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Capitalism in ‘The Rocking-Horse Winner’
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Capitalism in ‘The Rocking-Horse Winner’
Money has come to control every aspect of our lives. People want to drive the latest cars, wear fashionable and expensive clothes, take their children to the best schools and live in the most exclusive neighbourhoods. The world around us emphasizes material wellbeing over any other aspect of life, such as core human values. As long as one is wealthy, they are respected and adored by many. This shallow concentration on material possessions had driven many to live a life they cannot afford, eventually ending in disaster. David Lawrence’s short story, ‘A Rocking Horse Winner,’ is a classic example of the detriments of concentrating on material possessions over the wellbeing of people. Hester, one of the main characters in the story, shows how capitalism and material motivations have destroyed our society, exemplified in the death of her son Paul.
Capitalism is an economic system that encourages private ownership of property, with profit as the primary motivation behind the production of goods and services. Most countries in the world use this economic system in contrast to socialism that focuses more on social programs to benefit the larger population. Under capitalism, every individual or group wants to earn more money, even at the expense of others. One of the disadvantages of capitalism is excessive materialism and consumerism. Competitive capitalist systems encourage people to focus on power, money and achievement rather than relationships and community values. The result of this is money becoming more important while people and relationships become less important. One problem with this is that the more money and possessions a person has, the more they desire. Although people imagine that when they can live a comfortable life, they will be satisfied, the truth is that they will crave more. This fact could not be more true, as shown in the short story ‘The Rocking-Horse Winner.’
The story is told from the third-person view by an omniscient narrator. Paul is the main character in the story, a young boy living with his mother, father, sisters and servants in their family home. Although the family appears to have a good life, we learn that most of it is pretentious as the family can hardly afford their lifestyle. Paul explains that their house always whispers, “There must be more money, there must be more money!” (Lawrence 2). This statement shows that the family always needed more money to satisfy their material needs. Paul once asked his mother why they didn’t own a car, and his mother replies that it’s because they are poor. Their poverty comes from the fact that Paul’s father is unlucky. From that point, Paul is determined to find the source of luck so that his family can stop being poor.
True to his intentions, Paul found his source of luck betting on horses competing in derbies. He learns more about horses from Basset, the gardener who helps him make bets and keeps the proceeds from him. Paul’s uncle named Oscar senses the boy’s keen interest in horses and asks him more about it. Oscar is astounded at Paul’s revelation and also takes advantage of Paul’s accurate predictions to make money for himself. Paul plans to give his mother a thousand pounds annually so their house would stop whispering (Biswas 11). Unfortunately, his mother was unsatisfied with five thousand pounds, and the house whispered more than ever. Eventually, determined to make more money, Paul rides his horse till he gets delirious and eventually dies, but not without making one final successful bet, earning his family eighty thousand pounds.
Hester, Paul’s mother, is to blame for Paul’s death. Paul died of an obsession with getting more money for his family to live a more comfortable life free of debt. The young boy was aware of his family’s dire situation with money, telling his uncle, “You know people send mother legal papers for money we owe, don’t you, uncle?” (Lawrence). He began gambling on horses to make money for his mother and free them from their debts. However, Paul’s efforts caused a lot of stress on him. He would spend hours on his rocking horse, where he would discover the winning horses. On the final night when he died, Paul overexerted himself on the horse as he knew his family needed even more money.
Hester is to blame for Paul’s death because her insatiable appetite for money and material goods drove Paul into desperation. The family had a social position to keep up, even though they could not afford it (Lawrence 1). The author of the story writes how the house seemed to whisper about the need for more money constantly. Hester was dissatisfied with her life and lack of money and tried her hand at different things but earned very little. Concerned for their family’s situation, Paul started gambling and made a significant amount of money, enough to keep them comfortable. He planned to anonymously give his mother a thousand pounds annually, but she demanded all of it at once. She used this money to purchase even more material possessions, and the money soon ran out. Paul realized that he had to get even more money to satisfy his mother. Hester’s obsession with money and material possessions forced Paul into an obsession with his gift of prediction, and it eventually killed him.
