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All the major characters in D. H. Lawrence’s, “The Rocking Horse Winner” revolve around the pursuit of materialistic abundance. In the story a boy, Paul, seems possessed to ride a rocking horse to supernaturally find a winning horse to an actual horse race, until he eventually dies because of it. The definition of materialistic in the American Heritage Dictionary, “The theory or attitude that physical well-being and worldly possessions constitute the greatest good and highest value in life” , can be useful to more clearly explain what is affecting the characters, especially Paul, in the story and to point out the irony of his pursuit.
With Paul, the pursuit of money is an obsession. He feverishly wants to show his mother that he can get what she wants- money. When persistently questioned by Paul about her luckiness, Paul’s mother gives up and says “Perhaps I’m not really [lucky]”, but Paul “saw by the lines of her mouth, that she was only trying to hide something from him.” - her belief in her ability to make money. Paul said, ”I’m a lucky person”, but “The boy saw that she did not believe him” and “this angered him somewhat, and made him want to compel her at
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Paul’s mother, Hester, throughout the story shows her bitter feelings and resentment towards her situation without enough money. You’ve made over seventy thousand pounds, you have. Quite ironically, Lawrence shows the materialism of Hester’s ways in the end when she walks in on Paul riding the rocking horse for the last time:
“Then suddenly she switched on the light, and saw her son in his green pajamas, madly surging on the rocking horse. The stress that materialistic pursuits cause can destroy a family and person. “And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: There must be more money!” The house is a metaphor for the underlying desires of the parents. As Paul shouted his last prediction, Oscar and Basset cashed in on it, even with Paul unconscious and near death.
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