Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Influence of parents on youngsters
Influence of parents on youngsters
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Influence of parents on youngsters
The short story The Rocking Horse Winner was written in 1926 by D.H. Lawrence. The story demonstrates the demons that surround the lower middle class all their lives. There was a family of a man and his wife with two younger daughters and an elder son. Both the parents did jobs for managing the finances of their household but they were always found to be upset about their financial earnings and expenditures. “The mother had a small income, and the father had a small income, but not nearly enough for the social position which they had to keep up (Lawrence).” The wife thought that her husband was unlucky to be incapable of earning enough for the family and she injected the same perception into her son’s mind that was small and confused about …show more content…
They have a misconception that this apparent pomp and luxuries will bring them respect and comfort which is proven totally wrong by this particular story. In a process to achieve a heightened level of materialistic pleasures Paul’s mother attempts to do multiple jobs by time and again she fails in her attempts. The boy represents several children of such families who get distressed by seeing their parents struggling and suffering despite all their efforts. Consequently, they try to assist their parents in their aims by trying their own luck. As Paul was misguided about the meaning of luck, he set out to find ways to earn money in order to prove that he was lucky. This is the story of the countless families that give in against the materialistic world. They don’t care about their financial feasibility before attempting to purchase the luxuries that have actually nothing to do with their genuine needs but are just supposed to be a part of their lives as a proof of their elevated socio-economic standards. The elements of real happiness are usually absent from the lives of such families. They forget the values of love and peace of mind in making the life easy and comfortable. As Paul’s parents believed in the happiness through money, the same lesson was taught to Paul. The boy can’t be blamed for his tireless efforts to bring happiness to his mother. Even after the existence of echoes and an
Paul in “Paul’s Case” wanted to get away from the reality and the hostile environment he faced. He was sick of Pittsburgh and the middle-class, Cordelia Street, which he lived on. Although his mother past away, his home life was as normal as could be. This is something Paul hated, normality. At school he would tell other students false stories to try to make his life seem more interesting than theirs. This ultimately caused none of the other students like him, even the teachers lash out at him. Paul was suspended from school, but he didn’t mind. He found an interest in music and in art, although he knew his father would not approve. Paul’s father wanted him to be a business man, have a normal family and have an ordinary life. Although, having a normal, ordinary life was not what Paul had in mind for his future. He dreamt of much more which caused him to believe he would never get his father’s approval.
In Willa Cather's story "Paul's Case", the character Paul embodies how the desire of materialism can affect the mind and soul of human being. Paul, a very self-oriented and introverted boy designs and calculates his every move to prevent people from discovering the real him. Despising his life at Cordelia Street, Paul throws himself into the plot of obtaining money, wealth, and power. This ruins Paul?s life and distracts him from truly enjoying his youth and independence. The story presents that even riches, wealth, power cannot buy one?s happiness or sanity.
Paul's father is a single parent trying to raise his children in a respectable neighborhood. He is a hard worker and trying to set a good example for his son. His father puts pressure on Paul by constantly referring to a neighbor, whom he feels is a perfect model for his son to follow.
What I am going to be is an engineer, civil engineer. But as time goes on, his goal becomes more unreachable. His family cannot afford for him to go to university and he must become a salesman in order to earn money to educate himself. Reality is tough, these jobs are not successfully useful for him to make money and the failure hinders him emotionally. Similarly, in the “Paul’s case”, Paul is obsessed with money and he believes that money will solve all his problems.
... mechanism” to cope with his everyday pressures. Unlike the girl in “Boys and Girls”, Paul never did accept society’s idea of an educated, school-orientated adolescent. Rather, the lesson he learns is that he could have compromised, dealing with social pressures imposed upon him by simply “losing himself” and imagining a world of his own.
The first and most emphases is the dark feeling of despair when he realizes that his father was coming to New York City. "It was to be worse than jail, even; the tepid waters of Cordelia Street were to close over him finally and forever". (Kennedy & Gioia, “Paul’s Case,” para. 57) From this statement, Paul finally accepts that is fate is to live on Cordelia Street and become what he despises the most; poor. Another important reason was that his craving for money and entrance into the upper class, "more than ever, money was everything, the wall that stood between all he loathed and all he wanted". (Kennedy & Gioia, “Paul’s Case,” para. 61) Other important issues that were mentioned but not truly discussed where his homosexual tendencies and his mother’s death early in his childhood The final and most important reason Paul commits suicide is because he feels alone in a hostile world that does not understand him and his love of beautiful things, color, art, and music. "It occurred to him that all the flowers he had seen in the glass cases that first night must have gone the same way, long before this. It was only one splendid breath they had, in spite of their brave mockery at the winter outside the glass; and it was a losing game in the end, it seemed, this revolt against the homilies by which the world is run". (Kennedy & Gioia, “Paul’s Case,” para. 64) From this statement alone, Paul feels
Paul surrounds himself with the aesthetics of music and the rich and wealthy, as a means to escape his true reality. In Paul’s true reality, he has a lack of interest in school. His disinterest in school stems from the alienation and isolation he has in life. This disinterest in school reflects Paul’s alienation because of the unusual attention he receives there that he doesn’t get at home. In class one day he was at the chalkboard and “his English teacher had stepped to his side and attempted to guide his hand” (Cather 1).
