There are similarities and differences between Nadine Gordimer's "Once Upon a Time" and D. H. Lawrence's "The Rocking Horse Winner." Both works take the reader on an emotional journey that deliver a social message with an impact. The authors' investigate fear, a mother/child relationship as well as the death of a child. The plot, character development, foreshadowing, and repetition are also worthy topics for evaluation.

The social message Ms. Gordimer tackles is that you cannot protect yourself from the evils of society. Because of their fears, the family in the story invites horror to their dwelling through an ever-expanding security system. Fear leads to paranoia, paranoia to tragedy. As the little boy, living out his fantasies becomes ensnarled in his parents' obsession, the tragedy unfolds and everyone is left searching for answers. The tale draws a clear parallel to a child shot by the family gun, or attacked by a guard dog purchased to protect property.

In contrast, D. H. Lawrence assesses the entrapments of gambling. He profiles a boy obsessed with winning at the horse track in order to please his mother. Fear, in this story, resides in

the boy's mind, as he struggles to prove his luck to his mother. His mother equates luck to money, henceforth, driving the child to accumulate money and in his mind become lucky. The mother's assumptions push the boy to the brink and beyond in an effort to determine which horse will win the race.

On the other hand, the writers display different styles in character development. D. H. Lawrence develops the gardener as a dynamic individual while Ms. Gordimer prefers to leave the serfs as flat characters. The added dialog from these characters in "The Rocking Horse Winner" adds depth and understanding to the story. The secret gambling relationship between the boy and the gardener is an integral part of the plot. Without this link, the boy would not have been able to support his mother's expensive tastes. The relationship also adds to the tension of the story by bringing an outsider into the fold and exposing the family secrets. Ms. Gordimer's approach effectively relies on imagery and foreshadowing to replace the direct dialog. The description of vagrants in the neighborhood and turmoil in the city, give the story a feeling of impending doom. The imagery is so powerful in "Once Upon a Time," that if the story were full of dialog, it could easily become overwhelming.

The two mothers in the stories view their roles in child rearing quite differently, unfortunately yield

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Approximate Word count = 937
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)