Comparison of "The Rocking Horse Winner" and "The Lottery"
The Comparisons of “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Lottery” “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence is an unpredictable, fairytale-like short story about a mother of three who constantly worries about her financial problems. She has a son who is fervent about figuring out a solution to her predicament. This story also has an abrupt ending that gives off strong emotion. Another short story, called “The Lottery”, has the same spectacle of ending the story with suspense. Written by Shirley Jackson, this story begins with a sunny day in a village, but miserably ends with the stoning of one of the villagers. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” and “The Lottery” are two sensational stories that have tragic ironies; however, they differ in tone and style. The introduction of “The Rocking-Horse Winner” almost foreshadows and sets the tone of the whole story. “There was a woman who was beautiful…” (Lawrence) is a sentence that is almost fairytale-like. It gives the hint that the story might have a melodramatic aspect, one with a magical horse that gives prophetic visions to a little boy. The introduction also hints of a depressing, yet hopeful view of the relationship between the mother and her children. It describes how the mother’s heart would always turn cold every time she was around her kids, but she would always pretend to have affection towards them. The introduction does not state why she feels that way, so it leaves the reader with an inquisitive view as to what will come of the plot. The tone all throughout the story is also tense because Paul is engaging in something that he should not be doing. Unfortunately the story ends with his death; consequently, it leaves the reader with a profound sense of affliction because, after all, Paul was only trying to help his mother. Unlike “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, the beginning of “The Lottery” has a tone of a warm and summery day. There are people gathering around and kids collecting stones, so it appears as if