Lawrence

D.H. Lawrence, "The Rocking-Horse Winner



**Plot** This short story is about a young boy with a gambling problem. The story begins with a woman who has lost all of her luck because she is married to an unlucky man. The mother does not love her children, so the young boy named Paul strives for his mothers attention. He sets his life to figuring out how to become lucky. When his uncle brings him to a horse race, he bets money on a horse and wins, so he thinks he is very lucky. Paul does not have a real horse, but he has a rocking horse. Paul rides the rocking horse to “get to his luck.” Paul thinks that whenever he rides the rocking horse he goes to the place when luck is. He becomes obsessed with betting on horses and he keeps on winning. As the story progresses Paul constantly bets, and rides his rocking horse. When his mother is out for the night, she comes home to find Paul on his rocking horse. Paul goes insane trying to achieve his mother’s belief of his luck. Paul dies that night, ending his life telling his mother “Mother, did I ever tell you? I //am// lucky.”

**Setting:** -Time is split between the house and the Derby. ** Themes**: -Luck- their lives were based on their family’s luck. They always were saying that their father brought the family bad luck, which caused their lives to change completely. Everyday their money supply would drop. They looked for luck and money for a long time until Paul, a son and a grandchild was able to give them what they are looking for.

-**Bonny**- healthy, sweet, lively -**Remonstrate**- to say disapprovingly -**Obstinately**- stubbornly -**Iridescent**- playing a wide display of colors -**Lucre**- money or profit -**Careen**- to tip to one side while in motion -**Emancipated**- freed from custom or tradition -**Parry**- to ward off or act in defense -**Writs**- laws ordered by court -**Trill**- to produce a sound or vibration -**Trivet**- a small metal plate with legs, used as a hot plate under pans or pots
 * Vocab:**

**Characters ** __ Paul __ - a young boy who doesn’t receive much love from his parents. He only finds meaning in his life when he can sit on his rocking horse and predict the winning of the next horse race __ Oscar Creswell __ - Paul’s uncle who takes advantage of Paul’s psychic skill to make money at the Derby

Point of View/ Style In the __Rocking Horse Winner__ the point of view is of a narrator stating facts with no bias in 3rd person. The whole story is written in an omniscient point of view. It is not too descriptive but describes certain aspects in a very strait forward way. D.H. Lawrence includes a lot of conversation between characters which illustrates the relationships instead of just describing them.