The Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence
Written in 1933, D.H. Lawrence's short story "The Rocking Horse Winner" illustrates the consumptive nature of materialism. Through author's use of characterization, symbolism, and language in The Rocking Horse Winner, Lawrence successfully portrays a greedy and cold hearted mother, Hester, who attempts to fulfill the dissatisfaction in her life using wealth and material comfort. Lawrence uses Hester as an example to convey to the readers that materialism isolates one from love and ultimately leads to destruction.
Lawrence uses language that evokes irony and disgust to describe Hester in order to illustrate her coldness and inability to love anybody except herself. "She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them." (407) Lawrence asserts that because Hester is dissatisfied with her life, and refuses to compromise on the lifestyle she expects, she becomes preoccupied with searching for material comfort. However, the "failure made deep lines come into her face" (407), and gradually turns the center of her heart into "a hard little place that could not feel love, not for anybody." (407) Hester describes her husband as an "unlucky husband" (408). Through this expression, it is easy to see that Hester does not love her husband, and blames him for his incapability of making money. Lawrence uses this expression to demonstrate Hester's inability to love, and implies that her dissatisfaction with life is what turns her love to "dust" and causes the failure of her marriage. Through the descriptions of Hester's attitudes towards her husband and children, Lawrence paints a vivid imag...
... middle of paper ...
...n irony. Even though he rides the rocking horse, a young boy's toy, as Paul starts gambling, gradually he loses his innocence as a child. He becomes like his mother, who uses money to buy love. Lawrence portrays Paul as a victim to imply that the lack of love is the real cause of his death, and to confirm that Hester's materialism is what leads to her family's destruction.
Through the characterization, symbolism, and language of the short story, Lawrence successfully creates a materialistic image. Hester's tragic ending reveals to the readers that the desire of wealth and material possessions with little interest in spiritual matters isolates one from love, creates more dissatisfaction, and destroys one's life eventually.
Works Cited:
Lawrence, D. H. The Rocking Horse Winner." The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. R. V. Cassill, ed. New York: W. W.
When being questioned on the identity of her child’s father, Hester unflinchingly refuses to give him up, shouting “I will not speak!…my child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one!” (47). Hester takes on the full brunt of adultery, allowing Dimmesdale to continue on with his life and frees him from the public ridicule the magistrates force upon her. She then stands on the scaffold for three hours, subject to the townspeople’s disdain and condescending remarks. However, Hester bears it all “with glazed eyed, and an air of weary indifference.” (48). Hester does not break down and cry, or wail, or beg for forgiveness, or confess who she sinned with; she stands defiantly strong in the face of the harsh Puritan law and answers to her crime. After, when Hester must put the pieces of her life back together, she continues to show her iron backbone and sheer determination by using her marvelous talent with needle work “to supply food for her thriving infant and herself.” (56). Some of her clients relish in making snide remarks and lewd commends towards Hester while she works, yet Hester never gives them the satisfaction of her reaction.
Lawrence creates a sarcastic tone throughout his essay to exhibit Hester’s iniquitous behavior. He utilizes the biblical story of Cain and Abel to describe how “this time it is Mr. Dimmesdale who dies [while Hester] lives on and is Abel” (Lawrence). Lawrence mocks Hawthorne’s depiction of Hester by calling her Abel, which is ironic because Abel was the victim of the story. The sarcastic tone portrays Hester as a complete divergence to Abel, who was faithful to God and trustworthy. This tone also urges the readers to examine Hester and conclude that she goes not have these morally good characteristics like faithfulness and trustworthiness. Lawrence claims that placing Prynne on the scaffolding and exploiting her sins will “[become] a farce” (Lawrence). His mocking tone underscores the severity of adultery, which Hawthorne falsely describes Hester’s transgression as a “farce”. Lawrence’s use of sarcasm implies that her sins were substantial and grave. This conveys to the readers that Hester is a deplorable character and was portrayed wrongly by
In D.H. Lawrence’s essay, “On The Scarlet Letter,” he criticizes Nathaniel Hawthorne’s wrongful idolization of Hester Prynne. Throughout The Scarlet Letter, Hester is treated as a victim rather than the criminal Lawrence believes her to be. In Lawrence’s essay, he analyzes Hester’s sin and mocks the book for becoming a farce. He focuses on the causes of Hester's sin, rather than the consequences. In analyzing Hester Prynne, Lawrence is effective in achieving his purpose due to his satirical tone, choppy syntax, and use of biblical allusions.
In Chapter 13, “Another View of Hester,” Hawthorne opens a window through which we glimpse Hester’s internal conflict. She has long been contemplating the “dark question” (144.25) of whether or not “existence [is] worth accepting” (144.26), and she has concluded that it is not. The image of our heroine here is troubling as it seems she has lost all semblance of hope in the possibility of triumph over the scorn and humiliation the public has inflicted on her. Her depression is so strong that she wonders if would be better “to send Pearl at once to Heaven” (145.14). Furthermore, she has not only lost hope for her own life and optimism for her daughter’s future, but she has also lost faith in society in general, especially regarding the place of women. She feels the whole system is beyond repair and that the only way to mend the cracks in the foundation is to have the entire structure “torn down and built anew” (144.32-33). Only after such a drastic reordering takes place can women take a more fair position in the world. This middle portion of Hester’s story represents a definitive low-point; her misery here certainly rivals and likely surpasses that which she felt while standing in front her peers on the scaffold in the beginning
The point of view of materialism in the Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence is the seen from inside the mind of child in the story, Paul. “He went off by himself, vaguely, in a childish way, seeking for the clue to “luck,” Absorbed, taking n...
