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D. H. Lawrence's story The Rocking Horse Winner is about a young boy who sets out on a journey to save his mother from bad luck. Lawrence's writing style imparts a mythical tone to captivates his audience.
The beginning of the story, the reader can easily see how Lawrence set the story in a fairytale fashion. He utilize a style that pulls off a mythical story by employing fairytale story writing, supernatural forces and symbolic meaning. In the opening of the story, Lawrence describes a beautiful women who had all of lifes advantages except luck. The women had love but it had faded away. She had children but felt them to be intrusive and did not love them. Here the reader can see how Lawrence's story is turning into a fairytale.
The story continues with a description of how the damsel wants more money. She is the damsel in distress waiting for he knight in shining armor (Jenkins 261). The authors use of simple words and sentences further emphases the fairytale style. Lawrence uses this style of writing throughout the story with the use of linguistic repetition that stresses on certain phrases. These phrases are there must be more money, luck, and when Im sure (Simone 998). Like the writing of a fairytale story Lawrence keeps his words and sentences short.
They are simple and direct. His quotes are direct instead of indirect. For instance when Paul states Well, I got there and Where I wanted to go" is an example of a direct quote. Lawrence not only use fairytale writing techniques but also makes use of the supernatural. There a several events in the story that readers can label as supernatural.
One such event is the house whispering There must be more money can lead the reader to believe that the house is possibly haunted. Haunted by the mothers need to have more materialistically. Not only is the house haunted but so are the Christmas toys. The toys as well seems to be whispering the same as the house. Another instance of supernatural element is when Paul is riding his rocking-horse into a frenzy in searching for the name of the winning horse. Lawrence heightens the element of supernatural forces by taking it to a higher level with Pauls ritualistic ridings.
Paul ridings were a ritual. The rocking-horse had no name and Paul would always ride in a state of frenzy with a blue glare in his eyes. He would ride and ride till he was physically in one world and mentally in another. In such a ride he obviously has invoked some strange god (Gordon and Tate 252). A god that gives him the name of the winning horse but eventually Paul pays a price for such information. He pays the price with his life (Gordon and Tate 252).
With the writing styles of a fairy tale and the eerie element of the supernatural Lawrence is even more effective with symbolism. The readers first encounter with Lawrence use of symbolism is his usage of luck. Pauls pursuit of luck might be translated as a pursuit of love (Lamson and others 258). His pursuit of luck can also be symbolize as the modern man, who pursues possessions (including colonies) rather than knowledge of self (Gordon and Tate 156).
Another symbolism is Pauls obsession with his rocking-horse is symbolic of a self-destructive isolation and withdrawal (Carole and Tate 156). Not only does symbolism surrounds Paul but it also surrounds the rocking horse. Paul uses his rocking horse to escape his troubles but he is deceived. The horse alludes to the wooden Trojan horse, a traditional symbol of deception (Lawrence 154). The rocking-horse is also a symbolic link between the real world and the supernatural (Gordon and Tate 252). The horse is part of Pauls ritual it is to take him to where the luck is.
Pauls journey is a useless materialistic quest which lacks a destination can also be symbolized in his frantic ridings of the rocking horse. The fairytale style of writing combined with supernatural elements and symbolism creates a mythical story. Lawrence unusual writing style has put together a well written mythical story. He uses a writing style of fairytale linguistics, an allusion of supernatural and symbolic meanings that set the audience up for a mythical story. His style of writing is well-developed throughout the story.
Lawrence starts his story in a fairytale fashion that flows smoothly within the story. He sticks with short and precise words and phrases as well as using symbolisms in the right places to create this mythical story. Lawrence choice to use this technique was evidently a wise choice for it kept his reads captivated. WORKS CITED Jenkins, Donald. Short Story Criticism. Gale Group. 1995.
Vol. 19. 261. Baker, Simone. Short fiction. 1999. 997 - 98. Gordon, Caroline and Allen Tate. Short Story Criticism. Gale Group. 1995.
Vol. 19. 251 - 52. Gordon, Caroline and Allen Tate. Short fiction a Critical Companion. Robert C. Evans, Anne C.
Little, Barbara Wiedman. 155 - 56. Lawrence, Robert G. Short fiction a Critical Companion. Robert C.
Evans, Lamson, Roy and others. Short Story Criticism. Gale Group. 1195 Vol. 19. 257 - 58.
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