The notion of the archetypal hero is dominant in D. Lawrence's short story, The Rocking Horse Winner. On the surface, it is a story about a young child, Paul, who seeks his mother's love by producing his own luck, however, it is really about the makings of a hero. Paul can be classified as an archetypal hero because he follows the exact route of a hero's typical journey. .
The first part of the hero's journey is the separation. Separation is natural because the hero must be singled out from everyone else. It shows that he is unique, and intended for a special purpose. He must feel alone, and have a certain measure of detachment from his old life, so that he can find out who he really is. In the story, the young Paul is not only separated from the rest of his family (his father is mostly absent, and his sisters don't like to play with him), but he is also separated from his mother's love. Since a child bases most of his identity on his mother's love, Paul feels truly alone. .
Once the separation is complete, the hero then gets a "call". This call usually comes in the form of a duty or responsibility. It is a calling for his special purpose. Paul's calling is the need to make money so that he can be lucky in the eyes of his mother. Once he is deemed lucky, then he believes that his mother will then love him:.
I'm a lucky person.' 'Why?' said his mother, with a sudden laugh. He stared at her. He didn't even know why he had said it. 'God told me,' he asserted, brazening it out. . 'He did, Mother!' "Excellent!' said the mother, using one of her husband's exclamations. The boy saw she did not believe him: or rather, that she paid no attention to his assertions. This angered him somewhere, and made him want to compel her attention. (pg21) .
Once the calling is complete, characters are introduced to help and guide the hero along. They act as his support system to help him achieve his goal. The family gardener, Bassett, acts as Paul's mentor.
?The Rocking-horse Winner? By D. H. Lawrence ?The Rocking-horse Winner? is a story based on a child who needed to be lucky. Throughout the story different point of view techniques were used which made the story much more believable and interesting. The author used these techniques often, a...
THE ROCKING-HORSE WINNER Every human being desires to rise in life or society; it's how we get there that determine our consequences, Greed has no boundaries with social inequality, however the innocent pay the maximum price. ... Paul rocking-horse, was the key element to getting his "luck". ... Uncle Oscar found the boy on one of his journeys on his horse, his uncle found out the boy's uncanny ability to predict the racehorse winner. ... Defeated, Paul's necessity to escape is apparent, his journey continued on the rocking- horse trying to get away and ye...
Lawrence's short story, "The Rocking-Horse Winner,"" we see a child with many problems. ... This is a definite theme in "The Rocking-Horse winner-, as the reason that Paul starts to gamble is to stop the house from whispering, "There must be more money!... Eventually, Paul decides that he has indeed found luck, and, when riding his rocking horse, is able to tell the winner of an upcoming horse race. ... One evening, after a party, Paul's mother returns to find her son "in his green pyjamas, madly surging on the rocking-horse- frantically seeking for the winner of the Derby. ... Upon ...
In the story "The Rocking-Horse Winner" he mostly used symbolism in the whole story. ... In this story the Lawrence describes the surroundings in sight, smell, noise and physical sense whereas The Rocking Horse Winner is only using a little sight, a little noise and emotional sense. ... For every time the exact phrase was heard the boy struggles to find an answer for it, so he always goes to his room and rides his rocking wooden horse. Paul rides a rocking-horse, until something somehow tells him the winner of a horse race. ...
In the short story "The Rocking-Horse Winner," D.H. ... He begins riding his wooden rocking horse to find the winner of the horse races. ... His anxiety about the winner kept him from sleeping that night, so he began riding the horse furiously. ... He rides a rocking horse to win wealth, and to silence the "whispering" of the house. ... In the end, Paul died of a brain fever brought on by his dissatisfaction and his obsession with riding his wooden rocking horse to find a winner. ...
"The Rocking-Horse Winner- is a short story written by D.H. ... On his last rocking horse ride, Paul screamed "Malabar! ... At first the "rocking-horse- was Paul's favorite toy; he "knew the horse could take him- wherever he needed to go. ... Paul did not care; he gained his inspiration for the horse races from his rides on the "rocking-horse."" ... He was always glaring with his "big blue eyes- to find the winner when he would ride his "rocking-horse."" ...
Lawrence's short story, "The Rocking Horse Winner," is a prime example of an author cleverly applying this theoretical approach to the creation of a story. ... "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a story about a young boy who is desperately searching for luck and money in order to please his unhappy mother. ... The theme of "The Rocking Horse Winner" indicates the influence parents have on their children, according to the theory. ... All in all, "The Rocking Horse Winner" bears a striking resemblance to Lacan's view on the Psychoanalytic theory. ... "The rocking horse winner." ...
In "The Rocking-Horse Winner", Paul can be seen as a messianic figure, because he appears to become close to God when he rocks back and forth on his rocking-horse, and saves the house. ... Paul rides a rocking horse to become close to god, whereas the biblical figure of Saul/Paul was riding a horse into Damascus when he he encountered and became close to god. other references to this are the fact that the writer makes note of Paul's eyes, which in the bible Saul is struck blind briefly by god. ... In this story we can see that a rocking-horse can be used as a religious tool. Paul uses t...
Greed in The Rocking Horse Winner People need money to live, and enough to buy the basic goods one needs to survive, but everybody wants more money. ... The more money one has, the more money one wants, as is shown in the story, "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D. ... Paul, the child, knew that his family wanted money, and he knew that he was lucky, betting on the horses. ... He picked the horse, and the gardener placed the bet. ... (p. 169) The family, especially the mother, always wanted more money in the story "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D. ...