Rocking-horse Winner (Forbidden Luck)
Society trains families to maintain a certain level of social ranking, however, there are certain implications as to how that status is to be maintained. In the Rocking-Horse Winner, Paul has an opportunity to try and help his family's desperate financial situation and he tries very hard to do so. Paul's assumption that his mother would stop him from riding his rocking-horse (which is his device to obtain luck for horse bets) is probably correct for three main reasons: he is simply too old to be playing with toys, she would not allow Paul to overtake the role of provider for the family, and her past experience with gambling has lead her to believe it has a negative impact. The first thing to consider about Paul's assumption that his mother would stop him, is the physical action of riding the horse. His mother sees the rocking-horse as a childish toy and she even confronts Paul about it; "Surely you're too big for a rocking-horse!" (293). Paul uses the excuse that he would like to keep the horse till he can have a real pet of his own. His mother accepts this answer, but only in a mocking way since Paul claims he simply likes having the horse ar
Paul's mother knows, through previous experience with her own family, the dangers of gambling. I think that her family's gambling problem in the past is the reason for her to associate the family's desperate financial situation with luck. She warns Paul that gambling causes damage, but ads that he won't understand till he's older. This is ironic because he has already been gambling and it is currently causing him damage. His health at this point in the story is deteriorating. Paul's mother's past experience with gambling would also make it unlikely that she would trust Paul's luck with the horse races. The 'damage' she is referring to is probably not a matter of health, but a matter of losing money. When Paul tells his mother at the beginning of the story that he is lucky, she laughs bitterly. This gives me the impression she does not believe him and would not knowingly consent to him gambling. The risk of losing money would seem to outweigh the thought of winning money. ound, and appears to not have a boyish need for the toy. She simply laughs and asks if the horse keeps him company. Paul's mother needs to believe her family is conve
Some common words found in the essay are:
Paul Surely, Winner Paul, , mother stop, paul's mother, past experience gambling, family's desperate financial, desperate financial situation, assumption mother stop, paul's assumption mother, luck horse, losing money, family's desperate, assumption mother, desperate financial, financial situation, horse mother, paul's assumption,
Approximate Word count = 782
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
|
