Compare and contrast paul's case to the rocking-horse winner?

Answer 1

In both stories there is a common theme of obsession and how the detrimental effects it has on the human mind

For "Paul's Case", he indulged himself in the wealth and lifestyle of the upper class and gave himself the illusion that he was in a higher social position than he really was, similar to the mother in "The Rocking Horse Winner"

Paul in "The Rocking Horse Winner" was obsessed to win the love of his mother because of the greed of the mother, which continually drives him to ride his rocking horse to win the horse race gambles

Eventually both Paul's meet their own demise due to their own obsessions. For "Paul's Case", he has experienced a brief sample of the upper class and cannot bear to return to the mundane middle class life and suicides. In the "Rocking Horse Winner", in the height of his frenzied horse riding, he finds out the name of the winner at the cost of his life.

However, some contrasting elements of each story are that in Paul's case, the protagonist is more in tune with his human emotions while the mother is more devoid of human compassion.