In the beginning of the story, Paul seems to be a typical teenage boy: in trouble for causing problems in the classroom. As the story progresses, the reader can infer that Paul is rather withdrawn. He would rather live in his fantasy world than face reality. Paul dreaded returning home after the Carnegie Hall performances. He loathed his "ugly sleeping chamber with the yellow walls," but most of all, he feared his father. This is the first sign that he has a troubled homelife. Next, the reader learns that Paul has no mother, and that his father holds a neighbor boy up to Paul as "a model" . The lack of affection that Paul received at home caused him to look elsewhere for the attention that he craved.
There have always been and will always be conflicts between social classes, and this story is no different. People always want more than they have and they envy the people who have it. Paul is a troubled boy from Pittsburgh who embodies this idea. His teachers think he is a delinquent, and his classmates do not interact with him, but Paul does not really seem to care. These people and their opinions matter very little to him. He feels he was born for something more than these stupid people and their opinions. He hates his life at home on Cordelia Street and at school, with his only place of refuge being at his job at the theater. His attitude at work is completely opposite to his normal life, "very much as though this were a great reception and Paul were the host"(Cather 314). Working as an usher at the symphony surrounds him with the beauty of the upper class that he belongs in. He feels that he belongs with these people so strongly that he steals money from his job at the "firm of Denny and Carson." When given the weekly payroll to deposit, Paul steals it and takes off fo...
Paul’s mother was incapable of love; “when her children were present, she always felt the centre of her heart go hard.” Paul’s mother desires materialistic possessions and excludes priceless items such as love. Paul’s mother and father were incapable of maintaining the social position they had to uphold with the amount of money they made. The house was always high strung and believed that there was always a need for more money. The house became haunted by the unspoken phrase, “There must be more money!”
Paul desire his mother’s love more than anything. However he believes he needs to prove he is lucky. He struggles to prove that he is to make his mother happy. Paul wants his mother to love him more than anything. For Paul’s mother money equals luck, and this will gain her love. “There must be more money”(19). He hears these voices throughout the house. They hear these voices when hey are receiving items of joy, especially around Christmas time. The other children can h...
In conclusion, "The Rocking-Horse Winner," written by D. H. Lawrence is a story about the family and the feelings of shame that we acquire from our parents that could have disastrous consequences for the whole family. We saw the effects of a mother's obsession with money, a son's plan to please his mother, and the prices the family paid for their obsession with money.
The first distinct moral in The Rocking Horse Winner is that we must not let ourselves be succumbed to greed and the need for materialistic items over our responsibilities in life. The mother and father’s obsession with wealth and material items is at battle with their parenting responsibilities within The Rocking Horse Winner. The mother and father have replaced love with the constant, overwhelming desire for additional money. It is the responsibility of the parents to provide for the children in their family. Especially, where as young children are concerned, they should never feel the need to provide for their parents. The Rocking Horse Winner portrays the financial destruction of an upper class family struggling to maintain their high level status while regularly spending beyond their means. The mother and father have expensive tastes that can not be supported with their mere common jobs. In order to give their family the best and retain their illicit status, both parents embezzle all of their resources to
The Rocking-Horse Winner is a tragic story that demonstrates how materialism is very destructive in people’s lives. D.H. Lawrence uses one of the main characters, Hester, to symbolize how greed heavily affects the idea of materialism. Hester’s need for money develops the idea that happiness and love is destroyed by the need for money. Lawrence uses money in her short story to convey the idea of how neglect from a mother destroys an innocent, young child such as Paul. Lawrence’s symbolism reveals that children like Paul need love and compassion from their elders. Hester, Paul’s rocking horse and the whispering of the house represent greed, selfishness, and love. They also reveal the character’s real feelings and thoughts of neglect, detachment, greed and selfishness.
According to D.H. Lawrence: a study of the short fiction Paul’s last words ““Mother did I ever tell you? I am lucky!” Are really a desperate, confused proclamation of his love” (4)? This demonstrates that even after all his mother has done he still loves her and cares about her. He sees more in his mother than her materialism, he knows that she still loves her family, even if she cannot control her need for more money. Unlike his mother Paul shows that he does not care about money by saying “oh, let her have it, then! We can get some more with the other,” (Lawrence 800). This proves how different both characters are and how not all people are materialistic even if they come from the same family. He is willing to give his mother all the money he has earned just to make her happy. This proves how important his mom is to him and how money is not important to him because he is willing to give up all the money he