Our previous analysis of "The Rocking Horse Winner" assumed that Paul was the protagonist of the story. But, what if he wasn't? What if it is Hester, Paul's mother? After all, the story begins by exploring her past, her life, and her problems. If Hester is the main character, how does this affect the story's meaning?
Charles Koban explores this question in his essay. Read his essay, taking marginal notes. Then post 6 of your notes that analyze his argument. Address in your posts if you find his argument valid or even relevant.
26 comments:
1.Koban's intoduction of Hester being the main character is confusing but is more understandable once he explains love, marriage, and money.
2. On the first page Koban is claiming that "the rocking horse winner" is a mordant commentary on the distorted and self-destructive values of the upper middle-class and of many of us living in a capitalist, money-dominated society.
3. Koban's presentation of the "religious" view of "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is confusing, but when he starts to start about marriage it makes more sense. I think his argument for marriage is valid and i agree with it.
4. On Koban's argument for money in marriage, yes a marriage needs money and should have money, but the whole marriage should not be about money.
5. I agree with Koban's argument for Hester being the most important character because she has an influence on paul and indirectly causes him to die. He was trapped in the web of greed that she had woven.
6.Koban explains the absence of the father figure in "the rocking horse winner" by commenting on his failure to provide which then causes him to disappear into the background of the story.
7. "romanticizing the family greed into mystical love of money" means that all the mother wanted was money, her love turned into greed for money and the whispering phrase signifies her desire for money in the story. It affects the kids because they now think that to be happy you need money.
I do believe that this letter shows he's belief in marriage because it is obvious that he honestly believes that love between husband and wife is the most important thing. He calls in a vital necessity which is probably the best argument towards Koban's argument.
Koban uses this to explain how money was important to a marriage; "But he knew that no middle-class marriage could be successful without it." Lawrence believed this which is why Koban used this in his argument. I believe his argument because even now the biggest reason for divorce in this country is money issues. So even years ago it still must have been a problem within marriages.
Koban thinks the most important character in the story is the mother. This might be true because the first paragraph in the story is all about the mother. It describes her and her life and what it has turned out to be and how she is disappointed in it.
Koban explains the absence of the father in the story by saying that because he was such a failure to the family that he is not really put in to the story on purpose. Lawrence does this to show of how much he has disappointed the family by not really having him do anything. This makes him seem even more worthless.
By romanticizing the money into luck it confuses the kids, especially the son Paul. Because Paul doesn't know that luck is really money he it confuses him so much he finds away to show he has luck by making money. The mother responds to the "luck" because the luck that Paul has is really the money he is making.
Paul's death symbolizes the death of the mother's last ability to love anything or anyone. I don't agree with this because I think that when Paul goes into the coma, his mother sees that she will no longer get any of the money she had actually loved.
Koban will be arguing that the main character was Hester.
I question how he connects anything in the story to her inner child.
I don't believe the argument but the letter does show a belief in marriage.
The irony was he didn't like money but he liked marriage and to keep marriages peaceful you need money.
He explains the absence of a father by saying it symbolizes his failure as a bread winner.
She would be nicer to her children because she resents her husbands lack of luck.
The web of greed connects Hester and Paul. She entraps Paul by worrying about money all the time.Hesters trapped because she likes fancy things
koban thought hester was the protagonist because her greed and disillusionment with life is the force that drives the whole story.
when koban says that money is necessary to marriage , he is right because financial reasons are usually the ends to most marriages.
this truth is brought out in hesters lackluster marriage to her husband. that is why the husband is never mentioned , he is so unimportant and forgotten by his family to the point that including him in the story would be a waste of words.
in the end the story is a bash on capitalism and how money corrupts all. this isnt always true , but there are alot of greedy people in the world so it has some merit.
Koban tells Lawrences story of the rocking horse winner in a whole different way. Pauls mother is the main character and this makes sence due to the fact that lawrence starts the story out with the description of her life and relates everything paul works for to her.
