The Rocking Horse Winner by DH LawrenceWritten in 1933, DH Lawrence's short story "The Rocking Horse Winner" illustrates the all-consuming nature of materialism. Through the author's use of characterization, symbolism, and language in The Rocking Horse Winner, Lawrence successfully portrays a greedy and cold-hearted mother, Hester, who attempts to fill the dissatisfaction in her life by using wealth and material comfort. Lawrence uses Hester as an example to make readers understand that materialism isolates one from love and ultimately leads to destruction. Lawrence uses language that evokes irony and disgust to describe Hester to illustrate her coldness and inability to love anyone but herself. "She married for love, and that love turned to dust. She had beautiful children, but she felt they were forced on her and she couldn't love them." (407) Lawrence states that because Hester is unhappy with her life and refuses to compromise on the lifestyle she expects, she becomes preoccupied with the pursuit of material comfort. However, "failure brought deep lines to his face" (407) and gradually transformed the center of his heart into "a hard little place that could not feel love, not for anyone." (407) Hester describes her husband as an “unlucky husband” (408). Through this expression, it is easy to see that Hester does not love her husband, and blames him for his inability to earn money. Lawrence uses this phrase to demonstrate Hester's inability to love and implies that her dissatisfaction with life is what turns her love to "dust" and causes her marriage to fail. Through descriptions of Hester's attitudes toward her husband and children, Lawrence paints a vivid picture...... middle of paper...... and irony. Even though he rides the rocking horse, a young boy's toy, as Paul begins to play, he gradually loses his childish innocence. He becomes like his mother, who uses money to buy love. Lawrence portrays Paul as a victim to imply that lack of love is the true cause of his death and to confirm that Hester's materialism is what leads to the destruction of her family. Through the characterization, symbolism, and language of the short story, Lawrence was able to create a materialistic image. Hester's tragic end reveals to readers that the desire for wealth and material possessions with little interest in spiritual matters isolates one from love, creates more dissatisfaction, and ultimately destroys life. Works Cited: Lawrence, DH The Rocking Horse Winner. "The Norton Anthology of Short Fiction. RV Cassill, ed. New York: W. W..