The Power of the Author on a Novel

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D.H. Lawrence’s 1926 short story The Rocking-Horse Winner is one that defies the test of time. The story of Paul trying to save his family from money issues is still being read in literature classes today. One reason the short story is such a masterpiece is Lawrence’s ability to use the author of the tale to manipulate the reader and portray certain information. The stylistic features of the author in this short story portrays to the reader that the theme of the tale is the morale lesson, that money doesn’t fix life or character problems. The first indication Lawrence is writing a moral based short story is the demonstration by the author that the story is a fairy tale like telling. To begin with, the author of this short story is speaking in 3rd person. This short story is written in 3rd person, in a past tense, and in a time period which is relatively unknown besides of the date that the story was written. The author is using the tactic to employ a more mystical tone about the piece, creating an environment that is multi-generational instead of only necessary for a given time period. Also, the author begins the tale in a “Once upon a time” fashion. The author starts the story with, “There was a woman…” (137). This opening tells the reader immediately that this is a fairy tale like story, with a strong morale attached to the end of the piece. By the author of The Rocking-Horse Winner using a fairy tale retelling style, the author can conclude that the story is morale based. An obvious conclusion the author can ascertain from a fairy tale author style of this short story is that the author will focus on a central theme rather than the in-depth description building of a story. The author does not give back stories to character... ... middle of paper ... ...ntire life on attaining more money, still required more even after the son won an enormous amount mid-way through the short story. Uncle Oscar even knew the hardship Paul was in, yet still required more money for the family. On top of this, simply because the mother acquired a gigantic fund from Paul at the end of the story, the mother still couldn’t remember that Paul told her that he was lucky, clearly showing money couldn’t fix her mothering deficiencies. Uncle Oscar, possibly most heinous of them all, still only cared about money after he won a large amount at the end of the short story. After Oscar won the money, he didn’t give a second thought to Paul. “My God, Hester, you’re eight-odd thousand to the good, and a poor devil of a son to the bad. But, poor devil, poor devil, he’s best gone out of a life where he rides his rocking horse to find a winner” (149).

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