The Rocking-Horse Winner VS. Janus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Rocking-Horse Winner VS. Janus - Essay Example The lady portrayed in the story by Lawrence is Paul’s mother â€Å"Hester,† who finds her marriage to be unlucky as she is unable to cope up with the poor financial situation of her married life. She even feels that her children are a burden for her. The story opens with the line â€Å"woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck† (Lawrence). Hester is blessed with three children and her son Paul is shown as a strange character who after receiving the rocking horse gets a strange power, which helps him to predict the horse race winners correctly. He makes a good amount of money out of this and tries to help his mother so that she can pay off the debts. Instead of clearing the debts, she squanders the money for their stylish living. This shows that the lady has a sick desire for money. The story ends with the tragic death of Paul after falling from the horse. In Ann Beatties’s â€Å"Janus,† the protagonist’ s name is Andrea, and she is a successful real estate agent who believes in her lucky bowl. When she gets a buyer for the house, â€Å"she places the bowl in the house that was up for sale† (Beattie 595). This indicates that she was a blind believer of her luck, which she thought relied on the bowl. She credits her achievement to the bowl that is often also admired by the buyers. The story starts with the introduction of bowl – â€Å"The Bowl was perfect,† as the author puts it.