An Analysis of

An Analysis of The Rocking -Horse Winner

In modern society there exists a strong association between luck and money . In fact , these two concepts have played an ambivalent role throughout the history of humanity . It seems like the strive for money is inherent in human nature itself , and it must have appeared when an ancient person got the opportunity to compare what they had with what their neighbors did . But no one explained to him that from the first gulp an unbearable thirst arises , which cannot be possibly slaked

In his story

The Rocking Horse Winner D .H . Lawrence raises this eternal problem of human race describing the life of a family of his times . As I said before , luck and money seem to be closely interrelated . Strangely enough , the heroine of the story who thinks she is unlucky does not take into account the version that money can be made because you are hard-working and able to do things better than other people do . Since she got married , she has seen a yawning hellhole in front of her , and that 's where her son trapped because of her obsession . Is luck money ' he asks her . No , it what causes you to have money ' she answers . In real life , however , one can always tell luck from ability by its duration . If you are certain of what you do , if you are a professional than the money you get is predictable and deserved , that is ability rhymes with stability , whereas luck is something accidental temporary and not proportional with what you do . Paradoxically , it is those people who get money by chance who are obsessed with it most , who are driven crazy by the thought that their luck will pass . In the story we find confirmation to the fact in its extreme form . The little boy Paul is so much nervously involved in the process of winning (as opposed to earning ) that he sees it as a disaster when luck leaves him

On the whole , luck is presented in the story as a kind of devilish business . Paul 's affinity to betting on races seems to be a fate 's mockery aimed at his mother . His active obsession is only the reflection of her passive obsession with money it is punishment for the black abyss in her soul because she deprived her children of her love and affection . Lawrence notices from the very beginning that she doesn 't love her children because she sees them as part of her misfortune . They say that the love of money is the root of all evil . Indeed , it is her monomania that is the root of evil in Paul who absorbed the feeling with his mother 's milk . The example from the story holds true in real life as well , unfortunately . Who hasn 't heard of terrible stories when people are killed because of several dollars ? This is the reality we face where money from the instrument turns into the goal

That 's what happens in Lawrence 's story , that 's why the more money appears in the house , the more fiercely the walls whisper There must be more money . Affluence demands affluence , the thirst is growing harder . Paul 's mother is not satisfied to get an unexpected thousand pounds from the unknown relative , when she suddenly finds out that she can get five thousand . She reacts to such present to her birthday as quite moderately nice . Her thirst is getting stronger and stronger and as a reflection of her inner corruption her son is getting more and more obsessed . He feels that having luck is the only way to attract his mother 's attention and affection . But is never enough for he , and the house goes on whispering . What she is left with in the end is eighty thousand pounds and her son , poor devil , dead . The sad story reveals the unfortunate trait of human beings - we think we lack something to be happy . Numerous ifs ' prevent us from taking real pleasure in life When a person thinks to himself or herself , If only I had more money /luck /charm etc ' a real torture begins which can ruin not only the life of the person but also the lives of whoever is around

Lawrence 's story The Rocking -Horse Winner raises one of most important issues of human history - uncontrollable strive for money , especially for easy money . Giving preference to winning before earning has been one of the strongest sources of corruption and decay . It has made people think that there exists such thing as luck , which controls people 's lives . People get so obsessed with this irrational force that they would sell their soul to the devil to keep it . It prevents them from looking deep inside themselves and seeing what real problems bother them Instead of appreciating what they have they prefer to inspect what others have . Indeed , envy is the strongest force for getting more money for many people . One may miss life itself when caught by gold rush ...