Tuesday, July 8, 2014

What is the tone of the story "The Rocking Horse Winner" ?

Great question! Your answer to this story is going to be
based on what you think the primary point of the story is. Do you think that this is
primarily a ghost story of the supernatural which focuses on the spooky relationship
between Paul and the rocking horse that enables Paul to eerily predict winning horses or
is this primarily a moral tale which borders on the satirical as Lawrence drives home
didactically his message about the dangers of materialism and how it can rip families
apart and even lead to death?


Based on your answer to this
question you can say that the tone of the story is either ominous and mystical, or
satirical. If you go for the former you can focus on passages that describe how Paul
describes the further you get into the story, particularly on his voice, his eyes and
the rocking of the rocking horse. If satirical is your answer then you can talk about
the greed of the mother and the irony at the end when she has gained her dream but lost
her son in the process.

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