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The Rocking-Horse Winner

D. h. lawrence.

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Analyze the use of symbolism in D.H. Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner

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D.H. Lawrence’s short story, “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” is a poignant exploration of the destructive nature of materialism and the pursuit of wealth. Through the effective use of symbolism, Lawrence delves into the themes of greed, luck, and the consequences of a society obsessed with financial success.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- This essay aims to analyze the various symbols employed in the story and their profound impact on the narrative.

Symbolism of the Rocking-Horse: The central symbol in the story is the rocking-horse, which serves as a metaphorical representation of the destructive pursuit of wealth. The horse, named “Dobby,” represents both a vehicle for escape and a conduit for Paul’s desire to fulfill his mother’s insatiable materialistic cravings.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- As Paul rides the rocking-horse feverishly, it symbolizes his desperate attempt to harness the power of luck in order to accumulate wealth. The increasing intensity of the horse’s movements mirrors the growing urgency of Paul’s quest, highlighting the dangers of an unrestrained pursuit of riches.

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Symbolism of Luck: The concept of luck is a recurring symbol throughout the story. The whispering house represents the allure and mystery of luck, as Paul listens attentively for the winning horse’s name. The phrase, “There must be more money!” symbolizes the family’s belief that luck and financial success are intrinsically linked.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- Lawrence suggests that the characters’ reliance on luck becomes a destructive force, as it fuels their greed and perpetuates a cycle of unfulfilled desires. The constant pursuit of luck ultimately leads to tragedy and discontent.

Symbolism of Paul’s Eyes: Paul’s eyes are described as being “bright blue fire,” symbolizing his supernatural ability to predict the outcome of horse races. This symbolizes Paul’s exceptional intuition and sensitivity to the world of luck, which sets him apart from his family.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- Furthermore, his eyes also represent his hidden suffering and burden. As Paul becomes increasingly consumed by his quest for money, his eyes lose their vitality, suggesting the toll it takes on his physical and mental well-being.

Symbolism of the House: The house in the story is characterized as being haunted by whispers, symbolizing the influence of materialistic desires on the family’s lives. The whispers symbolize the pressure and expectations placed upon the family to maintain their social status and wealth.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- They become a haunting reminder of the insatiable desire for money that permeates their existence. The house’s portrayal as a living entity highlights the suffocating nature of materialism, as the family members are trapped within its walls, unable to escape the vicious cycle of their desires.

Symbolism of the Uncanny: The uncanny is a prevalent theme in “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” symbolizing the blurred line between reality and the supernatural. Paul’s ability to predict the winning horses and the whispers he hears in the house create an atmosphere of the inexplicable.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- Lawrence employs the uncanny to emphasize the destructive consequences of the characters’ obsession with luck and wealth. It serves as a warning against the dangers of losing touch with reality and succumbing to irrational beliefs.

The Rocking-Horse Winner “Summary”

“The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a short story by D.H. Lawrence, first published in 1926. It revolves around the themes of greed, materialism, and the destructive power of money.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- The story is set in a middle-class family in England. The protagonist is a young boy named Paul, who lives with his emotionally distant parents, his two sisters, and the family’s servants. The family is always struggling financially, and Paul becomes aware of the tension and discontent in their household.

Paul is deeply affected by the constant whisperings in his house about the lack of money. He becomes determined to help his family alleviate their financial troubles. One day, he comes across a rocking-horse in the nursery and discovers that he has an uncanny ability to predict the winners of horse races. He becomes obsessed with horse racing and spends hours rocking furiously on his horse, trying to find the name of the winning horse.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- Paul’s obsession with winning money for his family becomes all-consuming. He secretly places bets on the races and starts amassing a significant amount of money, always using the names of the horses he believes will win as his guiding force. His uncle, Oscar, becomes his confidant and helps him place the bets.

However, as Paul’s winnings increase, so does the pressure and the demands for more money from his family. His mother, in particular, is driven by a constant desire for more wealth and material possessions. Paul feels compelled to satisfy her cravings, believing that it will finally bring happiness to their lives.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- Driven to the point of exhaustion, Paul continues to ride his rocking-horse in search of the ultimate winner. His efforts take a toll on his health, and he becomes pale and weak. One night, after a winning streak, he falls off the rocking-horse and becomes seriously ill.

