Outline & Thesis
I. Introduction
A. Growing “The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Destructors” by Graham Greene are two thought-provoking short stories that include a lot of truths in it.
B. The seeds of materialism are sown and nurtured in lives of the characters.
C. Materialism grows into the desired conclusions by its characters.
E. Thesis
1. For an individual to escape the illusion of differences and fully appreciate or recognize the similarities of Lawrence’s short story “The Rocking Horse Winner” and Greene’s “The Destructors”, he must inspect or examine the assortment of aspects included in each short story.
II. Similarities in Themes
A. Both short stories greatly revolve around the lives of the children and how they lose their innocence.
1. In Greene’s “The Destructors”, the children are basically teens who call themselves “Wormsley Common Gang”.
a. They are already losing their childish innocence in order to favor the worldliness and complexity around their lives.
b. They believe that they are no longer innocent and turn to rebelliousness, selfishness and cynicism.
c. Evidences
1. T. destroyed the house of Mr. Thomas.
2. T. disrespects Mr. Thomas.
3. T. looked upon Mr. Thomas with doubt and mistrust.
2. D. H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner” tells the tale of a young boy named Paul.
a. Paul is about the age of 12 he is often referred to as “boy”.
b. His childish innocence is replaced by materialism, and the quest for money.
c. Evidence
1. He did not use the rocking chair as a toy.
2. He used it to foresee winning horses and eventually earn him money.
3. He died after pushing his self too much in order to gain more money.
III. Differences in Styles
A. D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, is presented in a manner that resembles a fairy tale.
1. Starts with a statement that “There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck” (Lawrence, 1966).
2. There are also several supernatural elements of fable used by the author in the story.
3. D.H. Lawrence also uses a style that presents the seriousness of life.
B. Greene’s “The Destructors”, greatly demonstrates or lays reality to its audience.
1. It bares the unsteadiness of postwar England.
2. Changes are occurring in the social dynamics of the story.
3. Children no longer see the link or correlation of the present to the past
4. Paradox in “The Destructors”.
a. Greene writes, “He protested with the fury of the child he had never been” (1993).
IV. The historical context which influenced the style of the authors.
A. The commencement of World War I in 1914 marked the beginning of modernist period in the English literature.
B. Both D.H. Lawrence and Graham Greene are considerably influenced by the World War I.
C. Evidences.
1. D.H. Lawrence started writing by the early parts of the 20th century.
2. Graham Greene became a well-known writer in the 20th century.
V. Conclusion
A. “The Destructors” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” differ from each other.
B. By carefully looking at some of its contents readers see that they are very much alike.
C. From the shallow differences of the two novels, there are actually deeper similarities.
Deeper Similarities beyond Shallow Differences
“The Rocking Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence and “The Destructors” by Graham Greene are two thought-provoking short stories that include a lot of truths in it. At first, it seems that these literary works are completely two different stories, however, it can be deduced that they are the same. May it be in the case of the real-life like story of “The Destructors” or the fantasy like story of “The Rocking Horse Winner”, the seeds of materialism are sown and nurtured in lives of the characters. Moreover, the facet of materialism which is imbedded in these two short stories increases and amalgamates into desired conclusions by its characters. For an individual to escape the illusion of differences and fully appreciate or recognize similarities of Lawrence’s short story “The Rocking Horse Winner” and Greene’s “The Destructors”, he must inspect or examine the assortment of aspects included in each short story.
