Thomas Harper
Amy Carter
AP Literature
22 October 2013
A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot. (2009 Open-Ended Question for AP English Literature and Composition).
The Rocking-Horse Winner Symbols
The Rocking-Horse Winner is a tragic story that demonstrates how materialism is very destructive in people’s lives. D.H. Lawrence uses one of the main characters, Hester, to symbolize how greed heavily affects the idea of materialism. Hester’s need for money develops the idea that happiness and love is destroyed by the need for money. Lawrence uses money in her short story to convey the idea of how neglect from a mother destroys an innocent, young child such as Paul. Lawrence’s symbolism reveals that children like Paul need love and compassion from their elders. Hester, Paul’s rocking horse and the whispering of the house represent greed, selfishness, and love. They also reveal the character’s real feelings and thoughts of neglect, detachment, greed and selfishness.
One of the main symbols in Lawrence’s short story is Hester. She is the mother of Paul and both are main characters. Hester is a good representation of greed, selfishness and being materialistic. She values money more than her children “She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them” (Lawrence, 295). Hester is not capable of creating...
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... becomes very disappointed that his mother hasn’t shown any affection. All the money he won never got Hester to show any affection to him and crushes Paul’s heart. The love of his mother is gone because of her selfishness and greed she revealed when her son was just trying to make her happy so he can receive affection.
Hester, Paul’s rocking horse and the whispering of the house represent greed, selfishness, and love. They also reveal the character’s real feelings and thoughts of neglect, detachment, greed and selfishness. These symbols convey a theme and make the characters in the short story. The Rocking-Horse Winner is a tragic story where Paul dies trying to gain his mother’s love and compassion. The mother was just interested in the money he was winning in the derbies. The story conveys a major them of materialism and shapes the characters through the symbols.
In literary works, motifs help to convey symbolic significance in order to develop themes and the central message the author is attempting to portray. In All The Pretty Horses, McCarthy focuses specifically on horses and blood in relation to the main character’s overall development. Though John’s love for his horses never falters throughout his many trials, John’s transformation from a young boy to a mature adult is demonstrated by the expansion of that love and the dynamic motif of blood.
When being questioned on the identity of her child’s father, Hester unflinchingly refuses to give him up, shouting “I will not speak!…my child must seek a heavenly Father; she shall never know an earthly one!” (47). Hester takes on the full brunt of adultery, allowing Dimmesdale to continue on with his life and frees him from the public ridicule the magistrates force upon her. She then stands on the scaffold for three hours, subject to the townspeople’s disdain and condescending remarks. However, Hester bears it all “with glazed eyed, and an air of weary indifference.” (48). Hester does not break down and cry, or wail, or beg for forgiveness, or confess who she sinned with; she stands defiantly strong in the face of the harsh Puritan law and answers to her crime. After, when Hester must put the pieces of her life back together, she continues to show her iron backbone and sheer determination by using her marvelous talent with needle work “to supply food for her thriving infant and herself.” (56). Some of her clients relish in making snide remarks and lewd commends towards Hester while she works, yet Hester never gives them the satisfaction of her reaction.
Hester begins her life in a “happy infancy” (48.31) as a beautiful, beloved, though perhaps somewhat vapid child. Lost in memory during her stay on the scaffold, she recalls feeling drawn to stare at her own face in the mirror, “glowing with girlish beauty” (49.5), and admiring her reflection.
Hester showed extreme strength and courage when she takes the child away. A deep impression of her courage is felt when her face was described. The book said she had a "burning blush and ahaughty smile." This can alsoshow her as being rebelliousbecause most perople wouldn't raise their head, much less with a haughty smile. The glance she gave the crowd was what put it over the top. She was being bold and it was like she was saying, "Look you can't punish me anymore I've served my time." Though her crime was very wrong, admiration is felt due to her braveness. Then the people saw her A and how elaborately it was decorated.
A Comparison of the Magic in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" and "A Very Old Man With
In time, the Puritan community comes to see the letter as meaning "Able" or "Angel" and not just a symbol of guilt. Hester’s sensitivity with the victims of society turns her symbolic meaning from a person whose life was originally sinful and sombre, to a strong and understanding woman with consideration for the humanity of others. In Hester’...
The fragile nature of man is made known in the intimate thoughts and struggles shared through the internal monologues of Hester and Paul in the “Rocking-Horse Winner.”
