Insanity In Ernest Hemingway's 'Rocking Horse'
In the text Rocking Horse Winner there is presented a very unstable boy who is constantly vying for his mothers attention. He actually drives himself insane just trying to be loved and accepted by his mother. His mother, meanwhile kept the image of being a perfect woman and mom, but her behavior took a very twisted turn. In reality she did not love anyone except herself. In the title it mentions a rocking horse, this was a type of metaphor throughout the story. Paul uncle would take him to the races and earn lots of money mainly for Pauls mother, and the rocking horse that paul owned was considered the winning horse of the races. The Rocking Horse Winner is a story of vain, betrayal, sinister love and the death of a child in which multiple factors contribute. I believe that Paul was the one to kill himself. He clearly managed to drive himself insane trying to please his mother. As well when he would use the rocking horse to clarify who won, took a toll on Paul. Every time he used it, it almost took a part of him, a part of his soul and innocence. The rocking horse was something very dark, and dangerous. The malicious little thing was very unnatural, evil
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Paul from closer reading of the texts almost sounds like he may have mental problems, ones that he got apart from the rocking horse. I would probably call it Schizophrenia. The whispering Paul noticed is a clear symptom of mental instability. Other factors contributing to this is that he had such bizzare behavior, he heard and saw things that weren’t there. As well Paul was always seemingly isolated, he couldn’t please the people around him and he was never pleased with himself. He had problems paying attention, strong beliefs that weren’t real, his own hallucinations and his thoughts that would jump between different spaces. The whispering that Paul experienced just added to whatever problem Paul had, it only made him that much more
Paul from closer reading of the texts almost sounds like he may have mental problems, ones that he got apart from the rocking horse. I would probably call it Schizophrenia. The whispering Paul noticed is a clear symptom of mental instability. Other factors contributing to this is that he had such bizzare behavior, he heard and saw things that weren’t there. As well Paul was always seemingly isolated, he couldn’t please the people around him and he was never pleased with himself. He had problems paying attention, strong beliefs that weren’t real, his own hallucinations and his thoughts that would jump between different spaces. The whispering that Paul experienced just added to whatever problem Paul had, it only made him that much more