Academic English 11, Period 2
Mrs. Marianne Deitche
15 May 2009
An Analysis of “The Rocking Horse Winner”
Through an analysis of its literary elements, it is clear that “The Rocking Horse Winner” is a classic American short story,
I. Author Background
Lawrence D.H. was born on September 11, 1885, and was born in Eastwood, England. He died on March 2, 1930 in Venice, France. Lawrence had no siblings, and didn't have any children.
He was the son of a little educated coal miner, and was the youngest of his four brothers and sisters. His mother was a school teacher, and taught Lawrence lots about writing. He had a rough childhood, mostly because of him growing up in poverty. He eventually went to college to be a teacher at Nottingham University College, and worked as a clerk in a factory, and also taught at Davidson Road in Croydon until 1912, because of him getting sick. (“Plot Summary”);
He met a woman named Frieda von Richthofen. They got married in 1914, and he compared their relationship to a book that he wrote called Sons and Lovers. D.H. Lawrence traveled around the world to many places because of him being a writer; he went to Italy, Australia, New Mexico, and Mexico.
D.H. Lawrence traveled alot when he wrote his short stories. He wrote many short stories such as, “Son and Lovers”, “The Rainbow”, and a poem Look! We Have Come Through! “And Women In Love”. (“Plot Summary”); “(D.H. Lawrence)”
II. Plot summary
“The Rocking Horse Winner” is about a boy named Paul betting on the winners of horse races because of him having a magic rocking horse. One day Paul asks his mother why they don’t have much money, and she says because his dad is unlucky. When Paul gets the answer from his mother about his dad being the unlucky one in the family, he goes out to find a way to prove to his family that he could make a difference. One day Paul starts riding his rocking horse, and he finds out that the horse...