The Rocking-Horse Winner on Analyses of the narrative techniques

The Rocking-Horse Winner: on Analyses of the narrative techniques
Ma Kegang
102490
Abstract:“The Rocking-Horse Winner”is one of the most famous short stories written by DH Lawrence. This story shows the materialized relationship between people and the distorted character in capitalism society following the English industrial revolution which destroyed and distorted humanity. This article aims at helping understand the theme of this work from analyzing the narrative techniques. Keywords: fable-like, symbolism, contrast, irony
Introduction
In "The Rocking-Horse Winner", a young boy, Paul, perceives that there is never enough money in his family, he sets out to find a way to get money through luck. He discovers that if he rides his rocking-horse fast enough, he will somehow "know" the name of the winning horse in the next race. He begins to make money and secretly funnel this money to his mother, but the desire for more money only grows more intense instead of going away. He finally rides his rocking-horse so furiously in order to discover the winner of the Derby that he falls into illness and dies. In order to depict the theme that materialized life can destroy human civilization, the author uses several narrative techniques to help build it.
Ⅰ. Narrative techniques used in this novel
(1) Fable-like narration
1. About the beginning
The novel begins with “There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck.” “There were a boy and two little girls. They lived in a pleasant house, with a garden…” This is typically like a fable story “once upo n a time… ”It is a conscious attempt on the part of the author to use the traditional oral storytelling technique.
2. About the ending
"My God. Hester, you're eighty-odd thousand to the good, and a poor devil of a son to the bad. But, poor devil, poor devil, he's best gone out of a life where he rides his rocking-horse to find a winner." The ending conveys message to readers which is also typically the same as fables functioning as enlightening audience in the end.
3. Advantages of using fable-like narrative technique
As we all know that fables are always very brief and straightforward making it easy for readers to understand. Short but enlightening style can help depict the characters in order to sharpen the theme.
(2) Use of symbolism
The Rocking-Horse actually symbolizes destruction in all. However, in different time of its appearance, it has different concrete symbols perspectively. Its first appears as a Christmas present of the family. As a Christmas present, it is beyond their capacity to pay. So here it symbolizes vanity of the mother. In its second appearance it symbolizes luck as a tool to find fortune for his mother, earning 5000 pounds. At last appearance it symbolizes self-destruction. The horse became shabby and the boy fell from it dead.
(3)Use of irony
1. A good or bad mother
“in her manner she was all the more gentle and anxious for her children…. Everybody else said of her: "She is such a good mother. She adores her children." Only she herself, and her children themselves, knew it was not so. They read it in each other's eyes. ” To outsiders she is a good mother, but actually not.
2. Happy family or tragic one
Seemingly they live in a beautiful house with a boy and two girls, they are not poor family instead lead a favorable life and we would think at the beginning this must be a very happy family with good atmosphere but it is a family full of indifference, greedy for money, vanity specially rise to climax with the tragedy death of the son.
3. Relationship between irony and the theme
The use of irony contributes to verify the theme: Money-oriented society, the bourgeoisie bring disaster to the people.
Ⅱ. Conclusion
This novel is short in length. However, the author uses very skillful narrative techniques which perfectly help the author with fine depiction of this novel. D.H Lawrence criticized the stupid and ignorant situation of modern society and the degenerated humanity in his later works by his talented writing and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is a typical one.
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