In the end, Paul dies from his illness, leaving his family with a large sum of money from his winnings. However, the story concludes on a poignant note as the narrator reveals that the house, even with all the money, still whispers that it needs more. The family remains trapped in their cycle of materialistic desires, never finding true happiness or contentment.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- “The Rocking-Horse Winner” serves as a critique of the destructive power of money and the negative effects of an obsession with wealth. It explores the themes of greed, the corrupting influence of materialism, and the emotional emptiness that can result from an endless pursuit of money.

D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner” effectively utilizes symbolism to convey its themes and messages. The symbols employed in the story, such as the rocking-horse, luck, Paul’s eyes, the house, and the uncanny, all contribute to a deeper understanding of the destructive nature of materialism and the pursuit of wealth.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- Through the rocking-horse, Lawrence symbolizes the relentless pursuit of riches, highlighting the dangers of an unchecked desire for wealth. The concept of luck serves as a recurring symbol, representing the family’s belief in its connection to financial success and the destructive cycle it perpetuates. Paul’s eyes symbolize both his exceptional intuition and the toll that his quest for money takes on his well-being.

The house, characterized by whispers, symbolizes the haunting influence of materialistic desires on the family’s lives, trapping them in a never-ending pursuit of wealth. The uncanny elements in the story blur the line between reality and the supernatural, emphasizing the consequences of losing touch with reality and succumbing to irrational beliefs.

Symbolism in Lawrence’s The Rocking-Horse Winner:- Overall, Lawrence’s skillful use of symbolism enhances the narrative and serves as a cautionary reminder of the detrimental effects of uncontrolled desires and the importance of seeking fulfillment beyond material possessions. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” prompts readers to reflect on their own values and the dangers of succumbing to the allure of materialism.

Q. What is the main theme of “The Rocking-Horse Winner”?

Ans. The main theme of the story is the destructive nature of materialism and the pursuit of wealth. It explores how an insatiable desire for money can lead to unhappiness and tragedy.

Q. What is the significance of the rocking-horse in the story?

Ans. The rocking-horse symbolizes the destructive pursuit of wealth. It represents Paul’s desperate attempt to fulfill his mother’s materialistic desires and serves as a metaphor for the dangers of an unrestrained desire for riches.

Q. How does luck play a role in the story?

Ans. Luck is a recurring theme in “The Rocking-Horse Winner.” It represents the family’s belief that financial success is directly linked to luck. The story explores how the characters’ reliance on luck fuels their greed and perpetuates a cycle of unfulfilled desires.

Q. What do Paul’s eyes symbolize?

Ans. Paul’s eyes are described as being “bright blue fire.” They symbolize his exceptional intuition and sensitivity to the world of luck. As the story progresses, his eyes also represent his hidden suffering and the toll that his quest for money takes on his well-being.

Q. What is the significance of the whispers in the house?

Ans. The whispers in the house symbolize the haunting influence of materialistic desires on the family’s lives. They serve as a constant reminder of the insatiable desire for money that pervades their existence and traps them in a cycle of unfulfilled desires.

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Love and Luck in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by David Herbert Lawrence Essay

Book summary, works cited.

The Rocking-Horse Winner describes a young boy’s search for luck and love in a world with no love. Paul has a gift of picking the winning horse in horse races. His mother, Hester, in contrary, has no luck and even though she is outwardly successful, she is troubled by a feeling of failure.

The family’s expenditure exceeds its income and creates unspoken tension and this affects the relationships in the family. Paul and his two sisters recognize this tension and Paul even alleges that he can hear the house whispering, “ There must be more money ” (Lawrence, 1926).

Paul informs his uncle (Oscar) and Bassett, the gardener, about his luck on betting in horses: he has been betting using his pocket money and has won and accumulated some money. Both men place huge bets on the horse Paul identifies to be a potential winner. After their win, Paul and Bassett give Paul’s mother a very expensive gift, but this makes her spend more money, this upsets Paul and he works harder to be lucky.

