¶ … Lottery vs. The Rocking-Horse Winner
In what ways are the two shorts stories by Shirley Jackson and DH Lawrence comparable and dissimilar?
In "The Lottery vs. The Rocking-Horse Winner" there will be analysis of the differences and similarities in setting from a fictional perspective across the two short stories.
What are the settings in The Lottery and The Rocking-Horse Winner?
Where do both stories take place?
When do both stories take place?
What comparisons and variances do these stories share, considering the time and location in which they take place?
What is the atmosphere within the world of the two stories?
Are the characters affected by anything within the setting?
What are the differences and similarity of atmosphere between The Lottery and The Rocking-Horse Winner
Conclusion
A. Did the settings of the two stories yield better analysis of similarities and differences?
"The Lottery" and "The Rocking-Horse Winner" are two wonderful short stories that both deal with the "darker" side of humanity. In "The Lottery," one of the fundamental themes of the story, is the viciousness and brutality characteristic of even the most civilized of societies. "The Rocking Horse Winner" is a fable that highlights human greed and the dangers of being greedy. Both stories share the analysis of human behavior and the consequences of such behavior with the differences lying in the kind of behavior and the consequences associated with it. The setting helps to place focus on these similarities and differences along with how the characters within their settings react to the world they are in.
"The Rocking-Horse Winner" is about a mother who in the tale is consumed by greed. This greed becomes so extreme that it estranges her from her children. The estrangement leads her son to go to desperate lengths in order to help his mother. It is central to note that although the momentary respite provided by...
The didactic short story ends with DH Lawrence showing the reader the danger of greed by permitting the mother to acquire the wealth she covets, but only at the cost and death of her son.
"The Lottery" is a short story with the main message consisting of a twist only discovered in the end that explains the darkness of society and the people that inhabit it. The reader never sees the "prize" of the lottery until the very end, where the frightening implication of the piles of stones made by the children at the beginning of the story is brought full circle. Going further into analysis, the ending brings about the idea that the most advanced societies are still able to obligate and execute revolting acts against one of their own, each other, even an innocent person, all because of selfish pursuits. This may be viewed as being linked to the inability of the group portrayed in the story to stand up as persons and object to the violence. In the end, all contribute in the forbidding act of violence that brings the tale to its finale.
"The Rocking-Horse Winner" takes place in England in the year's right after the First World War. The places within the story include: a home in an anonymous locale in or neighboring London, London's Richmond Park, a car roaming to a home in Hampshire County, southwest of London, lastly, Lincoln Racecourse in Lincoln, Lincolnshire. The narrator references chief races in England well recognized by readers of the story when it made its first appearance in 1926. These races include: "the Grand National Handicap Steeplechase at the Aintree Racecourse in Liverpool, the Royal Ascot at Windsor, west of London, the Epsom Derby at Epsom Downs in Surrey, southeast of London, the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster in South Yorkshire, and again, the Lincoln, at Lincoln Racecourse in Lincoln, Lincolnshire" (Cummings, 2010, p. 1) The races, the gambling, the death brought…
