Analysis Of The Story 'The Rocking-Horse Winner'

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Love is the Mirage in the Desert The Rocking-Horse Winner is a story about a dysfunctional family. The father is largely ignored as he does not bring in the necessary funds to support the lifestyle the parents are accustomed to. The story only mentions the husband so that the reader knows he is present, and then put aside for the remainder of the story. Uncle Oscar and the gardener Bassett both serve as role models throughout the story in his place. Both parents seek to live far beyond their means, as a result of this the house echos with the words “There must be more money!” (890) This brings about the idea of the house being haunted although it is never voiced aloud. Paul attempts to fix the family money woes with the help of his rocking …show more content…

With the help of the gardener, his Uncle Paul, and the rocking horse he is able to place bets on the winning horse races and start bringing in income. Although his mother is never happy, always needing more money. This is seen when he anonymously gives one thousand pounds to his mother as a present per year as a present. When the mother receives the present rather than being happy she states her present was “Quite moderately nice” in an emotionless tone (896). This is no doubt due to despite the unexpected windfall greed rears its ugly head, as people always want more than they have. This is confirmed when she wants the entire amount immediately. Paul himself is effected by the greed in a different way as he sees the rocking horse as a way to simply make more money. That said, greed has just as much a firm grip on Paul when he has trouble determining winning horses he “was in agony” and “became wild-eyed and strange” (897). Ironically this change brings him the closest to his mother, but in his single minded goal for more money he fails to notice her concern for him. To Paul as far as he knows, the only way to make his mother recognize him is to make money with his rocking

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