Although Hester is guilty of Paul’s death, she was motivated by capitalism and class structures. Hester felt the need for her family to maintain a specific position in society even though their incomes could not sustain their lifestyle. People in a particular social position are expected to live in specific neighbourhoods, drive certain cars, send their children to certain schools and associate with those from their social class. Hester and her husband’s desire to keep up appearances to belong to a social class drove them into debt and desperation. Even when Paul earned five thousand pounds, Hester spent all of it on material possessions, mainly because she wanted to be seen as wealthy and be accepted into a higher social class (Xiaoying 5). The class system is a byproduct of capitalism, where acceptance is based on wealth and material possessions. Capitalism focuses on material possession, shown by Hester’s obsession with money and disregard for her children’s wellbeing. Even at Paul’s deathbed, she was unmoved, demonstrated by the phrase “his mother sat beside him, feeling that her heart had also been turned into a stone” (Lawrence). Had Hester and her husband lived within their means, Paul would never have died.
In summary, money should never be the primary motive behind any actions as it leads to heartlessness and unethical behaviour. Paul died due to his struggle to get his mother more money, though she was never satisfied. The adults in the story all took advantage of a child to earn even more money. In the end, Paul suffered for their greed and lost his life. Sadly, the situation in the short story has become a norm in today’s world. Motivated by capitalistic ideologies, people work to get more and more money, even if they do so in unethical ways. The story is a lesson on the danger of idealizing money and material wealth over anything else. Hester and the other adults in the story should have protected Paul, but they took advantage of him for the money he earned them. Works Cited
Biswas, Uma. ““There Must Be More Money!” Employing the Gothic Economy in DH Lawrence’s The Rocking Horse Winner.” Our Vision: 11.
Lawrence, David Herbert. The rocking-horse winner. Dramatic Publishing, 1966.
Xiaoying, Wu. “The Causes of Paul’s Death in” The Rocking-horse Winner.” Journal of Anshun University (2012): 05.
Accounting for Slavery
Student’s Name
Professor
Course
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Accounting for Slavery
Slavery was business that was profitable and admired by the enslavers. It was a business that was supported by the system for economic purposes and rules and regulation were laid down to ensure the business succeeded. For many people, this was against the rights of the people who were enslaved and forced to work in plantation farms with little or no return on their side. However, for other people, it was the slaves who developed the nation thus, it was a necessary business. There are a lot of documents and scholarly articles which have been fronted to explain how the slavery business was conducted in West Indies and the South in the United States. One thing that is evident is the records that the slave masters used to keep to track down the productivity of the slaves in their farms. In particular, the accounting records that the slave owners used to keep mirrors the modern accounting that corporate companies and organizations are keeping. One of the compelling records that enslavers used to keep is the double-entry books of accounting. This was precisely to allow them analyze and do comparison on the productivity of the slaves. In the modern accounting, organizations and individuals keep double-entry system to record their transactions and keep track of the money they receive and what they spend. However, the modern accounting is more scientific but that does not take away the contribution of the enslavers’ records in the modern accounting.
Accounting for Slavery is a book that delves into the slavery business and the organized structure that had been laid down to guarantee the success of the slavery business. Rosenthal discusses the structures of the slavery business which had three distinct tiers. The slave owners ranked top on the tier with overseers and attorneys who were project managers. The structures discussed by Rosenthal mirrors the modern corporations which has hierarchy of people working in different positions. The author begins her narration by highlighting the historical challenges that the slaves went through in the hands of their masters. Further, Rosenthal explains some of the events that affected plantation operation including the rebellion that was orchestrate by a group called maroon in Jamaica. Although plantation owners were enslaving people to work in their farms for profit, the author narrates that they also had their own share of challenges from rebellious groups. The author goes on to explain the tactics that the farm owners were using to maximize the output from the slaves. Slaves were required to work and ensure they produce as much as possible and those who could not give the best were punished. According to Rosenthal, slaves were branded and tortured as an incentive to force them to maximize their output. This was against the rights of the slaves and the author analyses some of the human rights abuses that were orchestrated by the enslavers. From the author’s narration, it is clear that slaves were being forced to labor against their will. The slaves who tried fighting for their rights were labeled, tortured and some were killed.
