Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner”: Book Review

Lawrence’s Real-Life Struggles

Lawrence’s story titled “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is about encountering a capitalist society with an unloving mother and some other misfortunes the author had to face in his life. The readers do not have to decide if these troubles influenced his life by affecting his progress or interfering with his life. After reading the story, one thing is clear: the characters and events represent Lawrence’s real-life struggles. For example, nostalgia for a mother’s love and acceptance makes the story fascinating when the child, Paul, make several inquiries from his mother.

The Harmful Impacts of Too Much Love for Money

Lawrence explains, ”that when you fight is just an indication that you need to yourself, the child always knows that; your soul is different, and so it has to fight for the love of a child” (Lawrence 13). His sad and excessive association with his mom prompted disregard, alongside the capitalism practiced by the society that was money oriented in the story ”The Rocking-Horse Winner,” and he attempts to explain the harmful impacts that too much love for money can bring to a family.

The Use of Irony

The author make the use of irony in the story. For instance, Lawrence’s wondrous inclination directed to one of his characters’ (Paul) attentiveness on the horse races to earn money being neutralized by another character’s (Hester) high level of dissatisfaction and needing more cash. He promotes a tragic resolution for a reason leading to Paul’s death. Besides, tragic irony is depicted when Paul anticipated such a large number of winning horses, yet he ends up losing his life when the story is ending. Moreover, Paul’s demise obviously makes the story an awful one; yet similarly as grievous is the end of both the love and innocence which were that he portrayed in the story, in his heartbreaking mother (Lawrence 16). There is also the use of situational irony portrayed when a reader may think the story would end when Paul will be living a wealthy life, yet it turns out to be the opposite; with a misfortune can never reversed.

The Power of Money

Money is seen to possess a sufficient power which makes Hester turn out to be an eager and dissatisfied soul. For instance, money was the reason she attempted to live a lifestyle that she couldn’t bear. Thus, ”There must be more money! There must be more money!” (Lawrence 1) implying the level of instability that Paul and his siblings encountered because of the minimal affection that existed between Hester and her husband. Moreover, there is also a need to keep money in the context but should not be romanticized to the extent that it now substitute love as depicted in the story. Money can only lead to obsession and disregard as seen in Hester who has too much passion for money and neglects her own children. The author also uses his own relationship with his personal friends such as Lady Cynthia to influence the role played by Hester in his story. Cynthia used to be his long-term close friend, and she impacted his story. Biological materials indicate the similar characteristics between Cynthia’s family and the families portrayed in the story. For instance, ”Cynthia also lost her love for her child, despite the fact that she battled not to do as such” (Watkins, 295). Furthermore, Lawrence additionally changed the ages and sexes of the kids since Cynthia had three sons, while Hester in the story has two girls and one boy rather as evident in the phrase ”They were a boy and two girls” (Lawrence 12). Additionally, the poor affection that both Cynthia and Lawrence experienced while living in England also impacted the unmitigated and carefree moral in the story ”The Rocking-Horse Winner.”

Personal Life Experience and the Theme of the Story

In summary, it is a personal life experience that impacts Lawrence’s correlation with ”The Rocking-Horse Winner” as he depicts his life through Paul. He grew up as an unloved child whose only fantasy, as depicted in the story, was riding the horses as his magnificent supernatural gifts were not manifested in reality. Paul possessed all the magnificent supernatural gifts in the story. Therefore, it was the realities circumstances in the Author’s past life experiences that gave the story ”The Rocking-Horse Winner“ the theme, the morality and above all the heartbreaking occasions that too much love for money can cause.

Works Cited

Lawrence, David Herbert. The rocking-horse winner. Dramatic Publishing, 1966.
Watkins, Daniel P. ”Labor and Religion in DH Lawrence’s” The Rocking-Horse Winner”.” Studies in short fiction 24.3 (1987): 295.