In this scene, the reader is able to see inside Hester's head. One is able to observe the utter contempt she holds for the Puritan ways. She exhibits he love and respect for the father of her child, when she refuses to relinquish his name to the committee. The reader can see her defiant spirit due to these actions.
The repetition of words such as pure, seduce, adultery, American, and Abell help to guide the reader’s emotions and thoughts about Hester and her sin. When Lawrence describes her, his critical diction is revealed by mocking her as an “A. Adulteressl Abell Abell Abell Admireabel” (Lawrence 22). These words emphasize the negative and evil faces of Hester Prynne and associates herself as a person not commendable. This proves to be more effective because the repetition of these words establish an emotional interaction with the readers while also sending many reminders of the words and their pessimistic connotations. Hester’s character is continuously used as a reminder that she goes without her sin. He reminds us again by commenting that it “all begins with A. Adultress. Alpha. Abel. Adam. A. America” (Lawrence 28-29). This repetition forces the readers to become more conscious of Hester Prynne's non-admirable character. Both the context and meanings of each of the words chosen by D.H. Lawrence, like seduce and adultery, are negative ways to depict Hester when describing her. By following through with this literary technique, the audience becomes more familiar with viewing Hester Prynne in the same connotations as sinner and
She does not understand her sin and its inevitability, as shown by her impulsive decisions and love for Pearl and Dimmesdale in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter. Love influences Hester’s major decisions and outlook on her sin. Love makes her unable to truly reach repentance through her lack of understanding. The sheltered perspective love brings can make your morals
{It came whispering from the springs of the still-swaying rocking horse, and even the horse, bending his wooden, champing head, heard it. The big doll, sitting so pink and smirking in her new pram, could hear it quite plainly, and seemed to be smirking all the more self-consciously because of it. The foolish puppy, too, that took the place of the teddy-bear, he was looking so extraordinarily foolish for no other reason but that he heard the secret whisper all over the house: “There must be more money!” Yet no body ever said it out aloud. The whisper was everywhere, and therefore no one spoke it. Just as no one ever says: “We are breathing!” in spite of the fact that breath is coming and going all the time.} Pg 236 paragraph 6.
Paul was outraged when he confronted his mother about the family’s lack of wealth, and she rejected his statement that he was lucky. After this scene, Paul was easily influenced that he would be able to reach this place of luck and finally satisfy his mother. Her desires for more money and luck are never satisfied, and as a result, lead to tragic consequences when love and money are confused in Paul’s mind. Paul’s heartbreaking attempt to win his mother’s love inevitably leads to his own death. Lawrence’s, The Rocking Horse Winner, exposes the negative qualities associated with modern society and specifically adults.
Certain individuals have a drive that can lead them to achieve what they desire most. In the Short story “The Rocking Horse Winner”, D.H Lawrence showcases this through character motivation and symbolism. He further this using pursuit of desire, and how if you take it to a certain extent it can result in tragedy if the individual chooses not to conform. Paul wants to please his mother because his mother feels that there family has no luck, but Paul proclaims that he is lucky. Paul suddenly becomes consumed with this sudden spree of good luck and feels this is the only way he will be able to gain to the affection of his mother. D.H Lawrence reveals that Paul has a certain flaw that turns him to believe that the only way he will be able to gain his mothers love and affection is by winning money in the horse races. He leads this pursuit of desire to the standards he thought he wanted to, but not to the standards that would have achieved what he wanted, which leads to his down fall. When individuals desire love from another, they may choose to conform their beliefs and actions to that person. At first they may feel successful, however if they sacrifice everything, in pursuing this kind of goal, they may pay a heavy price instead of gaining there hearts desire.
In the beginning of the written story the author reveals Hester to be a cold-hearted mother. "She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them"(75). In public she is thought of as the perfect mother, but in private she and her children know her true feelings. "Everyone else said of her: 'She is such a good mother. She adores her children.' Only she herself, and her children themselves, knew it was not so. They read it in each other's eyes"(75). Heste...
...aul had paid the price of losing out on his childhood in order to try and give his mother money. A child shouldn't have to miss out on his youth because of his mother's obsession with having more money. Paul's mother paid an even greater price, she lost her only son. Paul died from what seemed like exhaustion from riding his rocking-horse for too long. In the end, Hester found out why Paul was riding his rocking-horse and she must of felt horrible that her son had died trying to please her.
In order to give their family the best and retain their illicit status, both parents embezzle all of their resources to -1- purchase materialistic things. The Rocking Horse Winner depicts how greed and the need possessions and money drives a member of this upper class family to resort to drastic measures. (Lawrence; The Rocking Horse Winner Study Guide) The second obvious moral to The Rocking Horse Winner is that often one does not realize what they have and how they we feel about it until it is gone. Early on within the story we learned that Paul’s mother had attractive, bonny children.
One of the main symbols in Lawrence’s short story is Hester. She is the mother of Paul and both are main characters. Hester is a good representation of greed, selfishness and being materialistic. She values money more than her children “She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them” (Lawrence, 295). Hester is not capable of creating...