When lawrence says that he believes that no middle class marriage can last without money he is somewhat correct due to the fact that relations end because of finacial difficulties usually.
Paul gets caught up in his mothers web and of greed and feels that without him trying to obtain luck through money then she will never feel love towards him or anyone else. The mother is the key figure and the story is based upon paul trying to fix his mothers cold hard heart.
The mother according to koban is living her life through paul in the story and it is shown through his blazing mad blue eyes and once he is dead at the end she will live in death which is somewhat true.
Paul according to koban sacrifices his life for the greed of his mother and when he dies he leaves her with a bundle of money which shows that throughout the story it was all about the mother and her greed led to the death of her own son.
Koban is arguing that the main character in the story is not Paul but instead it is his mother Hector. He wants to prove that the story represents the death of Hector's innocence and love as well as her childhood.
The death of paul shows that his mother is not able to love anyone or anything anymore. I don't know if I can totally agree with this because the only thing the mother really loved was the money Paul was providing her with, so she never really loved her son for himself so his death only prevented her from the money she loved.
Koban explains the references to Paul's eyes as his mother pretty much controlling him and his madness. Koban says that his mother is inside of him and his madness is actually hers. I think this is valid because his mother wants to control Paul and over all his thoughts about luck and money. She is brain washing him into the fact that money is everything and that he can't live without it.
The web that essentially connects Paul and is mother is greed. All his mother can constantly talk about is being lucky so this is all Paul worries about also.
Hester would be nicer to her children because she is closer with them. Even though she is unable to love her children are her connection with life and vitality.
The father's absence in the story is because he is a failure as a provider and family-head so he fades into the backround of the family. I don't think this is valid. I personally think the reason the husband is not part of the story is to show the fact that Hester is unable to love her husband so they leave him in the backround to show this.
1. I do believe that Hester was the true protagonist in this story, as she is the first to be introduced. However, the assumption that Paul is a metaphor for the death of her child heart seems false, as D.H Lawrence clearly states and alludes to several times that she has no heart and is therefore incapable of love.
2. Although Lawrence said this, Hester does indeed appear to grow fond of Paul as the story progresses, but she loves him as a mother should, not as someone nostalgic for their inner child.
3. Koban is wrong in saying that money is fundamental to marriage. Since the rocking horse winner sounds as if it takes place in the 30's, it was a fairly modern time. People were not just marrrying for conveniance any longer; sure, it still happened, but humans don't enjoy boredom and misery, which usually results from a loveless marriage. A strong relationship between two spouses can hold a marriage together by itself, and pull through money issues.
4. What is this mystical union that Koban keeps going on about? I understand what he's attempting to say, but i felt he needed to elaborate on the subject. This "mystical union" between married couples is apparently some key bond that needs to be forged before sex, but he dosn't explain how this is accomplished. What does it have to do with the rocking horse winner? Hester and her husband definitely DO NOT have a mystical bond.
Koban is claiming that there is a mystical side to The Rocking-Horse Winner that Snograss fails to mention in his essay. I think that Koban has to do a good job explaining why the story is mystical for his claim to make sence.
I believe marriage is a mystical union. The letter shows this belief because it says that the most important thing for a man to do is to love his wife. If he honestly loves his wife, providing for her will come like second nature.
Koban says that Lawrence hates money because it causes problems within families. However, he says that no marriage could be successful without money. This is ironic because money is necessary, but at the same time, it causes marriages to fail.
Koban explains the absence of the father as a failure for not being able to provide for his family. I don’t think this is logical because Lawrence says that the father does make a small income, so obviously he has a job. Maybe he just isn’t qualified for a different job that would pay more. He could also be absent in the story to signify that he is working.
“Romanticizing the family greed into mystical love of money” means that Hester is trying to extenuate the family greed by transforming it into a love for money. This is shown in the story when the children have the idea that money is important for their happiness, when in reality the parents are just greedy for more money.
