Use of Irony in the Rocking-Horse Winner

Use of Irony- Enhancement
By Janice Lai
A story is comprised of literary elements and literary devices. The basic literary elements of a story are setting, character, conflict, point of view, plot and theme. A story must have all these elements in order to become a fully developed story. Aside from these elements, writers often use literary devices to enhance the story, perhaps making the story more popular. Irony, a statement meaning the opposite of what is written literally when taken in context is one of the popular literary devices used. R. H. Lawrence also uses various ironies in his short story, Rocking-Horse Winner. Consequently, the various ironies in the story Rocking-House Winner effectively help to enhance the story by further developing the literary elements. First of all, R. H. Lawrence uses irony to strengthen the setting and the conflict in order to create a stronger developed story. In the beginning of the story, the audience is introduced to the environment of the family. They attempt to be recognized as a high class by living in a stylish house and buying luxuries items. However, the parents both have a small income and the family always complains there is a shortage of money. As the author describes, “There was always the grinding sense of the shortage of money, though the style was always kept up.” This setting is ironic since if there is a shortage of money, the family would save up instead of spending to keep them in style. This ironic setting, indeed, introduces the conflict, since this continual massive spending will lead the family into financial problems. As a result, this use of irony effectively establishes the setting and introduces to the conflict of the story.
Furthermore, irony is also used to enhance the plot. When Uncle Oscar finds out his nephew Paul is involved in horse race betting, he asks Paul for a potential winning horse. However, Uncle Oscar does not believe in him so he only bet a small amount of money. This is ironic since although Uncle Oscar finds out his nephew is brilliant in betting, he still doesn’t trust Paul’s decision. This proves it is unbelievable that such a child can excel in horse race betting which further enhances the plot by creating anxiety in reader if Paul is able to win so much money in horse race betting. Consequently, by creating anxiety in the audience, the irony further makes the story better.
Aside from the previous ironies, the author also utilizes irony to enhance the setting and plot. When Paul gives some of the money he wins to his mother with an excuse as a trust fund, instead of stopping the whispers of “There must be more money”, the whispers grow to “There must be more money! - More than ever! More than ever!” This clearly reveals the setting of this story in which the family is materialistic and longs for money. This builds up the conflict since Paul will be pressurized to find more money leading to the climax of this story. This irony will also create suspense since the audience will wonder what Paul will do to gain more money. Consequently, the irony indeed enhances the story by creating suspense, revealing the setting and thus building up the conflict. Lastly, R. H. Lawrence also uses irony to develop characterization and the rising action of the story. When Paul struggles to go to the Derby, his mother blames Bassett and Uncle Oscar for influencing Paul into these races. However, it is ironic since it is her who caused all these troubles. If she does not long for money and does not entirely spend the 5000 pounds given to her as a trust fund, then Paul will not be involved in the horse race betting. As a result, this irony reveals the character of his mother. She does not realize that her living style and the constant whisperings of “There must be more money!” does create a problem for the family and put pressure on Paul. She does not realize that her materialistic personality is a problem. This irony also strengthens the rising action of the story. Aside from the pressure put on Paul by Uncle Oscar, his mother also puts pressure on Paul by telling him to stay away from the horse races. All these pressure intensify the rising action in order to advance the story to the climax point. Therefore, by revealing characterization and the plot, this irony further strengthens the whole story. In all, in the story, Rocking Horse Winner, written by R. H. Lawrence, it uses various ironies to enhance the story by further developing the literary elements. In the beginning, the author uses the irony of the family’s living style to introduce the setting and conflict. Later, irony is used to develop the plot and create suspense. During the rising action, irony is used again to build up the conflict and reveal the setting. Lastly, irony is used to reveal the nature of the mother’s character and intensify the plot to advance the story to the climax point. Therefore, by using these ironies effectively, R. H. Lawrence is able to make his story more intensified and suspenseful. This is why many authors use ironies to enhance their story. A story must have all the basic elements, but to make it a ‘good’ story, one must use literary devices to enhance the story.