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English
The mother-daughter relationship – probably one of the robust bonds of the nature, is displayed in a distorted manner in The Rocking Horse Winner of D.H. Lawrence and also Amy Tan’s ‘Two Kinds.’ Both these short stories explain how the parental-love and the relationship between the parent and children get strained. This essay attempts to explore the ways in which parental-love has been portrayed in both these short stories.
An atmosphere that is full of unconditional love, ease and permanence is one that is optimal for the growth and development of a child. In this short story of Lawrence, the relationship that exists amid the kids and their mom, Hester, is essentially spoilt because of her greediness. Hester’s greed intervenes into the rapport between the central character, Paul and his mom and ultimately results in Paul embarking upon a quest to earn her love and finally a role reversal takes place between the parent-child relationships.
Hester considers herself to be highly unfortunate due to the limited money that she possesses. Her greediness, constant craving for prominence and avarice results in her indulging to lead an affluent lifestyle that eventually leaves her family in continuous debt. She claims that her bad luck is because of her spouse who was not capable of offering adequately for her egotistical nature and particularly her children who do not have any role to play in their family’s current financial position. Hester’s immaturity only results in her finding pleasure in selfish advantage, and she is envious of the funds spent for the needs of even her own children.
Hester’s style of living is continuously defined in an unsympathetic and insensible manner, particularly more because she is a mother. Absence of any kind of sentiment and love for her kids portray Hester to be abnormal. The narrator lays emphasis on the basis of the misfortune by quoting, “. . . She felt they had been thrust upon her and she could not love them. . . . When her children were present, she always felt the center of her heart go hard.”
Hester does not acknowledge or recognize the basis of her disdain for her children, and her lack of ability to love them. She acts as if she loves her kids but both of them realize the absence of a mother’s compassion and love. Considering that Hester’s greed has overpowered their surroundings; the kids hear the house murmur that, “There must be more money!”
Hester’s fascination with money and the societal position that money offers essentially start to rule her emotions so much that it repudiates her capability to build a hale and healthy and also a loving relationship with anybody in the family, including her kids. Her craving for cash and affluence generates a constantly anxious atmosphere and a complete unnatural environment for her children to grow up.
In his unsuccessful attempt to win the love and approval of his mother, Paul believes that acquiring more money will lessen her obsession and let her to build a loving relationship with him. Paul earns good amount of money through betting and gives that money to his mother secretly. Paul coming to a position to earn more money and satisfy his mother’s greed sets both of them in a kind of role-reversal of their natural roles as a child and parent. In a frantic effort to pick up the winner of the Derby, Paul rides his toy rocking-horse until he falls. Till his demise, Paul constantly tries to seek his mother's love and approval. In an attempt to convince her to love him, he says, “‘Mother did I ever tell you. I'm lucky’”. His mother coldly responds, “‘No you never did’”. The prediction made by the horse wins Paul more than eighty-thousand pounds; however, he dies soon after. Paul’s craving to make his mother happy and win her love and approval costs him his life. His tragic end signifies greed and is the result of his mother’s greed.
Another story with almost a similar theme is ‘Two Kinds’ authored by Amy Tan. The primary theme of Two Kinds is best denoted in the form of the fine line amid the characteristics of obstinacy and pride, and the impact of these characteristics over the relationship between a parent and the child.
The quest for the reality starts at the very start of the story. Tan discloses the pressure put by her mother on her daughter to achieve something that she is not inclined towards, when she says dispassionately "Of course you could be a prodigy too." The problem with this pressure of the mother on her daughter Jing –Mei is that being just nine years old; Jing-Mei will possibly construe that statement as more of a prospect than a possibility. Actually, this is what she thinks exactly at the beginning. Even though this fact is not explicitly revealed by the author in the story, this is the first instant that the reader can make out that the mother is trying to use her daughter as a second opportunity in her life that she never had. In view of the family’s honor and pride, the mother familiarizes her daughter to newer things in life.
It all starts with her mother getting haircuts done for her daughter, trying to teach her singing, and all kinds of overly optimistic environment of growing up that she offers her daughter. Slowly, the daughter starts realizing for herself that she is not interested in all what her mother is trying to teach her or getting her acquainted with the false prodigy. When her mother goes on to introduce Jing-Mei to piano lessons, the daughter decides that is high time that she puts her foot down and tell her mother that she does not like all this. So she rather fervently hits out "Why don't you like me the way I am? I'm not a genius! I can't play the piano. And even if I could, I wouldn't go on TV if you paid me a million dollars!”
Jing-Mei’s mother wants her daughter to be a prodigy and thus pushes her to learn a plethora of things. However, Jing-Mei is unsuccessful in all her efforts as she has no interest in any of those things that her mother wanted her to learn. After being unsuccessful in so many things, Jing-Mei slows starts losing her confidence. Despite not inclined to do or learn any of the things that her mother pushed her to learn, Jing-Mei tries everything in order to win her mother’s approval. After facing failure in all her endeavors, Jing-Mei decides that she should stop pleasing her mother and should live life for herself. Jing-Mei dissatisfies her mother so critically during her childhood years that their relationship gets strained and loses the typical mother-daughter bonding. Jing-Mei always feels humiliated when she is with her mother, and loses the bonding with her as the years pass. However, after her mother’s demise, Jing-Mei gets fascinated by the piano that her mother was so desperate and keen to be played by Jing-Mei.
Jing-Mei gets keen on retaining that piano, as she feels that it was the only memory of her mother that she has now and thus does not want that to be sold to anyone.
Works Cited
Lawrence, D.H. The Rocking-Horse Winner. Logan, IA: Perfection Learning Corporation, 2007.
Tan, Amy. "Two Kinds." Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. Great Britain: William Heinemann, 1989. 132.
