The Rocking Horse Winner, By D. H. Lawrence

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The Rocking Horse Winner, written by D. H. Lawrence, takes place in an emotionally unhealthy environment. Hester and her husband both have very low incomes but also have high-end standards of style. The father is always working, and the mother is constantly unhappy with her situation and dwells in that negativity to the point where she can’t bear to even love her children. Money was such a big issue that it was tearing the family apart. Her son recognizes this problem and sees how unhappy his mom is and can sense the lack of love she feels for him. The story walks through the journey of the young boy’s attempt to win his mother’s love, by listening to the rocking horse and gambling for more money. The story is riddled with superficial love, greed and luck as the overriding themes, which ultimately destroyed them.
The circumstantial love was introduced as an obvious theme in the first paragraph: “She married for love, and the love turned to dust.” This is a simple example of how love can lack real meaning and purpose. She was so mired in the negativity of living a lie and facing her failures, she was incapable of loving her own children. Loving someone shouldn’t depend on the circumstances around you, especially a child. This is what forces the boy to feel like he needs to earn her love. …show more content…
When he asked her what luck is, she responded, “It’s what causes you to have money. If you’re lucky you have money. That’s why it’s better to be born lucky than rich. If you’re rich, you may lose your money. But if you’re lucky, you will always get more money”. If he was able to gain luck, his mother might love him and the negativity at home might improve. However, he is forced to face reality when he realizes he is lucky and actually makes money to give to his mom, but it doesn’t change her love and the sense of hauntedness in the house didn’t

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