Effects Of Love and Money D.H. Lawrence "The Rocking Horse Winner"

Essay by dlb9258College, UndergraduateA, November 2004

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Effects of Love and Money

In Lawrence's short story "The Rocking Horse Winner," a boy named Paul exhibits the desire of every human being, to be loved. Paul's driving force to be loved appears in several aspects of the story including the values and attributes his parents instill in him, the symbolic representation of Paul's life and death as shown by his parent's relationship, and the maddeningly "talking" rocking horse. First, Paul's life represents the course of his parents' relationship from life to death. When the love and affection from his mom dwindled away, he concluded money equates happiness. Paul's mom displayed an insatiable appetite for money, creating the same value and desire for money in Paul's value system. Paul believed if he obtained money his mom would truly love him; thereby, fulfilling the void of love in his life. In order to meet his mom's heart's desire, Paul initiates an ongoing riding cycle with the rocking horse.

The mother's never ending fulfillment compels Paul forward, maddeningly forward on his rocking horse.

Both Paul and his mom long for their individual heart's desire with Paul's mom obsessed over money due to the fact she wanted something to fill the empty cavern where her husband's love once resided. Not only was Paul tormented, Paul's mom found her heart echoing the phrase, "There must be more money." Soon the phrase pervaded the house. Because Paul took upon his parents' values, he took upon the responsibility to get more money. His parents both exhibited laziness as his dad just went to "some office" and his mom never experienced success when she tried to make money (225). Paul felt the same stress and concern for money as his parents exemplified this need throughout his life. Watkins stated they "passed down to their...