Verified Document

Social Status, Most Will Recognize, Is Highly Term Paper

Social status, most will recognize, is highly contingent upon any number of factors from lineage and occupation to ability and physical attractiveness. As such, it would appear that there is an unlimited social mobility potential for almost anybody. DH Lawrence's short story, "The Rocking Horse Winner," seeks to rebut that logic by constructing a family so damaged by its pursuit of social advancement as to destroy itself. (Durawa, 2) Paul, the story's protagonist, lives constantly in the shadow of his mother's disapproval, a disposition derived from her dissatisfaction with her husband and her standard of living. Hester, embittered by a lifetime of falling behind her more affluent neighbors, is fixated on the notion of luck as it pertains to social status. Paul's tragic fate at the story's conclusion serves to dispel Hester's notion that the acquisition of financial excess is the proof and merit of luck. DH Lawrence uses Paul's bizarre lust for his mother's approval, his obsession with prognostication and his inevitable demise...

So it was imperative that, in order to earn his mother's love, Paul mould himself into the perfect specimen for good fortune. Only then would she recognize that he was not his father and, rather, an inherently lucky individual destined for the upper-strata. Essentially, Lawrence creates a character, in Paul, who must perceive love and money as necessarily related priorities. This unfortunate state is that which sets Paul on his path to oblivion, as the mad pursuit of a limited commodity like money is incapable of quenching an eternally perpetuating hunger for love.
That forces him to turn to his rocking horse, and its furious powers of hypnotic induction, for luck and love. As he journey's from child to racing prophet, Paul contrives a sensation of approval from his uncanny ability to predict the outcome of any horse…

Sources used in this document:
Bibliographies:

1. Durawa, Cassue. The Social Status Motif in Short Stories by DH Lawrence. International Baccalaureate English, June, 1999.

2. Gregory, Tracy. Was Paul Lucky in DH Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner?" The Paper Store, February 2001.
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Social Movements Social Reformers Recognized
Words: 2359 Length: 8 Document Type: Term Paper

King called upon Black churches to challenge the status quo and to change the pervasively oppressive social order. Racism, economic and labor exploitation and war were named by King as the three greatest evils of American society and they needed to be fully eradicated to resolve social disparity. King's idea of integration was complex; he struggled to eliminate or reduce poverty by linking political power, wealth, and poverty...."King's unfinished search

Women in the American Revolution Social Status
Words: 8769 Length: 20 Document Type: Term Paper

Women in the American Revolution Social Status of Women in the Revolution Molly Pitcher - the real story Evidence supporting her existence Evidence denying her existence An American Icon Other Women who took up Arms Women as Spies Ann Bates Miss Jenny Life as a Camp Follower Women in Supporting Roles The winds of Equality Abigail Adams Patriotism Men's views on Women in the Revolution Women as a Symbol of the Comforts of Home Women in the American Revolution played a deciding factor in the success of

Social Media Your Purchase. With the Advent
Words: 4093 Length: 15 Document Type: Essay

Social Media your purchase. With the advent of social media websites, many business administrators struggle to implement a workable and feasible approach of implementing social networking sites into their business models. Managers and consultants must work collaboratively to identify sound means of incorporating computerized technologies that support and foster profitable utilization of social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Yet, despite the widespread and pervasive consumption of social media,

Social Psychology
Words: 3123 Length: 10 Document Type: Essay

Social psychology is the study of human behavior in social situations, showing how social pressures and sociological variables can impact psychological phenomenon such as identity, motivation, personality, or behavior. A quintessential topic in the field of social psychology is bullying. Bullying can be studied from a public health perspective, showing how the external variables such as how a school is designed and the leadership and organizational culture of the school

Social Cultural and Political Influence in Healthcare Delivery
Words: 4282 Length: 13 Document Type: Research Paper

Social, Cultural, And Political Influence in Healthcare Delivery Social, cultural, and political inequalities are detrimental to the health and healthcare system of the U.S. This is because the U.S. is one of the most multicultural, overpopulated, diverse and undergoing rapid economic growth. The federal government has embarked on efforts geared at addressing unsustainable costs of health care in the U.S. With the leadership of the current president, Barrack Obama, initiatives of

Social Work Exercise the Imaginary Recording Helped
Words: 2118 Length: 7 Document Type: Case Study

Social Work Exercise The imaginary recording helped me to examine the language that I use commonly, and listen for embedded biases. I noticed that I assumed that the client could hear me and see me, rather than acknowledge the fact that the client could be deaf or visually impaired. It might be helpful to establish immediately whether the client requires assistive technologies when understanding the types of services we provide. I also

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now