Luck and Hard Work Theme Analysis

Hester defines luck as that which “causes you to have money.” She tells Paul that one is born lucky or not, and God chooses to make people lucky at random. Hester values luck because she believes that if she were lucky, she would be rich and never need to worry about working or losing her fortune. She tells Paul that she used to think she was lucky, but now she thinks she isn’t because she married someone who doesn’t make money (Paul’s father). Hester’s focus on luck rather than hard work or skill as the source of money gives her a kind of emotional benefit: she is able to blame her husband and the rest of the world for her lack of money instead of herself. Although Hester does try to work and make an income for herself, she doesn’t make a great deal, and certainly not enough to cover her spending. Of course, making a little money is certainly better than making no money at all, but Hester continues to complain about her luck instead of working more or spending less.

Hester’s focus on luck rather than work is disastrous for Paul. Paul internalizes his mother’s lessons, and in him the emotional anxieties of the house become almost physical. Paul becomes fixated on being lucky—a luck he can only achieve through mad physical effort on his rocking-horse—in an attempt to quiet his house’s whispers about his family’s financial anxieties. And Paul’s luck does come through: compared to the measly amount that Hester is paid for her work, Paul is able to win a truly enormous sum of money through his “hard work” (which, incidentally, is the very definition of useless labor—just rocking back and forth and producing nothing). But although Paul expends so much effort in the pursuit of luck, he is in the end very unlucky. Were Paul truly just “lucky,” he would be able to bet on a horse at random and that horse would win. Instead, Paul needs to work himself up into a frenzied state until he “knows” which horse to bet on. When Paul bets without “knowing,” he usually loses. Paul’s struggle, in the end, gives no easy answers about luck and hard work, and why some things make money and others don’t. Paul gains money not through luck, but only through his hard work and great personal sacrifice—essentially working for his luck—but Lawrence makes it clear that this is not an inspirational tale about the value of hard work, as the effort ends up killing Paul.