After
reading "The Rocking-Horse Winner", I saw a resemblance to the movie
"The Sixth Sense". I made this connection when I found out that the
boy in the short story was being told supernaturally which race horse was going
to win every time he rode his rocking horse. That then made me think of the
movie because there too was a boy that could receive information
supernaturally. In this case, the boy in the movie could see and talk to lost
souls, whereas in the story, the boy only could listen to what he was being
told.
In "The Rocking-Horse Winner" the boy seemed crazy. He always rode his rocking horse; even to the point of severe exhaustion (and ultimately to his death). He also heard voices. These voices were the words of his mother always in search of more money. This is what drove him mad and somehow gave him a link to the other side; giving him the ability to listen to supernatural beings tell him the winners of the horse race. Although it may not seem like it is reminiscent of "The Sixth Sense", I believe so because the boy in the movie was seeking help from a psychiatrist. After a couple of visits, the boy told the psychiatrist that he could "see dead people"... But it doesn't stop there, he could actually hear, talk to and interact with them. This already goes to show that both boys are crazy (by the term crazy, I am referring to a definition of “being out of the norm”; which seeing dead people, hearing voices, and talking to the dead all fall under that category) and have contact to supernatural beings.
At the very end of both medias, both were very dramatic. When I say this I mean that there is a last minute plot twist that isn’t expected. In the short story, the boy dies and his mother learns nothing of recent events. In the movie, boy helps the psychiatrist move on as he was actually dead the entire time and was seen by the audience because the boy could see him.
In "The Rocking-Horse Winner" the boy seemed crazy. He always rode his rocking horse; even to the point of severe exhaustion (and ultimately to his death). He also heard voices. These voices were the words of his mother always in search of more money. This is what drove him mad and somehow gave him a link to the other side; giving him the ability to listen to supernatural beings tell him the winners of the horse race. Although it may not seem like it is reminiscent of "The Sixth Sense", I believe so because the boy in the movie was seeking help from a psychiatrist. After a couple of visits, the boy told the psychiatrist that he could "see dead people"... But it doesn't stop there, he could actually hear, talk to and interact with them. This already goes to show that both boys are crazy (by the term crazy, I am referring to a definition of “being out of the norm”; which seeing dead people, hearing voices, and talking to the dead all fall under that category) and have contact to supernatural beings.
At the very end of both medias, both were very dramatic. When I say this I mean that there is a last minute plot twist that isn’t expected. In the short story, the boy dies and his mother learns nothing of recent events. In the movie, boy helps the psychiatrist move on as he was actually dead the entire time and was seen by the audience because the boy could see him.
I see the resemblance for sure. Although I think there was an overall motive as to why the boy Paul in “The Rocking Horse Winner”, was receiving some type of supernatural phenomenon. For Paul, I believe he wasn’t just crazy, I think he obtained motivation from him wanting to help his mom, in making her “lucky”. On the other hand, I don’t recall the boy from The Sixth Sense having a motive to see dead people; I think he just saw them. Overall, they both were very similar in that they had supernatural occurrences that no one else really knew about.
ReplyDeleteConnor, I can definitely see the connections you have made between "The Rocking Horse Winner" and "The Sixth Sense". I would not have thought of this movie to make the connections that you have made but it all makes great sense. Both boys seemed to be receiving information from supernatural forces. They both seemed to be crazy in the sense that you described with hearing voices, seeing dead people and etc. The only comparison I would not be able to make is the motives of each boy. Paul's motive was trying to prove to his mother that he could in fact have "luck" in terms of money. The boy in "The Sixth Sense" did not seem to have a motive. His senses seemed to be more of "just because" meaning something that he was just capable of doing not necessarily because he was motivated to but because it was simply just a natural part of him. Great job here!
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