Examples Of Irony In The Rocking Horse Winner

Greed is the only sin that will tear mothers from their children and families. In the year of 1926, the new founded author D.H Lawrence had witnessed many years of poverty within his own community and even family. Having been in such a poor situation, he was inspired to write a novel to show how less fortunate families reacted to not being able to afford living, representing how greedy they can be. Within the story he included realistic problems that were present within 1920’s America, specifically gambling and the lust for money. In the short story, “The Rocking Horse Winner”, written by D.H Lawrence, the main theme is conveyed with two types of irony, the two demonstrating how luck and happiness do not necessarily always make a person truly happy with life. The story overall consists with dramatic, and situational irony, both of which help reveal the moral of the story, and reflect on D.H.

Having such a negative outlook on life, and wanting to live more wealthy than happy, she is driving her own self into insanity. Hester’s madness finally materializes as pure greed.“As his mother read it, her face hardened and became more expressionless. Then a cold, determined look came on her mouth. (171)”Hester loses all sense of parental care as soon as money is involved. The simply thought of money forces Hester into a frenzy so she can have simple luxuries and comfort at the cost of those around her. Within the Rocking Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence both dramatic and situational irony is expertly used to convey a message and explains how this message acts upon people. This is proved by the character of Hester and her quest for money. This quest would lead to the destruction of her family and herself. This signifies the universal truth that money doesn’t create happiness and is thus explained by the use of themes, literature devices and the application of an universal truth to the