Further, the author narrates the collusion that the authorities had with the slave-owners. Every slave-owner was required to give their laborers codes that would identify them and where they were going as they carry out their activities. These codes were also necessary to ensure that the slave-owners maintained the accurate records on the productivity of every slave. Although enslavers had already developed the practices of coding their slaves, the local authorities authorized them to ensure all slaves had codes and this complimented their accounting activities. There is a clear parallelism on what was happening during the slavery and the modern accounting practices. The modern accounting practices requires accountants to code the books of accounts to ensure they track every activity in their businesses. Rosenthal further explains how enslavers furthered their interests in Britain by colluding with the British parliament to ensure that there were laws in place that would protect their interests. Through the laws that were passed by British Parliament, the slavers secured the interest of protecting the market for their sugar and other commodities. Still, these laws outlawed the dumping of products in the designated markets for the enslavers. They also lobbied the British parliament to pass laws that would prevent the abolition of slavery. From the author’s narration, it is evident that the British government assisted the slave-owners to continue suppressing the slaves and using them for their personal gains. The coding of slaves was also against the rights of the slaves and the British government supervised these activities without questioning the atrocities that were meted on the slaves. Although enslavers kept records of their slaves for their accounting purposes, Rosenthal argues that these records was also important to the local enforcement agencies who oversaw how slaves were performing in the plantation farms. The enslavers were required to administer punishment gradually and keep records on the same and this acted as a mitigating factor that regulated how slaves were punished by their masters.
Another important aspect that the author explains in her narration is the plantation accounting that slave-owners adhered to in their activities. There were complete ledgers which indicated the productivity level of every slave. There was also the record of sticks that the slaves were using to account for the livestock under their watch. It is critical to note that there were people who ran the campaigns for abolition of slavery and the accounting records that the slave-owners were keeping was vital in proving their case of abolition. According to Rosenthal, the records kept by the slave-owners detailed how the productivity was lost as a result of slavery. Further, these records also detailed how some slaves lost their lives due to the torture they went through in the hands of their masters.
The author further analyzes how slaves were valued like commodities in the market. Every slave was assessed based on their value and productivity. Rosenthal analyzes the rating system that was used by the slave master which indicates that they were valued and devalued depending on their productivity. The author uses accounting terms in her narrative like depreciation of slaves depending on their productivity. Slaves who were not productive because of their ill health or age were depreciated and the value reduced significantly. Equally, slaves who were not obeying their master were also depreciated. Looking at the narrator’s explanation on how humans were valued and traded, it is evident that the basic human rights was not obeyed. The final part of the Accounting for Slavery book discloses the effects of Civil War and Reconstruction on the slaves and their masters. Although the slave masters relinquished their lands, they had the best bargaining power compared to the slaves. Most of them were learned and they negotiated for better terms. The slaves did not have the negotiation skills and the agreement they signed was influenced by the powers of the people who were in authority. One of the things that makes the book interesting to read and get the history of slavery Rosenthal’s use of primary sources to gather the evidence presented.
In conclusion, Accounting for Slavery provides a lot of insight on the history of slavery and how the authorities colluded with the slave-owners to make fortunes out of the slave trade. The book also brings an interesting aspect of accounting that existed during slavery. Although most of their records were not aligned with the scientific requirements of accounting that is experienced in the modern accounting rules, there is a lot of similarities. During the slave trade, slave-owners were keeping double entry records which is currently practiced by accountants in organizations. Therefore, it is evident that most of the accounting rules that are practiced in contemporary world were borrowed from the slave trade and plantation farms. It is critical to note that the records that the slave-owners were keeping were vital in abolition of slavery. The abolitionist used these records to persuade the leadership of the British government to abolish slavery. These records had details of the atrocities that had been meted on the slaves and the abolitionist had sufficient grounds to persuade the government to abolish slavery. It is a great book with details from the primary sources and this proves its credibility.
