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

less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o’clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for dinner.” This proves that meaning of the tradition has been lost. The townspeople, regardless of the outcome of the gathering, were eager to get home for dinner, which in retrospect was a mundane activity compared to what was going to occur.
Furthermore, traditions are usually eternal, however the original source of this tradition was forgotten.

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

expectations.
“The Rocking Horse Winner” introduces us to a family of five, mom, dad, two girls and a boy. This family seems to live in a nice neighborhood, and has enough to cover their needs. However that was not enough, their mother was generally dissatisfied with her life and had a recurring urge for more wealth and luxuries. It was as if there was the phrase spoken around the house “there must be more money, there must be more money.” Unknowingly, she had transferred this need and desire to her child Paul.

In fact, because family meant a lot to Paul, the desire for money sent him in a tailspin.

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

death.

To conclude, the theme of tradition and society in “The Lottery” is shown to be an essential part of the plot. The town’s meaningless stoning of Mrs. Summer’s and the haste that Mrs. Delacroix had to start the stoning, proves that society and tradition can have a hold over an individual’s choices to the point that they do not bend to their own morality. In addition, Paul’s love for his mother and family in “The Rocking Horse Winner” demonstrated how family could make someone act in a way without thinking about personal consequences. Paul’s love for his mom ultimately caused his death, which wrapped up the plot of the story in a shocking way.