Question

I am supposed to write a review of the short story "The Rocking Horse Winner." I am unsure how to make an opinion of the short story without making it sound like a summary.

I would like to express that I think it is wonderfully written to depict the destructive nature of materialism and the effects it has on a family, but my first sentence sounds more like a "motif essay" than anything...

D.H Lawrence’s short story “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” is a wonderful depiction the destructive nature of materialism.

I need help on direction for writing an actual "review"
Tips? Comments?

Answer 1

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/bookrev.html

This is a webpage for writing book reviews, but the concepts are the same.

I'd take the ideas here and include them all, but focus the paper on <b>your reactions</b> and minimize the other sections. This is a powerful story, to be sure.

Let us know if you have further questions.

Answer 2

Should I focus on materialism, and tie it into today's times?

Would this work?:

Outline:
Introduce author, short story, one of the main themes: materialism.
Brief summary.
My reaction being that Paul's mother is like a today's teenager tendancies--
always worrying about appearance, never seeming to be satisfied.
always desiring more.

or would it a better approached a different way...
I've looked at the pre-writing questions, I'm just having a hard time tying this story into those questions...

Answer 3

I think your connecting Paul's mother with today's teen materialism is excellent -- very fitting. Be careful of overgeneralizing, though, but basically, I think you're on the right track with this.

Answer 4

There may be some ideas in the "themes" section that will help you focus.
http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-rockinghorsewinner/themes.html