In the following essay, Wilson compares "The Rocking-Horse Winner" to a parable, addressing the story's use of anonymous characters and supernatural elements. The critic also examines how the characters in the story utilize language and how false meanings and unrecognized messages bear upon the tale's conclusion.

In the following essay, Goldberg outlines the similarities between "The Rocking-Horse Winner" and Charles Dickens's Dombey and Son, suggesting that "Lawrence's vision had been shaped in part by the Dickensian tradition. " The critic also takes issue with the numerous Freudian analyses of "The Rocking-Horse Winner."

In the following study, Marks asserts that specific writings by psychologist Sigmund Freud provide insight into "The Rocking-Horse Winner" and that Lawrence "seems to have made at least selective use" of Freud's work in constructing his short stories and novels.

Snodgrass was an American poet, educator, and critic, whose books included the highly-regarded poetry collection Heart's Needle (1959). In the following essay, one of the seminal studies of "The Rocking-Horse Winner, " he explores the use of symbols in the story and comments on Lawrence's philosophy of sex and life and how these ideas impact the tale.

Sexual Allusions in "the Rocking-horse Winner":

Here, Watkins examines "The Rocking-Horse Winner" as "a symbolic formulation of social life in the grip of capitalism. " He also argues that Lawrence uses the spiritual aspects of the story to represent orthodox Christianity and to illustrate how the religion supports capitalism.

In the following study, Koban suggests that Paul's death in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" allegorically represents the death of the child in Hester—the death of her innocence and love. The critic also comments on Lawrence's philosophical ideas of love, marriage, sex, and money.

In the following essay, which was originally published in 1949 and revised in 1962 before being reprinted in From Fiction to Film, the authors outline various elements in the story and argue that it can only be fully appreciated by taking into account the relationship between "character and symbol, theme and plot tension."

In the following essay, Isaacs finds Paul's riding of the rocking-horse to be an allusion to sex and masturbation; the critic also theorizes that Paul dies because he cannot bear the guilt he feels after his mother finds him on the rocking-horse.

Here, San Juan seeks to contradict other critics of "The Rocking-Horse Winner" by stating that Paul was neither corrupted by, nor a victim of, money; instead, San Juan argues that the principle of the story is the change in Paul's personality—Paul's motivation was to please his mother and money is only used as a method to invoke emotions and change.

Fiction writer Gordon and poet Tate were noted authors from the Southern United States and were married from 1924 to 1954. In the following excerpt, they examine the writing techniques Lawrence employs in "The Rocking-Horse Winner."

Here, Junkins enters the debate over the merits of "The Rocking-Horse Winner." Issuing a rebuttal to William D. Burroughs's 1963 article, Junkins emphasizes the mythic aspects of the work and contends that it is a "story of meaning, not morality."

Martin is a South African-born, Canadian educator and critic. Here he upholds the accomplishment of "The Rocking-Horse Winner, " citing its adept depiction of one of Lawrence's major themes: the danger of the "unlived" life. For a response to Martin's assertions, see the 1963 essay by William D. Burroughs and the 1964 essay by Donald Junkins.

In this response to W. R. Martin's 1962 essay, Burroughs criticizes "The Rocking-Horse Winner, " commenting that the work is "an excellent technical masterpiece" but that the combination of didactic and fantastic elements in the story harms its overall effect. A response to Burroughs's argument is found in Donald Junkins's 1964 essay.