Luck is what everybody wishes for; without luck, life is harder to run and can never be as glamorous as it would be if you had luck. Money can appear through gambling if you have luck, even the happiness of meeting "the one" is luck. Luck can only change people's destinies for the better--or can it be fatal? In "The Rocking-Horse Winner," striving for luck controls an entire family"s schema, some convinced of being born without it, and another "knowing" that he has it. D.H. Lawrence's protagonist, Paul, is a little boy who can prove his mother wrong and establish that he really does have luck. Through a series of related incidents in the plot, Lawrence illustrates his theme that the lack of luck is the lack of life. .
The power of luck is greatly demonstrated by Master Paul. He spies on his mother, who leads an unlucky life, seeing what "failure [can do, to] make deep lines come into her face" (200). This shows aging and success is never near. His father "had good prospects [although] his prospects never materialized" (200). Material things will only come side by side along with luck. The boy witnessed the heartbreak of his mother, knowing no matter how hard she tries, she could not become victorious. He came across the question: Is luck money? No, "it's what causes you to have money" (201). After hearing this, he himself had his heart set upon the fact that he needed luck; he needed success, he needed to find out if he was born with luck, and if he was, how to make a product of it. .
Paul has a mental connection with his product of luck: his rocking-horse. "He knew the horse could take him to where there was luck, if only he forced it" (203). He would mount himself on the rocking-horse and take it on a "furious ride" in high hopes of getting to the mysterious "there" (203). He is constantly told that he is too old to ride on the back of the rocking-horse, however, he is convinced that he will be satisfied only when he gets to a place with luck.