A Critical Analysis of The Rocking-Horse Winner and The...

A Critical Analysis of The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence and The Destructors by Graham Greene In both stories, The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence and The Destructors by Graham Greene we see the common theme of wanting to be envied by others because of what we have or can do. The need to do better, have prestige and more power than anyone else is a very common human conflict that is dealt with on all levels of humanity. The emotional environment that man grows and develops in plays a factor in how he approaches everyday life. Humanity is always trying to prove to others what they have is better than anyone elses. Pauls mother, Hester, in The Rocking-Horse Winner spends a lot of time†¦show more content†¦Once the house was destroyed it would send out a message to all the other gangs and gain the fame and respect that they wanted. Blackie gave up his leadership role easily because his earlier ideas of stealing had not really gained any recognition for his gang like he wanted. He could see the possibility of success and he overlooked his own pride and worth to go after it. Materialism can be seen in this because they are using the destruction of a house to gain respect, but on the other hand the modernist view can be seen because something has to either build something up or destroy it. All of these main characters shared a lot of common attributes. The first and most important attribute was trying to overcome multiple obstacles to get to their goal. In The Rocking-Horse Winner, Paul found his rocking horse and the ability to pick winning horses the way to show his mother how successful he was along with the money that he won. He exerted himself mentally and physically to get to his goal. He is seen in the nursery ..on his big rocking horse, charging madly into space, with a frenzy that made the little girls peer at him uneasily...his eyes had a strange glare to them.... The sad irony for Paul though was that money couldnt buy that happiness that he wanted his mother to have. Hester gave up her own happiness when she started chasing power and prestige. Trevor, in The Destructors, had to get creative when he