Always be thankful (Formal Blog)

1.Show how the poem Tom Beatty could be compared to The Rocking Horse Winner. In studying the poem, note that the opera house is really life and when He makes the rules it’s either the Lord or perhaps the devil. Beatty suggests that everyone has about 70 years, but Paul in The Rocking Horse Winner had much less time. Explain what Paul’s weakness was, how the cards were stacked against him and do you think Paul was lucky not to live to be an old man fumbling the cards, leaden-eyed and whining about his losses?

In both cases, the protagonists are hooked onto winning, which is actually what all gamblers are hooked onto. However, Tom Beatty never does win and ends up regretting spending all that time, effort and money in vain. Paul pushes himself too much, and ends up killing himself.

Paul relied fully on the horse to win the races. He never did think of it himself, and when he tried to, he would lose the betting for that particular race. Moreover, when he asked his mother whether she was contented with her birthday present of a thousand pounds, she replied in a cold, hard, absent voice, making him all the more want to win more races. His obssesion with both impressing his mother and winning the betting sessions caused him to over-exert his body, to the extent that he could not control himself. Gambling just took over his life, even in times when he was sick, all he was intent on was to see if his bet on the winning horse had won. I also think that Paul was lucky enough that he died early. He was bound to lose sooner or later. There is no such thing as a continuous winning streak in the world. Continuing gambling could continue to take its toll on his health and cause him to lose all his profits. In just a few weeks, gambling had already made a monster out of him, who knows what would have become of him if he had continued his gambling till he turned old?

2. In The Green Clothes, green is the color of envy, greed and money! This poem is thematically similar to Paper. Even though the poem takes place at a roulette wheel the gamblers from the short story and the poem have similar experiences. Explain how tips, dry lips, and all that was spent in vain could apply to the short story Paper.

In Paper, tips refers to the money the couple had earned in the stock market. It was a moment of joy and happiness, but led to more them seeing more "green". Their savings, though doubled initially in the stock market, fell below what they used to be worth during the downward slide. Still seeing "green" and not being contented with what they had, they foolishly held onto their stocks and followed a person's advice blindly. Thereafter, the whole company they had invested in crashed and they lost all their savings. That was when their lips turned dry, and they felt like everything they had spent on the stock market was in vain.

3. Ah Boh in Lottery has about one dollar, there’s a “blind man,” the number 13 and ultimately zero dollars to bet. These last examples are taken from One-Dollar Gambler. Show how they also relate to Ah Boh.

In One Dollar Gambler, the author like Ah Boh, has her own salary. She can choose to spend it on daily necessities, or gamble it away. Like a fool, she decides to use it for betting, and at the end of the day she learns that she has earned nothing, and has no more to spend. So she goes home with an empty stomach, thirsting for water, and no paper and ink to write a letter home. She has learnt a lesson, but the next day guess what? She bets again. She reaps nothing. She bets again. And again. And again.