Words: 932
Assignment 1 Reading Strategies & Formalist Theory Lesson 1 The purpose of reading “The Rocking-horse Winner is to demonstrate my understanding of the comprehension strategies studied in this lesson. I never heard about the author before; because of this I will approach my reading word by word. This Is going to allow me to make connections with my own experience, create mental images and have a better understanding. Even though I never read the story before. I know this is a short story because the text doesn’t have too many pages.
So this specs makes me conclude that I will find elements such as: introduction of characters, Initial conflicts, dramatic conflict, and suspense. A first glance the title suggests the adventure In the child’s mind of him and his toy: a rocking-horse with a special gift, it is a winner rocking horse. As I started reading word by word, I made connection with the classical beginning of short stories “Once upon a time… ” “There was a woman… ” “The woman was beautiful, and she started full of advantages”. The connection made me bring out I was reading a story with magic content.
This appears in the middle of the story, with Paul riding the rocking horse to predict the race’s winner. On the other hand, the first paragraph describes the idea of luck several times, which made me conclude the story Is going to have and ending related to gambling. This section made me think about foreknowing, because of the way it is written. Along my reading, I met Paul, the woman’s son and later I met his toy, a wood rocking horse. At this moment, I asked myself, why would the writer choose the rocking-horse to be the title of story. What Is ongoing to happen with the horse and Paul?
Based In words such as: bonny, dark hair, curly hair, big eyes; I pictured Paul as a very handsome boy, with big blue eye, very mature for his age and smart. According to the first dialogue between the mother and Paul; I realized, I was at the beginning of the rising action. One more time the words “luck and money” and a word never heard before “lucre”, what means money gained in dishonorable way. This unfamiliar words made sense in what is going to happen later. This short story makes it easy to create images along the reading: Pall’s ridings. And he would slash the horse on the neck with the little whip he had asked Uncle Oscar for… Or only If he forced It. So he would mount again and start on his furious ride, hoping at last to get there. ” This image is as the reader is at horse race looking at the experimented Jokes to try to hurry his horse to get in first place, no paying attention to what is happening around him, the people cheering at him, or booing him. After reading the story, I have a few questions The father was barely mentioned in the story. Why would the author do that? Was the short story reflecting a personal experience?
Why the author would write this story? What meaning has the color green? When the mother switched on the light, Paul is in his green pajamas, even her Is wearing a green dress. I wonder why the author gives big Importance to non verbal communication In the story. Much of the communication In the story comes through the eyes. The text was mainly about how greed can destroy the love in 1 OFF how a mother’s financial greed becomes the cause of the death of one of her own children. The mother wants more and more. Analyze the story using the literary theory of formalism.
Write four paragraph in which you analyze how four textual elements are used in the story “The Rocking- horse Winner. ” Choose your four textual elements from among these elements, conflict, protagonist, antagonist, point of view; plot structure, setting, symbols, and theme. Protagonist: The protagonist of the short story “The Rocking-horse Winner” is Paul, a young hero; who lives with his parents and two sisters in a fairly, upper class neighborhood.. He is the main character because throughout the plot all elements re in function of his role. The characteristics of Paul are alike to any other protagonist.
At the beginning of the short story Paul appears as a little, innocent boy, handsome, with soft features, very intuitive, optimist, with a clear and specific goal, love. In the text we witnessed the character development of Paul. “He went off by himself, vaguely in a childish way seeking to the clue to luck. ” “He wanted luck, he wanted it, he wanted it. ” “He would sit on his big rocking-horse , charging madly into space”. In the quotes above the protagonist has changed from acting in a childish manner to a mature character, who clearly knows, what he want, determined to reach his goal, to find luck (love for him).
He changed his childish way to a madman way. He transformed his toy in a working tool, a money maker machine, his bonnie feature is hardened, his look, his eyes. Paul, as protagonist accomplished his goal, he found luck, even though he has to pay with his life. The way the protagonist is presented, makes him a believable character. As a protagonist Paul is a dynamic character because we are interested in what makes him human in helping his parents out with their finances.