In Lawrence's "The Rocking-Horse Winner," everyone and everything seems to exist in an entirely different psychic wavelength. People can read each other's minds, toys and houses whisper incessantly, and a boy can predict horse-race winners by riding on his rocking horse. We're never quite sure if this magical world is real or not, and even the characters themselves don't seem too sure. God may be absent from the picture here, but some characters suspect that other supernatural forces are at work in the boy's luck, forces that may not be all that benevolent.
Questions About Life, Consciousness, and Existence; Luck
- What are the supernatural or magical elements of the story? Do you think these elements are real? For example, does the boy really have a magicalgift—or is it just a symbolic one?
- Do you think the boy's gift for identifying winning racehorses is a blessing or a curse? Explain.
- Take a look at the instances where the characters experience extreme mental states: Depression, anxiety, madness, even euphoria. What drives them into these extreme states of mind? What are the effects of these psychological states on their perception of reality—for example, when Paul goes mad, is he able to keep his grip on reality, or does he lose his mind?
Chew on This
Instead of bringing him wealth and happiness, Paul's gift for identifying winning racehorses ends up leading to his demise.
In Lawrence's story, the desire for money is itself a kind of psychosis, leading characters to lose their grip on reality and dive into madness.