A Critical Analysis of The Rocking Horse Winner - Essay Example

English: 6 November 2005 A critical analysis of the Rocking Horse Winner In the “Rocking Horse Winner” money proves to truly be the root of all evil. The Bible even declares the love of money is the entryway of greed. The reality in behind this is the fact that too much money is never enough. This idea is clearly seen through the literature in D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking Horse Winner”. What is very sad about this whole short story is the knowledge that the son wanted nothing more than his mothers’ approval and her love.

He also wanted to help her feel satisfied financially. In attempting to achieve these things, she brought him down in his own life, ultimately ending in his tragic death. The author really does a wonderfully, descriptive job in bringing the main focus of this story into reality. It shows that though you can have nice things, a comfortable home, and financial security, there is still a craving for more. Even the house, that Paul and his family live in, seems to harbor a desire for wealth, from within itself.

It seems the house comes alive with the desire for money as the following literary passage shows: “There must be more money! There must be more money!” (Lawrence 288) The voice of the house is heard by everyone though no one mutters a syllable about it. The voice literally drives Paul half crazed and his only hope in shutting the house up is to win more money, or so he believes. Unfortunately, this does not work either because now the house is feeling of greed and wants more. In fact, the voice is more declarative after receiving the first sum of money and now is even louder and more demanding.

“There must be more money… Now www… More than ever!” (296) From here on the greed and demand for money grows progressively worse. Paul had somehow hoped his mother would finally show she loved him but still she remained as she’d been when she would feel her children near, “the center of her heart would go hard” (287). She was a mother that did not know how to love her children. The only love the book shows she gave was her adoration to money. Further, in the following comment we see how much she was enthralled with it.

“If you’re lucky, you will always get more money” (289). This proves she only valued the worth of the dollar and what it could bring her. If she feels there isn’t enough then she becomes resentful and preoccupied with the idea that they will never have a substantial amount. In concluding this critique of Lawrence’s short story, there is a grave lesson to be learned here. The obsession with money and the urge to get more only leads in self destruction, such as happened to Paul. In the end he almost seemed possessed by the evil of money.

His innocence was shattered and his life consumed, then taken. Money can’t possibly be worth losing your life for, but Lawrence’s depictions in this literary work prove that for some, it’s worth their very souls. Works Cited 1. D.H. Lawrence, The Rocking-Horse Winner, A Treasury of Short Stories (1947)