The Rocking-Horse Winner
—D.H.Lawrence
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Introduction---background/setting
plot
Character - Analysis
Style
Theme
Introduction
"The Rocking-Horse Winner" is a
short story by D. H. Lawrence. It
was first published in July 1926 in
Harper's Bazaar and subsequently
appeared in the first volume of
Lawrence's collected short stories.
It was made into a film under the
same title in 1950, directed by
Anthony Pelissier and starring John
Mills and Valerie Hobson.
木马赢家剧照
木马赢家剧照
Setting
The setting is post industrial
revolution England, and the story
takes place during a period the
Americans call ‘the roaring 20s, a
time characterized by greed and a
grasping materialism. The home
of the family is a posh suburban
English dwelling, maybe it is a
rural part of England within reach
of London.
A young boy
who notices
that his
mother
doesn’t love
him and his
sisters。
Paul
he rides the
rocking-horse
often and come
to find that he
can predict what
horse is going to
win the next big
horse race 。
mother
uncle
Basset
She becomes “dissatisfied with
her marriage” when she finds
that her husband is not lucky
and doesn’t make enough
money due to that fact 。
Provided the money that
Paul used to make his first
win at the horse race.
Signed the lawyer papers。
Becomes partners with
Paul and Basse
The family gardener. Is
the one who gets Paul
into horse racing, and
later becomes “betting
partners” 。
Summary
In "The Rocking-Horse
Winner," a young boy, Paul,
perceives that there is never
enough money in his family, he
sets out to find a way to get
money through luck. He
discovers that if he rides his
rocking-horse fast enough, he will
somehow "know" the name of the
winning horse in the next race.
He begins to make money
and secretly give this money to
his mother, but the desire for
more money only grows more
intense instead of going away. He
finally rides his rocking horse so
furiously in order to discover the
winner of the Derby that he falls
into illness and dies
Characters
 Young
Paul --- innocent, sensitive
and intelligent.
 the
mother --- a cold, unfeeling,
grasping(greedy), materialistic
woman disguised in the cover of a
loving mother and wife;
Characters
 the
husband --- more or less a
non-entity/never- do- well.
 English
gardener ---he is
passive, loyal, a little bit afraid of
his superiors, and somewhat
greedy to the extent
Characters
 Uncle
Oscar --- an unscrupulous
[ʌn'skru:pjuləs]寡廉鲜耻的；不讲道德的 man
who takes advantage of his
nephew’s supernatural talents to his
own advantage, without considering
for a moment the pressures such
activity may place upon the young
boy. shallow and selfish.
Style1
The opening paragraphs of story
are written in a style is similar to that
of a fairy tale. Instead of “once upon a
time,” Lawrence begins with “There
was a woman who was beautiful, who
started with all the advantages, yet
she had no luck.” This is a conscious
attempt on the part of the author to
use the traditional oral storytelling
technique.
Style2
This story also combines the
supernatural elements of a fable,
mainly Paul’s ability to “know” the
winners just by riding his rocking
horse, with the serious themes of an
unhappy marriage and an unhealthy
desire for wealth at all costs. The
story begins with fable-like simplicity
but ends with a serious message
about wasted lives.
themes
 Responsibility
 Generosity
and Greed
 Oedipus Complex
Responsibility
The mother :“tried this thing and the other,
obsession with
Wealth and
material items
V.S
but could not find anything successful.” When
Paul gives his mother 5,000 pounds from his
winnings, she spends all of it on material
things, causing an even more urgent need for
more money.
The father: whose main talents are having
expensive tastes and being handsome
responsibilities
of parenting
the responsibility of the parents to
provide for the children in a family
the responsibility of the parents to spend
money wisely and budget carefully
Generosity and Greed

Paul’s unselfish
generosity--- Paul
generously offers
all his winnings to
the family, in order
to relieve the
family and seems
to have no needs
of his own.
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Mother’s greed and
selfishness. ---she has
no idea where all this
money is coming from
and does not seem to
care. she has become so
obsessed with wealth
that her heart turns
completely to stone, so
that she cannot even feel
sad when her son dies.
Oedipus Complex
 Paul’s
desire to earn money for the
family can be said to be an
unconscious desire to take his
father’s place, a concept that
psychoanalyst [saikəu'ænəlist]
Sigmund Freud termed the
“Oedipus complex.”
Questions
 Does " luck" mean
money? How do you
define it.