Carmen Galzerano

English 111

Wilkinson

July 27, 2004

Obsession: A Devastating State

At one point or another almost every person has experienced obsession.  Obsessions come in all shapes and sizes and in varying degrees.  In The Rocking Horse Winner, by David Lawerence, and The Birthmark, by Nathaniel Hawthorne readers witness the bizarre, and often shallow, obsessions people can have.  These obsessions become great sources of pain for the characters and lead to devastating consequences, including death.  By analyzing the cause and effect relationship of Paul’s obsession, luck and money, and Aylmer’s obsession, perfection and control, we can better understand how these characters developed these obsessions and why they could not overcome them.  

        As a young boy Paul was highly aware that his parents never seemed to have enough money to satisfy their expensive tastes.  Both parents refused to live by their means “so the house was haunted by the unspoken phrase: there must be more money! There must be more money” (399)!  Paul and his sisters could always hear it although nobody dared speak it.  Paul’s obsession with luck and money develops when he inquires to his mother as to why they do not have a car.  His mother says it is because they are the poor members of the family and they have no luck.  She then explains to Paul that luck is not money; luck is what causes you to have money.  Paul confidently boasts, “I’m a lucky person” (400).  You can feel the intensity of his desire “seeking inwardly for luck… He wanted luck, he wanted it, he wanted it” (401).  He then decides his rocking horse is going to be his source of luck.

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        Paul begins to ride the horse furiously and seems to be entranced while rocking back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  He tells it to take him where the luck is.  His mother and sisters find his actions disturbing.  Talking to the family gardener, Bassett, Paul discovers a way to use his luck, betting on horse races.  Apparently whenever Paul was sure he won and when he was not, he lost.  Every time Paul won he would become at ease for a moment then would immediately return to his usual state of restlessness and intense desire.  He would ride ...

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