In The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence, the family was unable to
see what they really had going for them.
Corrupted Conformity
Many times, people believe that they must achieve a certain social
status within a community due to the need of acceptance, or perhaps,
simply the fear of being rejected. Communities normally demonstrate a
positive atmosphere. They are supposed to be places where everyone
knows and is kind to one another; one where people feel comfortable
with each other. Although the idea of community and solidarity is
usually something to be looked at in a positive way, as illustrated in
“The Rocking-Horse Winner”, “The Lottery”, and “The Shining Houses”,
certain individuals suffer greatly when they are presented with the
idea, or forced, to conform.
In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence, the family was unable
to see what they really had going for them, or more so the mother,
until it was gone. The mother was so concerned with the fact that she
had no money, and what the town would think of her. She was one of
those people who needed to feel accepted within a community. Never did
she show love towards her children, “When her children were present,
she felt the center of her heart go hard” (Lawrence 18). The family
was not necessarily all that poor; it was just how the mother
perceived the situation. She was a very materialistic woman and
therefore felt the need to spend whatever money she got on all the
chicest, most expensive items. Just because she did not have any
money, did not mean that she couldn’t lead others to believe she did.
Or so she thought. She had her children believing that they, too,
needed to find a way to get more money; her son Paul did.
Unfortunately, ...
... middle of paper ...
...lly presented. One woman plainly states
her case, and the point that all the community thinks about is how it
looks to others: “It’s unfortunate. We all know that. But we have to
think of the community” (Munro 72). They are plainly aware that what
they want is wrong, but because they want what’s best for the so-called
community, they are willing to sacrifice the happiness and well-being of
Mrs. Fullerton.
For some people, being well-known, having money, and being recognized
is more important that some of life’s requirements, such as love.
People are willing to sacrifice what good they have in their lives, in
order to appear more appealing to others. What others think of them is
their top priority. It is unfortunate that in most cases, this way of
thinking has the ability to ruin a person. Why be like everyone else,
when they could be their own person?
she was afraid to go shopping or spend any money on her own. All three of
When individuals face obstacles in life, there is often two ways to respond to those hardships: some people choose to escape from the reality and live in an illusive world. Others choose to fight against the adversities and find a solution to solve the problems. These two ways may lead the individuals to a whole new perception. Those people who decide to escape may find themselves trapped into a worse or even disastrous situation and eventually lose all of their perceptions and hops to the world, and those who choose to fight against the obstacles may find themselves a good solution to the tragic world and turn their hopelessness into hopes. Margaret Laurence in her short story Horses of the Night discusses the idea of how individual’s responses
Before setting out, she gave herself a list of rules she had to follow so that her experience would be as real as it could be. Her first rule was when looking for a job she couldn't mention the skills she had learned from her education. Second, she had to take the highest paying job that was being offered to her. Third, she had to live in the cheapest accommodation that she could, providing that it was a safe environment. Going hungry and being homeless weren't ever able to be options.
...d the fact that every time she moved into a different state, she found work and a decent place to stay with money in hand. It was not her intention to help those who are of the working class. She did not suffer any great damages. And at no point in time did she go without bare necessities such as the individuals that lead the life she lived for a few months.
... a richer man and save her dying mother and siblings from living a life of poverty and hunger. As a last example is the nanny, Anne, when she said that she too had to abandon her children, because she did not have the money to raise them and she found the job as a nursemaid.
In this story, the horse dealer's daughter is a young woman named Mabel, who has recently discovered that her family has lost all its money, her brothers can go off and make their own way in the world, but Mabel has nowhere to go. There are a few options open to her -- going to live with a sister, becoming a servant -- but she has run her family's household ever since her mother's death and none of these options are acceptable to her.
...early, the people in the town of Jefferson, Mississippi were probably okay with this tragedy happening since she did not receive much of a punishment for what she did. Whether if something like this happened in the past or present day, Emily Grierson harmed herself mainly. “Poor Emily” was not used because the community felt sorry for her loneliness, they only was judging and doubting her for who she loved.
For the purpose of research and measurement of the scholars interpretive analysis skills, the scholar has chosen to critique work by Ralph Ellison entitled “Battle Royal”. In this paper, one will find what it means to be invisible. I argue from two different perspectives regarding who is invisible in the novel, and to whom those revealed persons are invisible to. Revealed will also be themes discovered throughout the story along with the authors use of irony that’s revealed in the work. In this work one will find supporting text from scholars who have taken issue with stereotyping, race relations in society along with one’s who have also critiqued Ellison’s work.
...e, from then on she only did things she thought her parents would completely disapprove of. This path led her to many interesting endeavors from belching to swearing to all kinds of unladylike behavior which ultimately led to her becoming a prostitute. She was at a loss or cash and she would not are ask er parents for help, and no one around would hire such an unskilled worker whom of which was suppose to be in high school. At this point in time there were just no were to apply for since all these women joined the workforce do to their husbands in the war. One day when walking the streets she walked into a man by the name of Maurice whom propositioned to a way to make money for such a young good looking girl. He began calling her Sunny because of her high class look, Samantha did not protest too much because she enjoyed the chance to further protest her family ties.
Ever since she was a young girl. Jeannette had set high goals for herself. Since she was so advanced in school and genuinely enjoyed learning, it made sense that she would want to do big things with her life. Whether it was being a veterinarian or a geologist, her dreams extended far beyond her homes in little desert towns or Welch, West Virginia. However, because of her poverty-stricken home life, many people believed it didn’t seem likely that she would be so successful. One day, while living in Welch, Jeannette goes to the bar to drag her drunk father back home. A neighborhood man offers them a ride back to their house, and on the ride up he and Jeannette start a conversation about school. When Jeannette tells the man that she works so hard in school because of her dream careers, the man laughs saying, “for the daughter of the town drunk, you sure got big plans” (Walls 183). Immediately, Jeannette tells the man to stop the car and gets out, taking her father with her. This seems to be a defining moment in which Jeannette is first exposed to the idea that she is inferior to others. Although this man said what he did not mean to offend her, Jeannette is clearly very hurt by his comment. To the reader, it seems as if she had never thought that her family’s situation made her subordinate to those
The short story, "Rocking-Horse Winner", and the movie based on it contrast considerably. When the written story has ended the movie continues with ideas, which may not come from the author. Three major differences of the two are: the mother, the father, and the ending. In the movie the mother, Hester, is portrayed as a loving and self-sacrificing person. While in the short story she is exposed to be a cold-hearted, and greedy person. Another instance where the short story and movie differ is the role of the father.
was raised by an upper-class family who resented her and did not want her, therefore
Many authors are recognized by a reoccurring theme found throughout their works. The author D.H. Lawrence can be classified into this group. He is well known for his reoccurring theme that romantic love is psychologically redeeming. He wrote “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter” , a short story that exemplifies this theme quite accurately, in 1922 (Sagar 12). Through excellent use of symbolism in “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter”, Lawrence renders his theme of romantic love being psychologically redeeming through the emotional development of the two main characters, Mabel and Dr. Fergusson.
her life. She longed to live an independent life, but struggled to earn a living wage with the jobs she
poor. Zelda also didn 't want to because she was interested in money.Gatsby chasing after