'An Analysis Of Three Messages From The Rocking Horse Winner'
Three Messages
(An Analysis of Three Messages from Rocking Horse Winner)
Have you ever wished that you had more money? Have you ever thought of any ways you could bring more money your way? In the Rocking Horse Winner, the family lives well beyond their means. There are many messages that you could get from this story. How people take those messages and interpret them is up to them. Greed, sorrow, and guilt are three messages from The Rocking Horse Winner.” The first message from The Rocking Horse Winner is greed. The family in this story live well beyond their means. This means they have an expensive taste in lifestyle, and not enough money to support that habit. In the beginning of the story, the mother tells Paul that they are unlucky, so they don’t have a lot of money. She says, “Well -- I suppose it’s because your father has no luck,” when asked why they are the poor members of the family. (Page 1248) She believes that they are poor because they are unlucky, not because they have an expensive taste in lifestyle. As Little Richard once said, “Greed has taken the whole universe, and nobody is worried …show more content…
about their soul.” It was also once said by Nina Simone that, “Greed has driven the world crazy. And I think I'm lucky that I have a place over here that I can call home.” These two quotes fit with this story because the mother is so greedy that she overlooks the important things in life. Because of this, she loses a lot in the end. A second message from The Rocking Horse Winner is sorrow.
There ends up being a lot of sorrow from many people in this story. In the beginning of the story when Paul is told they are unlucky, he feels bad for his family. He wants to help his mother because rich, so he tries to convince her that he is lucky. He says, “ Well, anyhow I’m a lucky person.” (Page 1249) Because of this, he goes through many obstacles to show his mom that he was a lucky person. Henry Longfellow said, “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” This tell us that we never know what problems people are facing and we judge them anyway. As Shakespeare once said, “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.” Paul's problems may have seemed small, but to him they were really serious and
important. Guilt is another message or theme from the story, The Rocking Horse Winner. Paul worked so hard to prove his luck to his mother, that he lost his life in the end. He went crazy in the process, and that ended up taking his life from him and his family. Some may think that the mother feels guilty for his death; others however, believe that she did not feel guilty. It says in the story, “My God, Hester, you’re eighty-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.” (Page 1261) This shows that the uncle doesn’t really feel bad. However, we will never know how the mother was affected because that is how the story ends. Voltaire once said, “every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.” This quote shows that even though the mother was not directly involved, she may still be somewhat responsible in Paul’s death. Clearly, there are many messages from the story Rocking Horse Winner. Greed is a very big theme or message. That family cared more about money than anything else in their life. Sorrow is another message, but not all family members may have felt sorrow. Paul felt a lot of sorrow, and it costed him his life in the end. Guilt is the last message from this story. We may never know if the mother felt guilty for her son's death or not. However, by the sounds of the story, the uncle did not feel bad at all.
Works Cited
Ph.D., Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, Sandy Olliges M.A., CFP Brad Klontz Psy.D., and Leon F Seltzer
Ph.D. "50 Quotes on Greed." Psychology Today. Stephanie Sarkis Ph.D., 10 Feb. 2012.
Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
Longfellow, Henry W. "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Quotes (Author of The Midnight Ride of
Paul Revere)." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Quotes (Author of The Midnight Ride of Paul
Revere). Goodreads, 2015. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.
Shakespreare, William. "Sorrows." Phrasefinder. Gary Martin, 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.
Voltaire. "Every Man Is Guilty of All the Good He Did Not Do." Philosiblog. Philosiblog, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.
(An Analysis of Three Messages from Rocking Horse Winner)
Have you ever wished that you had more money? Have you ever thought of any ways you could bring more money your way? In the Rocking Horse Winner, the family lives well beyond their means. There are many messages that you could get from this story. How people take those messages and interpret them is up to them. Greed, sorrow, and guilt are three messages from The Rocking Horse Winner.” The first message from The Rocking Horse Winner is greed. The family in this story live well beyond their means. This means they have an expensive taste in lifestyle, and not enough money to support that habit. In the beginning of the story, the mother tells Paul that they are unlucky, so they don’t have a lot of money. She says, “Well -- I suppose it’s because your father has no luck,” when asked why they are the poor members of the family. (Page 1248) She believes that they are poor because they are unlucky, not because they have an expensive taste in lifestyle. As Little Richard once said, “Greed has taken the whole universe, and nobody is worried …show more content…
about their soul.” It was also once said by Nina Simone that, “Greed has driven the world crazy. And I think I'm lucky that I have a place over here that I can call home.” These two quotes fit with this story because the mother is so greedy that she overlooks the important things in life. Because of this, she loses a lot in the end. A second message from The Rocking Horse Winner is sorrow.
There ends up being a lot of sorrow from many people in this story. In the beginning of the story when Paul is told they are unlucky, he feels bad for his family. He wants to help his mother because rich, so he tries to convince her that he is lucky. He says, “ Well, anyhow I’m a lucky person.” (Page 1249) Because of this, he goes through many obstacles to show his mom that he was a lucky person. Henry Longfellow said, “Every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” This tell us that we never know what problems people are facing and we judge them anyway. As Shakespeare once said, “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions.” Paul's problems may have seemed small, but to him they were really serious and
important. Guilt is another message or theme from the story, The Rocking Horse Winner. Paul worked so hard to prove his luck to his mother, that he lost his life in the end. He went crazy in the process, and that ended up taking his life from him and his family. Some may think that the mother feels guilty for his death; others however, believe that she did not feel guilty. It says in the story, “My God, Hester, you’re eighty-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.” (Page 1261) This shows that the uncle doesn’t really feel bad. However, we will never know how the mother was affected because that is how the story ends. Voltaire once said, “every man is guilty of all the good he did not do.” This quote shows that even though the mother was not directly involved, she may still be somewhat responsible in Paul’s death. Clearly, there are many messages from the story Rocking Horse Winner. Greed is a very big theme or message. That family cared more about money than anything else in their life. Sorrow is another message, but not all family members may have felt sorrow. Paul felt a lot of sorrow, and it costed him his life in the end. Guilt is the last message from this story. We may never know if the mother felt guilty for her son's death or not. However, by the sounds of the story, the uncle did not feel bad at all.
Works Cited
Ph.D., Rodolfo Mendoza-Denton, Sandy Olliges M.A., CFP Brad Klontz Psy.D., and Leon F Seltzer
Ph.D. "50 Quotes on Greed." Psychology Today. Stephanie Sarkis Ph.D., 10 Feb. 2012.
Web. 07 Mar. 2017.
Longfellow, Henry W. "Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Quotes (Author of The Midnight Ride of
Paul Revere)." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Quotes (Author of The Midnight Ride of Paul
Revere). Goodreads, 2015. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.
Shakespreare, William. "Sorrows." Phrasefinder. Gary Martin, 2017. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.
Voltaire. "Every Man Is Guilty of All the Good He Did Not Do." Philosiblog. Philosiblog, 21 Nov. 2012. Web. 08 Mar. 2017.