Hester was nicer to her children than she was with her husband. She was especially nice to Paul because she felt that he was the only chance she had to feel some sort of love again.
In Koban's thesis, he claims that the story is about the death of the child in Hester. I do not understand how this story could be about sex or marriage, but love and money do come into play in the story.
Koban claims that he does agree with Snodgrass in a way, but he also had his own beliefs about that story. I think Koban is right because there is no right way to interpet the story, and it could go in many different directions.
I agree with Lawrence's argument because love is the most important thing to have. The letter supports the belief in marriage because it says that love is the most vital necessity in life.
Koban says that the father is a failure as provider and family-head, becasue he is never in the story. I believe this is logical because if the father was important, he would be mentioned much more in the story.
Hester in nicer to her kids because even though she may not love them, she feels the need to care for them and be there for them. Her husband on the other hand is older and does not need someone to care for him, and also Hester does not love him, so she has no reason to be nice to him.
According to Koban, Paul's death symbolizes the death of the spirit in Hester becaus ehe was her last contact of love within another human being. He supports this argument by using the quote "nakedness of body and spirit" because Hester loses Paul physically, and also her spirit because it was being held within him.
1. In Koban’s introduction he states that he is going to argue that the death of Paul allegorically represents the death of the child in Hester, his mother.
2. Koban is claiming that "the rocking horse winner" is a mordant commentary on the distorted and self-destructive values of the upper middle-class and of many of us living in a capitalist, money-dominated society.
3. I find Koban's "religious" view of "The Rocking-Horse Winner" to be rather confusing. Yet when he starts his argument for this belief in marriage it makes more sense and is valid.
4. Koban's argument for money being necessary in marriage does make sense because a marriage needs money to be successful and to support a family. Yet the entire marriage should not revolve around money.
5. Koban believes that Hester is the most important character because of her influence on Paul’s death.
6. The web that connects Paul and Hester is the web of mystified greed that she has woven and which she calls luck. Hester cares only for money and her terrible romanticism infects Paul and he is trapped in this web.
1. When Koban introduces Hester as the main character it doesn't make much sense to me but as it progress i begin to understand better once he explains love marriage and money.
2. At the stat Koban is claiming that On the first page Koban is claiming that the story is a distorted and self-destructive values of the upper middle-class and of many of us living in a capitalist, money-dominated society.
3. Koban's presentation of the religious views of the rocking horse winner is confusing, but when he explains marriage it makes more sense. and i agree with argument and believe it is valid.
4. On Koban's argument for money in marriage, yes money is important in a marriage but it is not what the marriage should revolve around.
5. I agree with Koban's argument for Hester being the most important character because she has an influence on paul because she is his mother which plays a strong part in a child's life.
6.Koban explains the absence of the father figure in the rocking horse winner by commenting on his failure to provide which eventually causes him to disappear into the background of the story and hardly play apart in Paul's life.
7. "romanticizing the family greed into mystical love of money" means that all the mother wanted was money, her love turned into greed for money and the whispering phrase signifies her desire for money in the story the way the mother thinks an behaves effects the children and there out look on life love and marriage.
1. Koban is arguing that there is a mystical side to it, and that Hester is the protagonist in the story.
2. Koban is claiming that the story can't just be about money, and that there's a mystical side to it.
3. Koban notices that Lawrance hated money and the warping of modern man that it caused, but the irony is, is that he thought in marriage, you need money to keep the peace.
4. Koban explains the absence of the father figure, because he says he's a failure as a provider and family head, so we don't hear much about him.
5. "Romanticizing the family greed into mystical love of money" mean that greed is the love of money. The house whispering represents this, and it effects the kids by making them insecure and self-conscious.
6. Hester would be nicer because first of all, the Dad isn't really in the picture, and the son, Paul, is really the only thing that keeps Hester going.