When reading “The Rocking Horse Winner,” you quickly notice the introduction sets a tone carried throughout the story. Sadly, you quickly notice that the tone of this story is rather depressing. Both of these stories share an interesting similarity; the generational curse. Paul claims that God had told him he was in fact lucky. Coisendenlly even though Paul makes this statement he continues to gamble on horses to make money. Gambling is a true sin, something Paul seems to ignore. The house in the story whispers throughout the day, this is the author’s means of portraying personification. Paul continues to rid...
Once he learns that luck brings money, the very component his mother yearns for, he goes on a mission with his trusty steed. He becomes violent hitting his wooden rocking horse with a whip and commands it, "'Now, take me to where there is luck! Now take me!'" (Lawerence 412). His obsession causes him to act out of character because the one items he cherishes has to endure the displaced frustration he has toward Hester. This shows how much he wants his mother to acknowledge his existence in her life. His goal in finding luck is to also find money in anticipation that Hester's search will cease forcing all of her attention on him. Paul not only loses his temperament but his childhood as well. He becomes preoccupied with gambling when it should be superheroes and sports. He rocks on his horse compulsively until he falls ill screaming out the winning horse's name: "'Malabar! It's Malabar!'" (Lawerence 412). As his prediction comes true, Hester collects the prize money, and Paul believes he has obtained the unobtainable. He hunts for her acceptance one last time asking, "'Over eighty thousand pounds! I call that lucky, don't you mother?'" (Lawerence 422). Hester replies, "'No, you never did'" (422), and he dies later that night without ever knowing his worth. She is unable to give him his dying wish of her
In the book All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy, symbolism is shown in multiple different ways. Symbolism is the usage of symbols to represent ideas and qualities. When reading the book, in the beginning these symbols do not tend to stand out, but as the plot continues symbols are found everywhere. Multiple symbols are used throughout the story like horses, blood and water. Some more less-noticeable symbols are dust, religion, and sunsets.
Hester is indeed a sinner, adultery is no light matter, even today. On the other hand, her sin has brought her not evil, but good. Her charity to the poor, her comfort to the broken-hearted, her unquestionable presence in times of trouble are all direct results of her quest for repe...
Symbols can be used to convey a special meaning to the reader by association, especially when a material object is used to represent something abstract. Throughout the years, American writers have been using their works as a way to describe society to their broad audiences. As time periods change, writers as well as readers change their view about society. Several factors affect how readers view society in a piece of literature. To get a better understanding of the society expressed in a piece of literature, one must consider not only the time period in which the work was written, but also the life of the author, the style in which the work was written, and criticism of the piece. In Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery,” the society is demonstrated as unchangeable due to the underlying fear and evil of human nature. By using, main types of symbols represented in this story, are characters' names and objects.
The story "The Rocking-Horse Winner" written by D. H. Lawrence tells of a young boy named Paul who tries to win his mother's affection by giving her that which she seems to want more than anything else, MONEY. The house in which the family lives is haunted by a voice that speaks the phrase, "There must be more money!" Everyone in the house can hear the voice but nobody ever acknowledges it. Paul and the family gardener, Bassett, begin to talk about horse races one day and they soon begin to bet on them. Paul's uncle, Oscar, learns of this and becomes a partner with Paul and Bassett. They are quite successful in their endeavor, because Paul is the one who chooses the horses that they bet on. They always seem to win. He goes about finding the winner by riding his rocking horse until the name of the winning horse becomes clear in his head. This method has never the team. Paul decides to give his mother, Hester, 5,000 pounds of his winnings, which is to be paid out one thousand pounds at a time on her birthday for the next five years. While Paul was trying to figure out the winner of the Derby, his mother went to check on him because she had heard a strange noise coming from his room. She opened the door and saw Paul rocking his horse like a madman. Paul screamed, "It's Malabar! It's Malabar!" and then collapsed onto the floor. Paul died a few nights later. This is obviously a story about family and the feelings of shame that we acquire from our parents that could have disastrous consequences for the whole family as was the case with Paul's. We will look at Paul's mother's obsession with money, Paul's plan to please his mother, and the price the family paid for wanting more money.
Within the story entitled The Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence, the audience is divulged into the sordid family life of a adolescent boy named Paul, where there are three obvious morals told through the story’s style and symbolism. Also present within The Rocking Horse Winner are elements of supernaturalism and cold harsh reality.
Symbolism is a literary technique that is used to clarify the author's intent. Sometimes it is used to great effect, while other times it only seems to muddle the meaning of a passage. In "Young Goodman Brown," Nathaniel Hawthorne uses objects and people as symbols to allegorically reveal his message to the reader.