Similarities Between 'Rocking-Horse Winner And The Most Dangerous Game'

Fiction Essay
English 102: Literature and Composition
Summer 2011

MLA Style

Perseverance Played Out
“The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Most Dangerous Game”
In D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and Richard Connell’s “The Most Dangerous Game”, the reader is given insight into the lives of two males: Sanger Rainsford in Most Dangerous Game, and a boy, Paul, in Rocking-Horse. Equally Lawrence and Connell are wickedly clever in their details, characteristics, irony, imagery and symbolic nature, as to enable the reader to feel the protagonist’s emotional turmoil as it unravels. Both Paul and Rainsford have a heart of passion and perseverance to succeed. Although Paul an impressionable
Lawrence depicts a young boy Paul who is eager to please his mother’s insatiable appetite for materialistic things; in doing so it endangers his well-being both mentally and physically. Paul also hungers for his mother’s affection. When Paul confronts his mother about being poor she responds by an accusatory remark, “It’s because your father has no luck” (Lawrence 366; ch.10). The boy understands very well after a few moments of conversation that luck to his mother, means money. Paul tells his mother, “I’m a lucky person”, which she took flippantly (Lawrence 367; ch. 30). Offended by her seemingly blatant disbelief, Paul starts to demonstrate an unmovable path to win his mother’s love and prove he could satisfy the whispering in the house, “There must be more money” (Lawrence 366; ch. 5). In comparison to the character of Paul in Lawrence’s story let’s transition to Sanger Rainsford in Richard Connells, “The Most Dangerous Game”, the similarities of Paul-Rocking-Horse, and Rainsford-Dangerous Game, are quite amazing. Rainsford an avid hunter and WWI veteran has an uncanny passion for hunting and is an extremely unwavering, righteous man. Connell depicts Rainsford as an experienced caring man with an uncanny eye. By painting Rainsford as a WWI survivor Connell shows the reader a compassionate, indomitable hero with great regard and respect for life. The reader catches a glimpse of this unwavering determination in the beginning of the
Irony using the fear of being hunted; “….We should have some good hunting up the Amazon. Great sport, hunting” said Whitney (Connell 1). “The best sport in the world,” agreed Rainsford. “For the hunter,” amended Whitney. “Not for the jaguar” (Connell 1). The conversations continue but with no prevail. Rainsford does not believe that jaguars have understanding of anything, but according to Connell jaguars understand one thing and that one thing is-fear….”the fear of pain and the fear of death.” (1). Rainsford of course believes that there are only two classes of people in the world-“the hunters and the huntees” (Connell1). Rainsford believes himself to be lucky, for he is the hunter. (Connell1). When Rainsford finds himself on Ship-Trap Island being hunted by General Zaroff, antagonist, it is he who fears and has become the huntee. Now turning to the irony, imagery and symbolic nature portrayed in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence, image of the rocking-horse “… rather shabby stood in an arrested stance….’ in the corner of the room, reveals a realistic view of waiting in time to get there (373; ch. 205). The irony of Paul riding his stationary toy rocking-horse wildly and fiercely in pursuit of what he believes to be luck and as the story unfolds