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Kalanj
English 2010 – 2011
Name:
Date:
Blk:
Unit 2: Short Stories
The Rocking-Horse Winner
Due: ___________
by: D. H. Lawrence
Activities:
A) Journal: Can the desire to possess an object drive someone crazy? Is it avoidable?
(Think Gollum and Lord of the Rings)
B) Response: Is “The Rocking-Horse Winner” a fairy tale? (*Note: To answer this you will
need to refer to the class brainstorm on fairy tales. Pictures are posted online.)
C) Questions: Answer the questions on the back of this sheet on a separate piece of paper
using full sentences and thoughtful responses. And as always, use as much textual
evidence as possible!
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The Rocking-Horse Winner
Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper. We will use these questions,
and your answers to help guide our in class discussions.
1) Create and explain an alternative title for this story.
2) On page 292-3 Paul and his Mother are discussing money and luck. Paul asks his
Mother if she is lucky, to which she replies “I can’t be, if I married an unlucky
husband.” Do you think that the Mother is unlucky? Explain why or why not.
3) Do you think that Paul’s Mother is a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ mother? Explain.
4) Is having talent the same as having luck?
5) Do you think there ever would have been enough money for the house to stop
whispering?
6) In what way is the boy’s furious riding on the rocking horse an appropriate symbol
for materialistic pursuits?
7) How many persons in the story are affected (or infected) by materialism?
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8) What is the theme of the story?