The Rocking Horse Winner
D.J. Lawrence writes in his short story, "The Rocking Horse Winner" that ". . . there must be more money. Oh, now, now! Now-there must be more money-more than ever!. . . " (653). Paul, the son, hears these words over and over as greed "whispers" them all around his family's home, all of the time, and even more so after giving five thousand dollars (which he won through his sixth sense) to his mother anonymously. The whole family hears it, though no one ever speaks of it - ever. Despite the fact that his relationship with his mother is a cold one, he feels a great need to help her feel his luck, which she thinks she has completely lost because of her unlucky husband. Paul also wants to quiet the house of the whispers, but in secrecy. He does this through his uncle Oscar, their gardener, Bassett, and the horse races. Paul's mother obviously has a lot of resentment for marrying her unlucky husband and also for her children. It is plain to see there is a below-normal level of love residing in their home. Lawrence writes that she idiotically married for love instead of luck a
Paul has a sixth sense for "picking a winner" when it comes to the horse races. To exercise this special sense, he will climb aboard his expensive and modern rocking horse and "ride" furiously until a winning horse's name pops into his mind. Because he is underage and wants to keep his betting a secret, he has Bassett place all of his bets for him. The more sure his guess is, the more money he will place on a particular horse. When he is positively sure, he will bet it all. When he has an idea of who the winning horse is, he bets only a part of his bank. When he doesn't have the slightest idea, he acts very cautiously, because that is where he mainly takes his losses (651). Fortunately, he wasn't bitten by the greed bug. He said he started it all for his mother (652). Paul bets his money on almost every horse because he wants so badly to quiet the whispering house. He is willing to bet it all: a truthful relationship with his mother, gaining an unhealthy gambling habit, and ultimately losing his life. One major issue this family has is a huge problem with greed. This
Some common words found in the essay are:
Horse Winner, Oh Now-there, Winner Unfortunately, DJ Lawrence, rocking horse, rocking horse winner, Rocking Horse, horse winner, relationship mother, five thousand dollars, five thousand, unlucky husband, sixth sense, thousand dollars, uncle oscar, horse races, paul mother,
Approximate Word count = 739
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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