be more money!

We never see Paul leave the house, which lends a claustrophobic quality to his existence there. And while we learn a little about the house, for instance that it is "pleasant," has a "garden," and at one point is filled with flowers that Paul's mother has purchased, we are offered few concrete details about it. We do learn that the nursery where Paul rides his rocking horse so furiously is filled with expensive toys, such as a doll-house, a doll "smirking" in her "pram," and stuffed animals. But Lawrence uses such broad strokes to describe his setting that he maintains a mythic, dreamlike, fairy-tale quality.

Author D. H. Lawrence lived in many places around the world-- including Germany, Italy, Australia, Mexico and New Mexico--but his short story, "The Rocking-Horse Winner" takes place in his native England. Lawrence lived much of his life in Croydon, south of London, and this could be the setting of the story.

They lived in a pleasant house, with a garden, and they had discreet servants, and felt themselves superior to anyone in the neighbourhood.

Oscar spends time with Bassett and Paul in Richmond Park (London's largest royal park); Paul hopes to attend his father's alma mater at Eton College; Uncle Oscar has a home in Hampshire on the southern coast of England; and one of the big races in the story is at the Lincoln Racecourse, home of the Lincoln Handicap. First published in 1926, "The Rocking-Horse Winner" probably is set in the early- to mid-1920s, and certainly after the invention of the automobile, since Uncle Oscar often took Paul "for a ride in the car."

Actual horse races in England place the setting in the 1920s. The reader knows that this is an affluent neighborhood by the provisions the family is able to afford: the children have their own nursery, they are allotted a governess, and they enjoy a garden and "discreet servants."

The majority of the setting takes place inside their house, which is a character in itself. Because Hester, the mother, feels that they don't make "nearly enough for the social position which they had to keep up," the house begins to call out from the very walls: "There just be more money! There must be more money!" This causes even the children to stop playing as they listen to the calls of the house. The house is also where Paul learns to ride his prophetic rocking horse, bringing his mother the money she so desperately desires.

The first few paragraphs are dedicated to the history of the family and the house. It focuses on the discontent of Hester, especially, noting how she had "started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck." She cannot love her own children and feels the center of her heart go hard and cold whenever they are around. She makes sure that they all live stylishly, even if that is beyond their means. The historical narrative then moves to the house itself, noting how it speaks to the family, calling out for more money.

The sense of time switches when Paul asks a simple question: "Why don't we keep a car of our own?" It is at this point that his mother tells him that they are poor (which is melodramatic as people who pay servants are not living in poverty), and Paul realizes that he needs to somehow make money for his family, establishing a base upon which the conflict of the story will grow.

It is in this house that this little boy will be driven to his death in a desperate effort to give his mother what she most desires.

The setting of the story is in the family's "pleasant house, with a garden", where they lived in style, but were haunted by the lack of money.  Haunted, almost literally, as it reads that the house constantly whispered, "There must be more money". 

The story gives about 6 paragraphs of back-story and set-up, and moves directly from that history into action, when little Paul asks his mother why they don't keep a car of their own, but always use a taxi or their uncle's car.  From here there is a crucial discussion of money, and luck (which is, according to his mother, the ability to earn money). 

This story's themes of greedy matieralism and the fruitless quest for money make for a very sad, but though-provoking story, and that unique set-up is an important part of it.  I hope that helps!

The main setting of the story is London in the years following the First World War. Numerous other locations in England are mentioned, primarily famous racecourses such as Lincoln, Aintree, and Royal Ascot. The setting is important to the various themes that Lawrence wishes to convey. In particular, he uses the setting of post-war Britain to highlight the growing greed and materialism which he sees as undermining British society.

The period immediately following the First World War was a time of great hope and optimism in England. However, that feeling quickly subsided into disillusionment as the enormous social problems that had plagued the country prior to the war remained unaddressed, and in most cases actually became worse. In the character of Hester, we have an example of what Lawrence sees as the decadence of the middle-classes. The great era of Edwardian reform is no more; the middle-classes have effectively given up on the poor and the down-trodden in their headlong pursuit of wealth. Hester's obsession with living beyond her means can only lead to serious problems in the future, just like the selfishness of the English middle-classes she represents.

For the answer to this question, we can refer directly to the text, and then use other clues to fill in the gaps.  The text itself states,

"They lived in a pleasant house, with a garden, and they had discreet servants."

So, that gives us the most specific details that we can find on the actual setting and place. Because the story was first published in the 1920's in England, we can infer that the time period and place are similar.  Given that information, it is in the 1920's, in England, in a large home of people living an affluent lifestyle.  More than that, we don't know.  The setting is not the most important element of this story, beyond the fact that they live a lifestyle that is beyond their means.  The setting can be a universal one, as the themes of greed and materialism can apply in many different contexts.  I hope that helped; good luck!

In "The Rocking-Horse Winner," Paul appears to drive himself to exhaustion and death by riding his rocking horse to satisfy a ceaseless pressure in his household for more money. The very walls of the house seem to constantly, silently repeat that "there must be more money!"

The setting is important because it reinforces that the family's perceived need for money is more psychological than literal. Paul's family, by any reasonable standard, is well-off. They have a fine house, servants (not uncommon at that time period and a sign of a comfortable, middle-class prosperity), and the children have many expensive toys. Though they struggle to maintain appearances appropriate to their class standing, they have many luxuries.

When Paul does get more money for his mother by vigorously riding his rocking horse so that he can learn who will win upcoming horse races, he secretly gives it to his mother. She does not use it to pay off debts or buy necessities like food or clothing, but fills the house with cut flowers from the florist, a luxury; acquires "new furnishings"; and makes plans to send Paul to Eton, an elite boarding school. Notably, getting the money increases the "need" for money in the house.

This insatiable desire for money springs from the mother. She is incapable of loving her husband or her children and is likely trying, in vain, to fill a hole inside herself with money. The setting shows the psychological aspect of her "need" in that the house appears luxurious and that she even adds to its luxury when given money but she is never satisfied with the luxuries in her life. She is always seeking more money, even to the point that the house itself—the setting—seems to whisper about it constantly.