The Rocking Horse Winner Family Dysfunction

In both “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson, the authors take critical aim at two staples of mainstream values, materialism and tradition respectively. Both authors approach these themes through several different literary devices such as personification and symbolism; however, it is the authors' use of characterization that most develop their themes. We'll be taking a look at the parallel passages in the stories that advance their themes particularly when those passages involve both of the authors' subtle character descriptions, and why this method of character development is so powerful in conveying the authors' messages.

THESIS: The themes of Shirley Jackson’s, “The Lottery” and D.H. Lawrence’s, “The Rocking-Horse Winner” demonstrate a very powerful and sinister aspect of fallen human nature. The characters in both of these stories are driven to what many would describe as insanity in the pursuit of a passion. Ultimately, these pursuits end in unimaginable tragedy and pain.

In “The Rocking-Horse Winner” we are introduced to a woman who author D.H Lawrence states, “was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them.” When I dive into the psychology behind that statement, I come up with a thought that this beginning draws similarities to Lawrence’s own upbringing with his coal miner father and schoolteacher mother. Similarly the mother in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is disenchanted with her marriage and the way her life

In “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” by D. H. Lawrence, and “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson, the two authors illustrate symbols and themes throughout their stories in which one common idea is present: perhaps winning is not always positive.

“The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” may have a few similarities, but when it comes to their conflict, plot, and structure, they differ for the majority.

In Everything that Rises Must Converge, Julian and his mother experience a moment of clarity in terms of contemplating on their actions and thoughts. Julian has always hated his mother for her traditional southern beliefs and ways. She even goes as far as to wish that she lived back in the past when she was a girl. She embodies the traditional pre-civil rights southerner who believes in being superior to someone else in terms of race, money, or any other factor. When she sees a black woman on the bus wearing the same hat she is wearing, she realizes that someone regarded as inferior by her standards, a black woman, is suddenly equal to her. She shows great discomfort and disapproval of this new ideal. When the black woman and her son are getting off of the bus, she approaches them and gives the child a penny as a sign of humiliation and inferiority. The black woman then hits her which causes her to fall to the ground. Julian’s mother falling to the ground shows a change in actions and thoughts for both her and Julian (Moore). Julian begins to tell her that she got what she deserved for giving her insulting pennies to black

As a result from the town’s selfishness, between Tessie and the crowd, Tessie suffered the annual death by having rocks thrown at her. Children and

“The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence is an unpredictable, fairytale-like short story about a mother of three who constantly worries about her financial problems. She has a son who is fervent about figuring out a solution to her predicament. This story also has an abrupt ending that gives off strong emotion. Another short story, called “The Lottery”, has the same spectacle of ending the story with suspense. Written by Shirley Jackson, this story begins with a sunny day in a village, but miserably ends with the stoning of one of the villagers. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Lottery” are two sensational stories that have tragic ironies; however, they differ in tone

When a person is lucky, it does not have to mean that they are fortunate with money. Luck is the chance for things to go the way you want them to go with out having any control over the situation. In The Rocking Horse Winner, Hester, the mother seems to believe that luck is strictly having money, and when there is no money, there is no luck. Hester's idea of luck meaning money brings forth the two ideas of greed and death throughout the story.

"Everything That Rises Must Converge" also uses its setting to explore place and heritage to give us better insight into the actions and feelings of the characters. Julian, living in a poor neighborhood with his mother, shortly after the integration of blacks to public transportation, struggles to get his mother to understand that the world has changed. No longer are there huge plantations with hundreds of slaves, in fact "there are no more slaves." Once fashionable neighborhoods, like the one in

Looking at the atmosphere within the setting of “The Lottery” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” one can make a clear perspicacity that the atmosphere of these two stories had a great role to play and impact on the characters.

“Everything That Rises must converge”, by Flannery O’ Connor is sometimes considered a comical but also serious tale of a grown man named Julian, who lives with mother, who happens to be your typical southern woman. The era unfolds in a couple years after integration begins. Throughout the story, O’Connor impresses us with her derived message in which people often resist to growing away from bigotry towards self-awareness and love for all humankind, which is so necessary for life to converge in equality. O’Connor has a distinctive style of writing that expresses this message through characterization, conflict and literary devices.

Readers can find that “ Everything That Rises Must Converge” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” are Southern American literature. “Everything That Rises Must Converge” was written in the midst of the movement of American Civil rights. In the story, the settings such as ” bulbous liver-colored monstrosities of a uniform ugliness” and the “dying violet sky” make people feel moody and uncomfortable. The main character Julian’s mother has an unchangeable opinion of racism and refuses to accept the racial integration

“The Rocking Horse Winner” is a short story written by D.H Lawrence that follows the short and tragic life of a boy named Paul, who assumes he has amazing luck after realizing he can predict racehorse winners by furiously riding his rocking horse until he reaches a trance-like state. Unfortunately, as his family takes advantage of his gift and starts gaining more money, Paul’s luck begins to kill him. Literally. Throughout the story, there are several themes evident, such as wealth, life, conscious, existence; luck, family, and greed. The conflicts displayed are man vs man, man vs self, and man vs. society. The rocking horse has become an obsession for paul and the potential benefits it would have on his family, ultimately not knowing the actual harm it will cause.

In the short story “Everything that Rises Must Converge” by Flannery O’Conner, which is occurs during the civil war movement, is mostly about the struggles that came with the civil movement and integration of races. As the African American community made themselves heard by demanding equal rights after being treated inferiorly by the White Americans for many years. This creates tension and altercations between both races. Julian, a young man who takes his mother to the “Y” every week, to which she does not wish to go alone because of the integration of races. Julian and his mother do not share the same views and opinions on racial equality. In the story, Julian’s mother mentions the sacrifices that she has made for him, which is why he drags