1. It makes sense to me that Koban would argue hester is the main character because she is the starting point of the entire story.
2. It makes even more sense that the story is about hester when he starts talking about marage and money because she isnt in a good marage because of her obsession over money.
3. Koban argues that mariage needs money, but i dont think thats all it depends on and that does relate to the story because Hesters marriage is ruined because of the money situation.
4. I think Kobans argument about the story being about the self-destructive values of the upper middle class and the money based society of capitilism that most people live in is valid.
5. Koban is right when he says Hester is the main character because of her motherly influences. If it wasnt for her Paul would not have wanted all that money and he would have never worked himself to his own death.
6. Kobans point that pauls death isthe last chance the mother gets to really love something is arguable because when he is dieing she thinks about her money which is the one thing she consistantly loves throughout the story and she still will love it even though Paul is dead.
The point of Koban's essay is that the main character of 'Rocking Horse Winner' is actually Hester, the mother of Paul, and many critics have overlooked this detail and took the easy way out by comparing it to communism or the Pan myth.
I think the argument that Hester is the protagonist is weak. Although Hester is introduced before other characters, the focus of the story quickly switches to her son, Paul, and his 'luck'.
Koban made sure to mention the belief Lawrence, author of 'the Rocking Horse Winner', held of marriage. Some may think he's just being cynical by saying marriage needs money to survive and love isn't enough, but he's just being realistic. This shouldn't affect the way people take his story.
The irony of Lawrence's view of marriage and money is that Lawrence has been said to hate money. He thinks it ruins relationships and can corrupt everyone.
I do not agree with Koban's argument. I think claiming Hester as the main character is a but of a stretch. When Lawrence made his statements about marriage and money, he was not referring to 'the Rocking Horse Winner', so they shouldn't be assumed to refer to it.
I prefer to see The Rocking Horse Winner as a statement about capitalism. I think that explaination fits the best, and it makes the most sense.
Koban connects Pauls eyes are like blue stones and Hesters heart is stone like and these analyizations connect the characters
Paul gets controlled by Hesters Stone like heart by her controlling his stone blue eyes
Hester is the start of the entire story, him making her the main character makes perfect sense.
Koban makes the story out to have a mythical and a twisted side and not just about money and capitalism
Koban also points out that Hester has a direct influence to Paul's death because she uses him for money that is her only love and once she dies she has nothing.
Koban's arguement is very valid by pointing out how Hester is the main charater and how she only really wants Paul is for his money and the arguement ties in perfectly to the story
1.Koban argues that Paul's death allegorically represents the death of the child in Hester and really the death of her innocence and love.
2. Koban claims that this is not all about money but there is a mystical side to it.
3.Yes I do believe this arguement because Koban uses the letter to back up his statements an the letter demonstrates this belief of marriage.
4. The irony that Koban uses about Lawrence's view of money is lawrence hated money but money keeps love and marriages together.
5. Hester was closer to her children because they are her link to life and vitality.
6. Paul's death symbolizes Hester losing her innocence and love. Koban makes this argument by saying she is heart frozen when Paul lapses into a coma. I do find it plausible because she loves money and when Paul dies so does her luck and her money.
I found Koban's analysis valid in many ways.
1. Koban will be arguing that the mother, Hester, is the main character in "The Rocking Horse Winner."
2. Hester would be nicer to her children rather then her husband because they are her link to life and vitality.
3. Koban's presentation of the "religious" view of "The Rocking-Horse Winner" is confusing, but when he starts to start about marriage it makes more sense. I think his argument for marriage is valid and i agree with it.
4. Koban says that the father is a failure as provider and family-head, becasue he is never in the story. I believe this is logical because if the father was important, he would be mentioned much more in the story.
5. The irony about this story is that lawrence hated money but money keeps love and marriages together.
6. Koban is claiming that the story can't just be about money, and that there's a mystical side to it.
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