As a Derby race nears, Paul strives to know the name of the winning horse. He does this by riding his rocking horse so that he can get to a state in which he can be sure about the winning horse. He remains sick on the day of the Derby but Bassett places bets on the horse that was identified by Paul, and even places a bet for Paul. The horse wins and Paul wins eighty thousand pounds, however, he dies at night.

The Rocking-Horse Winner presents a society in search of love and luck and this is evident from a number of characters. The main characters in the short story, Paul and Hester, are in search of love. Paul’s mother, Hester, entered marriage with a handsome man because of love, but the love died. Even though she has three children out of the marriage, she could not love them, and does not even love herself for she is troubled by a feeling of failure.

The closest she ever comes to finding love is through her son, Paul, but she rejects him too. Indeed, her lack of love for her children is shown when the author writes, “only she herself knew that at the centre of her heart was a hard little place that could not feel love, no, not for anybody” (Lawrence, 1926). While everyone thinks of her as a great parent, only she knows that her heart is hard and cannot love, not even her children who need it very much. To her, success and happiness means getting more money.

Hester’s desire for material wealth surpasses that of other important things such as love and self-knowledge. Her desire for money is insatiable, instead, they lead to disastrous results when she confuses money with love. In her pursuit of more money, Hester loses some basic family values.

Her main aim is to bring up her children in a flamboyant lifestyle, as a result, her relationship with her children and husband dies. Whenever she gets money, she overspends it. Although the family lives in a “pleasant house” complete with servants and a nurse, they take them as show off objects. Hester’s uncontrollable spending creates tensions inside the household and this is personified by the whispering sounds that seem to come out the house and say “there must be more money” (Lawrence, 1926).

Paul’s talk with his mother about luck makes him believe that her mother’s love can only be won with money and luck. She makes a strong connection with luck and money. When Paul asks her whether luck was money, she replies, “It’s what causes you to have money” (Lawrence, 1926). From this talk, Paul concludes that his luck would make her happy, and this would translate to love. In contrary, she becomes greedier and is more concerned about money than loving her son (Snodgrass, pp. 196).

Paul’s ability to identify the winning horse pulls Oscar and Bassett into the betting business. Paul would get onto a rocking boat and rock continuously, like he was part of the race, until he got into a state in which he was sure of the winning horse. At the final race, Paul drives himself harder and harder to identify the winning horse.

His mother’s insatiability and whispering house drives him to try more and more as he knew that he would achieve two important things if he identified the winning horse: make his mother happy, and win her love. Paul’s desperate actions are an attempt to win love from his hard-hearted mother.

These efforts leave him sick and weak. After Bassett tells him that he had won eighty thousand pounds from the derby race, he tells his mother, “…did I ever tell you? I am lucky!” to which the mother replies, “No, you never did” (Lawrence, 1926), this proves that Hester never loved her children, especially Paul. Paul dies that night after failing to win his mother’s love.

Lawrence, David Herbert Richards. The Rocking-Horse Winner. In The Norton Introduction to Literature. Alison Booth and Kelly J. Mays, eds. Portable 10th ed. New York: Norton, 2011. Print.

Snodgrass, William de Witt. A Rocking-Horse: The Symbol, the Pattern, the Way to Live. The Hudson Review, Vol. 11, No. 2, 1958, pp. 191-200.

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IvyPanda. (2018, October 10). Love and Luck in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by David Herbert Lawrence. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-rocking-horse-winner/

"Love and Luck in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by David Herbert Lawrence." IvyPanda , 10 Oct. 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/the-rocking-horse-winner/.

IvyPanda . (2018) 'Love and Luck in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by David Herbert Lawrence'. 10 October.

IvyPanda . 2018. "Love and Luck in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by David Herbert Lawrence." October 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-rocking-horse-winner/.

1. IvyPanda . "Love and Luck in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by David Herbert Lawrence." October 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-rocking-horse-winner/.

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IvyPanda . "Love and Luck in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by David Herbert Lawrence." October 10, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-rocking-horse-winner/.

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The Rocking Horse Winner Theme

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The Rocking-Horse Winner D.H. Lawrence

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