The Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence Essay - 1083 Words

The Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence Written in 1933, D.H. Lawrences short story The Rocking Horse Winner illustrates the consumptive nature of materialism. Through authors 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†¦show more content†¦Lawrence also emphasizes Hesters materialism by demonstrating her childish belief that wealth and material possessions are the substitutes of love and are capable of making up for the dissatisfactions in life. Even though she goes through the motions of being a good mother well enough to fool her neighbors and friends, she is unable to hide the truth from her children. They read it in each others eyes. (407) Therefore, she uses expensive and splendid toys (407) to fulfill her childrens nursery, as if they can fulfill their needs for love as well. Lawrence uses the ironic tone in the expression to illustrate Hesters shallowness. She believes that wealth is the indication of social status; thus it brings satisfaction into her life. The new furniture and flowers in the winter (414 ) are all the means she uses to fulfill her life. However, Hesters cold heart remains empty because the more she has the more she wants. Through the language and imagery, Lawrence conveys to the readers that money and material possessions cannot fulfill the dissatisfaction in life, instead, they lead to more outrageous desires. Lawrence also uses symbolism to intensify Hesters materialistic greed. It seems that there is never enough money for Hester to be satisfied. The whisper that comes from the walls of their house, There must be more money! is the symbol of Hesters endless craving for wealth and material comfort. Lawrences description ofShow MoreRelated The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence Essay652 Words   |  3 PagesThe Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Rocking-Horse Winner is a complex story that is best understood if one examines it through the 5 Elements of Fiction: setting, character, plot, point of view and theme. This story is about a little boy named Paul who is trying to gain love and affection from his greedy mother. One day he told his mother that he had luck and he knew his mother did not believe him. This compelled him to go out and find luck on his own. He set off on his rockingRead MoreThe Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence Essay1000 Words   |  4 Pagesmoney and consumerism. 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Lawrence and â€Å"The Lottery† by Shirley Jackson are both short stories that present a conflict of society against its characters, but conversely depict very distinctive characters that trigger varying levels of sympathy from the readers. 2. Conflicts a. â€Å"The Rocking-Horse Winner† by D.H. Lawrence i.Read MoreThe, By Graham Greene And The Rocking Horse Winner1097 Words   |  5 PagesThe two stories â€Å"The Destructors† by Graham Greene and â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner† by D.H. Lawrence are being analyzed through literary devices on how they demonstrate the shared theme. Greene and Lawrence both use setting, symbolism, and like-minded characters to demonstrate the theme of the destruction and effects of war are long lasting in the stories â€Å"The Destructors† and â€Å"The Rocking Horse Winner†. Both Graham Greene and D. H. Lawrence set their stories in London, England, after major world wars