Saturday, March 23, 2013

How many persons in the story were affected (or infected) with materialism?

"The Rocking Horse Winner" is certainly a story in which
most, if not all, of the characters are consumed with things and/or money.  This
materialism, of course, causes at least one death, and it seems to be the root of
unhappiness for the others. 


Mother is clearly the most
infected with materialism.  She wants more and is not content when she gets more. 
Despite the fact that she obviously has a lot of material goods, she wants more. 
Clearly she can never be satisfied by the money and things she so
covets. 


Father, though we certainly don't see or hear much
of him, is equally concerned with money.  He spends his time making it and spending
it--so much so that we rarely see him in this story.


Paul
is not infected by it, but he is certainly
affected--particularly by his mother's persistent hunger for more
money.  He gives his life in the pursuit of her happiness, and it's still probably not
enough.


Paul's sister doesn't suffer in nearly the same way
as Paul, but she, too, feels the tension in the house as it cries out for more
money.


Paul's uncle is not consumed by materialism, but he
certainly enjoys winning at the races.  He is a voice of wisdom, at least to a degree,
but he does want to keep making mnoney from his nephew's apparent gift for picking
winning horses.


The stable boy, not surprisingly, wants
more money.  It doesn't appear to drive his every move as it does Paul's mother, but
money is definitely a goal for him.


Even the house suffers
from materialism, as it consistently cries out for more
money.


Only the nanny seems immune from the curse of
materialism.


These are the key characters which are
affected by materialism in this story; in fact, they're the only
characters in this story.

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