Family Values In The Rocking-Horse Winner - Essay Example

Lawrence was influenced greatly by the gothic, a form of art that sought to analyze the intricate workings of the mind too. The mystery of the supernatural force that remains with the reader even at the end of the story can be seen in this element of the gothic. Lawrence seems to be suggesting that certain elements of the mind can never be uncovered. What can be looked at is what the consequences of states of mind are. As Oscar Cresswell puts it, “But, poor devil, poor devil, he’s best gone out of a life where he rides his rocking horse to find a winner (Lawrence 1236)”.

The consequences of the actions of the mother who impresses the value of money and the synonymy of luck and money in a materialistic world on Paul at too young an age can be seen in these lines. The plot of the story is thus, one that looks at actions and their consequences. The point of view or perspective that is thus employed is one where the supernatural aspect of the story is made significant. Also, the story makes clear the importance of the action that the knowledge gained from the supernatural in the story and in the lives of the characters.

The narratorial voice is in the third person, but it is not an omniscient one. The supernatural and its mystery are kept alive through the lack of knowledge that even the narrator has. The actions that the supernatural knowledge of Paul causes are made known to the reader and so are the stakes with which he plays. However, the Gothic can be seen in the lack of information that the narrator is faced with. The mystery is finally uncovered at a point of time when the narrator and the reader gain simultaneous enlightenment.

The point of view also leads to the tension that builds up until the moment of revelation at the end of the story- “Then suddenly she switched on the light, and saw her son, in his green pajamas, madly surging on the rocking-horse.