“Rocking Horse Winner” p. 285

“Rocking Horse Winner”p. 285 By D. H. Lawrence (1885-1930)

D. H. Lawrencehttp://www.nottingham.ac.uk/mss/online/dhlawrence/biog-brief.phtml • English novelist, short story writer, critic, poet, and painter • Son of a heavy- drinking coal miner • Most famous novel was Lady Chatterly’s Lover

Sons and Lovers autobiographical novel detailing the difficulties of his childhood Believed in sex and intuition as the keys to an accurate perception of reality D. H. Lawrence

Types of Conflict in “Rocking Horse Winner” Plot • Person vs. person • Person vs. self • Person vs. environment

Conflict • Identify the moves from • Exposition to • Complication to • Climax to • Denouement.

Physical: Man-made Setting • Pleasanthouse • orderly • “superior”

Protagonist = Paul Round character Static or developing? why? Antagonists = Mother Society Characterization

Other Characters • The parents, like the horse, remain unnamed. • What is the effect of this?

Mother • Relatively flat character though with some complexity • Gentle and anxious • Adoring • Expensive taste • Works at sketching ads of wealthy people in furs • Father • Stock character • Handsome • Expensive taste • “Unlucky” • Uncle Oscar-flat • Bassett-flat

Title and Pt. of View • Title • What clues does the title give to the author’s intent and emphasis? • Third person omniscient point of view • Find evidence for this. • Why is this the most effective choice?

House Wealth Superiority Superficiality Empty of love like the mother Rocking Horse Fake Materialistic values Wooden dream Going nowhere Symbolism Major Symbols

Figurative Language • Filthy Lucre/Lucker • Verbal irony—lucre (money) and luck are essentially the same thing in the mother’s and the boy’s minds. • Other Symbolism • Mother’s job sketching furs • Like the rocking horse, this is a mockery of the reality she wishes for. • Other symbols?

Theme • The search for material wealth gets one nowhere. Only love and sacrifice can give meaning to life.

“Rocking Horse Winner” p. 285