money, discovering his rocking horse serves this purpose. With his rocking horse Paul is able to predict the winner of the horse races when he rides it. He believes it to be his vehicle to luck as he talks to it saying “ Now, take me to where there is luck!” (891) By doing this Paul hopes to obtain enough luck for his mother to take notice of him, as a child this is very important to him.
Paul soon discovers that once one has obtained money there is never enough.

With the help of the gardener, his Uncle Paul, and the rocking horse he is able to place bets on the winning horse races and start bringing in income. Although his mother is never happy, always needing more money. This is seen when he anonymously gives one thousand pounds to his mother as a present per year as a present. When the mother receives the present rather than being happy she states her present was “Quite moderately nice” in an emotionless tone (896). This is no doubt due to despite the unexpected windfall greed rears its ugly head, as people always want more than they have. This is confirmed when she wants the entire amount immediately. Paul himself is effected by the greed in a different way as he sees the rocking horse as a way to simply make more money. That said, greed has just as much a firm grip on Paul when he has trouble determining winning horses he “was in agony” and “became wild-eyed and strange” (897). Ironically this change brings him the closest to his mother, but in his single minded goal for more money he fails to notice her concern for him. To Paul as far as he knows, the only way to make his mother recognize him is to make money with his rocking

horse.
The love that Paul feels for his mother is placed towards his rocking horse. The way he treats the rocking horse showering it with his attention and energy. He would mount his horse, “charging madly into space, with a frenzy” (891). He pours all of himself into the rocking horse as he cannot get obtain his mothers love his horse becomes the outlet for his passion. At the end when Paul admits his secrets and is dying his mother still is incapable of loving her son as her only reaction is “No, you never did” (900).
Paul uses the rocking horse as a replacement for his mothers affection as well as a method to make money with. He pours everything into the horse, in the hopes that he can make enough money for his mother to acknowledge him. His goal of her admitting he is lucky is simply him looking for affection from his emotionally distant mother. The rocking horse shares these qualities as an inanimate object it does not show any affection to the child either. Although finicky at times,the rocking horse continues to make money for Paul fueling his greed and convincing him of his luck. Once he finally does give up his secret his passing away is understandable, looked at from the perspective of how she will never love him so there is no point in living.