Appearances can be decieving

Appearances can be deceiving In the story "The Rocking Horse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence, it appears that the family is very happy, and Paul's mother is very loving and affectionate towards her kids, but she knows that is no so because they "read it in each others eyes."(p343) In reality she is cold-hearted woman who is incapable of loving her children. Even though Paul realizes this he still is craving attention and longing to be loved by his mother. To Paul luck is equal to money, and he thinks that the only way to win her love is to become lucky in order to get money. It is apparent to the reader that the appearance of happiness shown to people outside of the household is very different from the reality of what actually occurs in their home. By focusing on Paul's behavior he possesses when riding his horse, his mothers beliefs about luck and how they influence Paul's behavior in trying to win her love, and by his mother's behavior and reality of her actual love towards the children, it is apparent that D.H. Lawrence makes suggestions that things are not always what they seem.

Paul Walker

Paul Stang

[Portrait of Les Paul, Fat Tuesday, New York, N.Y....

The reader is also able to see that appearances are deceiving.

In the story, Paul's behavior regarding his rocking horse shows us how determined he was to get him to where he wanted to go. The horse appears to be harmless, but infact in reality it is like the Trojan Horse, which was also used for deception. The horse deceives Paul into thinking it "could take him to where there was luck, if only he forced it."(p345) He would ride furiously with a glare in his eyes, silently commanding the horse "Now, take me to where there is luck! Now take me,"(p345)...