Work Cited
Rosenthal, Caitlin. Accounting for slavery: Masters and management. Harvard University Press, 2019.
Capitalism and Socialism
Capitalism and Socialism
Student’s Name
Institution
Capitalism and Socialism
Socialism is an economic and political model of social organization which dictates that the factors of production, exchange, and distribution are equally owned and regulated by the community. On the other side, capitalism is a political and economic structure where the private entities own the factors of production and control the nation’s trade for individual beneficiaries. These factors of production include capital goods, natural resources, labor, and entrepreneurship. With socialism, democracy prevails where the owner can be acquired either through the democratic election of a government or through public corporation where everyone inclusively owns the shares. The case is different with capitalism where labor is individually owned apart from slavery incidences where one’s labor is owned by someone else. Socialism and capitalism are discussed to a profound extent in consideration of their pros and cons as well as their benefits to the society.
To begin with is socialism where its advantages and disadvantages to the nation are precisely elaborated. First, let us look at the pros. With socialism, there is no labor exploitation as the workers themselves own the production means. The profit is distributed evenly to the workers according to their contribution, and the system also recognizes those people in the society that cannot work by providing them with their basic needs. Socialism is a valuable tool to eradicate poverty in the nation as there is no discrimination and people have equal rights to access education and health services (Lockley, 2017). Everyone has the freedom to work at what he or she is best at and enjoys. For instance, there can be higher compensation for the tedious jobs that people are not willing to do to make them worthwhile. Also, the preservation of natural resources is for the betterment of the whole society.
The disadvantages of socialism as a political and economic system of an organization are as follows. The most degrading demerit of this system is the dependency on the cooperative nature of people to work. This can work well in a community portraying competitiveness buy not a cooperative one as the competitive people will find ways of disturbing and conquering the society for individual gains. Socialism does not encourage innovativeness as it does not give rewards to the competitive and entrepreneurial individuals. Another criticism of socialism is that the delegated power or the government who have the authority to represent the civilians can abuse its mandate by claiming power for its benefits.
On the other side, let us look at the merits and demerits of capitalism as an economic and political system of governance. To start with the advantages, capitalism provides the best prices for the best products because consumers’ willingness to pay willingness to pay will be high on the things they most want. The law of demands plays an active role in determining commodity prices companies improve product qualities as an effective way of maximizing profit. Capitalism significantly boosts economic growth as there is an inherent recompense for innovation. Therefore, it encourages the invention of different products as well as more competent production techniques.
The demerits of the capitalism control system are as follows. It is not responsible for those people who do not have competitive skills which include the children, the physically disabled and the elderly. Therefore, the government has put in place policies that greatly value the family entity. Capitalism does not enhance equality. Thus, the marginalized will not have opportunities to access facilities such as medication and education. The valuable skills will only be of benefit to the individual owners but not the society (Therborn, 2016). The externalities such as climate change and pollution are not considered in capitalism where the adverse impacts are felt bt the public as a whole but not the individuals who exploit natural resources.
Regardless of the merits and demerits of socialism and capitalism discussed above, both ideologies have social benefits to the society. Socialism is a beneficial tool to a nation as it encourages equality in the community as a useful measure of eradicating poverty. Even though socialism has vast social benefits to the society than capitalism, capitalism plays a vital role in enhancing giving back and unity among the private owners and the community where their premises are allocated as a way of providing conducive production environment and market to some extent.
References
Lockley, P. (2017). Capitalism and Socialism. The Oxford Handbook of Nineteenth-Century Christian Thought, 264.
Therborn, G. (2016). What does the ruling class do when it rules?: state apparatuses and state power under feudalism, capitalism and socialism. Verso Books.