The Rocking Horse Winner Analysis

“Thus I Refute Beelzy” by John Collier and “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence are two extraordinary short stories in which possess many significant similarities and differences. “Thus I Refute Beelzy” is about a boy named Little Simon, who talks of a character named “Mr. Beelzy” whom he plays with every afternoon in the garden. As the story progresses, the external conflict emerges when his father, Mr. Carter, ironically disapproves with his imaginative games. He therefore attempts to justify to his son that his character is not real despite Little Simon's pleads. “The rocking horse winner” is about a boy named Paul, who believes that when he rides his rocking-horse, he obtains knowledge of the winning horse in the upcoming derbies. His mother feels her family does not have enough money because she married an unlucky man. Paul consequently becomes determined to allay his mother’s discontent by betting on horses to earn money. Both authors clearly implement several vital devices by incorporating
The importance of the atmosphere is fundamental in the process of these stories outcomes as they progress. Another key similarity these two stories have in common is that they both take place in an unstable household with conflicting emotions. The anxious atmosphere in “The Rocking Horse Winner” escalates when the children hear the houses unspoken whisper “There must be more money! There must be more money” (Pg. 307). In contrast, the father’s apparent obsession with control in “This I Refute Beelzy” also creates tension within his family, revealing his lack of respect towards others. Consequently, the tension intensifies when Big Simon asks Small Simon, “What is the pretend?” (pg. 305), and Small Simon replies, “Big Simon and Small Simon” (Pg. 305). The combination of events that ensue, effectively allow us to correlate both