An individual comparing the two short stories would first think that they are two different stories, but by observing the themes comes a surprising similarity. First of all, both short stories greatly revolve around the lives of the children and how they lose their innocence. In Greene’s “The Destructors”, the children are basically teens who call themselves “Wormsley Common Gang”. At a young age, they are already gradually losing their childish innocence in order to favor the worldliness and complexity around their lives. On the contrary, the Wormsley Common Gang already believes that this childish innocence has already vanished or moved out, changed or substituted by rebelliousness, selfishness, and cynicism. A part in the story tells how T. destroyed the house of Mr. Thomas. In addition to this, he treated Mr. Thomas with disrespect and looked upon him with doubt and mistrust. Conversely, T. does not hate Mr. Thomas. His actions of tearing down Mr. Thomas’s life are not due to personal reasons but rather a reflection of his current situation or environment. On the other hand, D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner” tells the tale of a young boy named Paul, who in his early age about 12 years old and often referred to as “boy”, have already realized the situation of his family. His childish innocence is replaced by materialism, and the quest for money. As such, he decided to go on an adventurous path of luck to get money. Instead of playing with the rocking-horse to entertain his self, he used it to foresee the winning horses. Paul’s win and continuous earnings for his family inspired him. However, in the end, it corrupted him into worldliness and materialism. He died after pushing his self too much in order to gain more money.
It can be argued that the two short stories are different if a point of view on the style used by the authors is used as a basis. D.H. Lawrence’s “The Rocking-Horse Winner”, is presented in a manner that resembles a fairy tale. On the contrary, he does not use the famous line “once upon a time”, but rather, starts with a statement that “There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck” (Lawrence, 1966). Such statement is a conscious effort or endeavor of D.H. Lawrence to utilize the traditional oral storytelling technique in order to catch the attention of his readers or audience. There are also several supernatural elements of fable used by the author in the story. This includes the protagonist’s ability to foresee the winners by simply riding his rocking horse. D.H. Lawrence also uses a style that presents the seriousness of life, including an unhappy marriage and an unhealthy greed or yearning and coercion of one’s self to obtain riches. As a whole, D.H. Lawrence introduces the story in a simple fable-like manner. However, he concludes it with a serious message on the subject of wasted lives. Greene’s “The Destructors”, greatly demonstrates or lays reality to its audience. More specifically, it bares the unsteadiness of postwar England. This can be observed in the presentation of contrasting forces all throughout his short story. In addition to this, the forces reveal the change that had occurred in a society that had experienced and endured a trauma. Changes are occurring in the social dynamics of the story. Moreover, the children no longer feel the connection between their generations to the past generations. They no longer see the link or correlation of the present to the past. Greene’s writing includes a lot of paradoxes in “The Destructors” and these paradoxes are responsible for the atmosphere of the story. Because of these paradoxes, the audience or readers are able to see the role of the Wormsley Common Gang and the functions of their lives. This paradox can be observed as Greene vividly describes the thoughts, feelings and actions of T. towards Mr. Thomas. By the time that Mr. Thomas was able to get to their home earlier than expected, T was shocked. T, as what the old man said before he left, thought that he would be gone for a longer period of time. Greene writes, “He protested with the fury of the child he had never been” (1993).
On the contrary, by looking at the historical context which influenced the style of the authors, one would understand the similarities of the two short stories. The commencement of World War I in 1914 marked the beginning of modernist period in the English literature. Literature and writers during this time illustrate or describe the world’s experiences. D.H. Lawrence started writing by the early parts of the 20th century (Maddox, 1996) and it goes the same for Graham Greene, who became a well-known writer in the 20th century (Donaghy, 1986). Both D.H. Lawrence and Graham Greene are considerably influenced by the World War I and this is reflected in their novels “The Destructors” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner”.
“The Destructors” and “The Rocking-Horse Winner” differ from each other. They are created by two different authors. Their titles are not related nor mean the same thing as the other. The protagonist of “The Rocking-Horse Winner” is an individual, while it is a group in “The Destructors”. Audience or readers can further have this illusion by looking at the styles used. However, by carefully looking at some of its contents, such as themes and historical context or influences on the author, readers see that they are very much alike. From the shallow differences of the two novels, there are actually deeper similarities.
Works Cited
Donaghy, Henry J. Graham Greene. The Netherlands: Rodopi B.V., 1986.
Greene, Graham. The Destructors. New York: Creative Company, 1993.
Lawrence, D.H. The Rocking-Horse Winner. New York: Dramatic Publishing Company, 1966.
Maddox, Brenda. D.H. Lawrence. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 1996.
