Theme Of Gambling In The Rocking Horse Winner

According to The National Gambling Impact Study Commission, the estimated report is that nearly 15 million men, women and children have a problem or pathological addiction to gambling. Problem gambling can be defined in many ways, it can be viewed as a addiction or a behavioral problem that can lead to family and psychosocial problems as well. In the story The Rocking Horse Winner, the topic of gambling addiction is illustrated through the theme of luck, greed and the overall impact of the addiction. From the start of the story, Paul's has a complicated life with a mother who loved money more than her children and in the end, Paul's desire of wanting to feel loved led to his excessive gambling addiction resulted in his death. Nonetheless, in recent studies, it's been shown that there is a direct relationship between society's stance on gambling behavior and the occurrence of family and psychosocial problems.

From the beginning of the story, Paul's mother, Hester was described as someone who was heartless and materialistic. She was a women who was "beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them. They looked at her coldly, as if they were finding fault with her. And hurriedly she felt she must cover up some fault in herself. Yet what it was that she must cover up she never knew." Hester was the root of the problem, not only could she not provide motherly love for her children, she influenced Paul with her poor judgment on luck. When Paul asked her why their family does not own a car like their uncle, Hester responded by bl...

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...nd 18 are pathological gamblers, which is a much higher percentage than adults." Therefore, the society needs to be more aware of the growing number of underage gamblers to come up with ways to approach the situation.

All in all, the results of gambling can be quite devastating and therefore, pathological gambling is defined as a disorder by the American Psychiatric Association. Lawrence accomplishes the goal of illustrating the impact of such addiction that it can have on someone through dramatic relationships between each characters. As shown in the story, Paul was affected by his gambling addiction both physically and mentally to the point of his death. It is time that we take a more serious approach towards gambling addiction because there is a possibility that someone is in great need of help and we can help change their life for the better.