NCERT Revision Notes for Chapter 3 The Rocking-horse Winner Class 11 English Woven Words

Answer

The Rocking-Horse Winner explores the themes of money, success, and the detrimental consequences of obsessively pursuing them. The story revolves around a family who appears prosperous outwardly but is grappling with financial hardships underneath their lavish facade.

Paul is a young boy with a strong desire to help his mother, discovers a unique talent for predicting winning horse races. By riding his rocking-horse until he reaches a state of near-frenzy, Paul is able to predict the name of the horse that will win the next race. This incredible ability allows him to win large amounts of money for his mother. He confides in his Uncle Oscar about his rocking-horse trick, and together with the help of Bessett, the gardener, they devise a plan to place bets on these horses and increase their winnings. However, he rides his rocking-horse into such insanity that he collapses, and upon learning that he has won a large fortune from his latest bet, he dies due to health issues caused by himself.

Answer

D.H. Lawrence was born in a mining village near Nottingham in England in 1895. Lawrence wrote novels, poems, short stories, criticism and miscellaneous prose. His work, at its best, is marked by intensity of feeling, psychological insight and vivid evocation of events, places and nature.

Answer

There was a beautiful woman who began with all the advantages, but she had no luck. Her love for her husband fades away, and even though she has beautiful children, she struggles to feel any love for them. Although others perceive her as a wonderful mother, she and her children are aware of her lack of affection for them.

There were a boy and two little girls. The family lived in a fabulous house with a yard, had discreet servants. Despite the fact that they lived in style, they were always anxious in their home. Never was there enough money. The mother had a tiny income, and the father had a small income, but not quite enough to maintain their social position.

The problem worsens as the children grow older and must be sent to school. Soon, the anxiety about money gets so great that it begins to present itself as a whisper from within the house, repeating, “There must be more money! There must be more money!”

One day, Paul, the child, asks of his mother as to why the family does not own a car. The mother says that they are poor. Paul asks as to why, and his mother informs him that it is due to his father’s lack of luck. In her responses to Paul’s many queries regarding luck and money, the mother says that she may have been a lucky person on her own, but she ended being lucky when she married her unlucky husband. In answer, Paul declares himself fortunate since God told him so.

The mother laughed which angered Paul and he leave the conversation in a childish way. He went off seeking for the clue to ‘luck’. Paul orders his rocking horse to take him to where luck is and rides it so fast that his sisters are terrified. Paul’s unusual behaviour stays as he gets older. His nurse and sisters advise him to quit, but he persists in his quest.

After Paul discovers his ability to predict winning racehorses by riding his rocking horse, he forms a partnership with Bassett, the family gardener, to place bets and collect his winnings. Uncle Oscar also becomes aware of Paul’s talent and joins in as a partner. To ensure that his mother benefits from his winnings, Paul arranges for a lawyer to send her five thousand pounds. However, instead of using the money wisely, Paul’s mother indulges herself in various luxuries.

Paul becomes more and more determined to win, and his mother becomes more and more anxious about his behavior. She disapproves of his betting activities, but is also desperate for the money he is winning. One evening, when mother arrives back home after party, she is shocked to find Paul still riding his rocking horse. Paul collapses from a brain fever after making great deal of effort while rocking the horse but not before uttering the winner of the Derby Stakes.

With the name of winner provided by Paul, Uncle Oscar and Bassett make their bets, and when the winner of the Derby Stakes is announced, they win a lot of money. That night, after hearing this news, Paul dies.