The differences between Rocking Horse Winner, Prussian Officer and According to BestWorks by the same author often show the repeated use of certain words, images or plots. In five short stories by the author, DH Lawrence, differences between social classes are the basis of conflict and provide the basis for taboo relationships. These five stories are "The Rocking Horse Winner", "The Prussian Officer", "The Second Best", "The White Stocking", and "The Vicar's Daughters". The inclusion of the motif of class differences in these particular works often leads to acts of violence or tragedy as a result. In "The Rocking Horse Winner", a relationship forms between the pseudo-aristocratic Paul and his family's gardener, Bassett. Paul's family is not rich at all, but "they felt superior to everyone in the neighborhood." Bassett, by contrast, is a young war veteran turned gardener with a passion for horse racing. It turns out that this passion is also shared by Paul and his uncle Oscar. Oscar initially disapproves of the relationship between the "old" Bassett and his nephew, but their love of horse racing and gambling puts them on equal footing. The class difference between men is used by Lawrence to demonstrate that debt and greed are universal desires – they are not limited to the lower classes. The fatal climax of the story is unfortunately also its end. When Paul falls from the rocking horse and lies dying in his bed, his mother is brought down from her imagined pedestal of social superiority and allows Bassett (with whom she spent the boy's "intense hours") to visit him. The story ends tragically with social differences quickly becoming apparent. "The Prussian Officer" is similar to "The Rocking Horse" Wi...... middle of paper ...... is the result, direct or indirect, of tragedy and/or violence. "The Rocking Horse Winner" and "The Prussian Officer" describe the brutal death of the protagonist, while "Second Best" shows the perversity of a mating ritual between different classes, a tragedy due to the death of a character and the condemnation of two heroes to a life of isolation and tribulation. Motifs can come in many forms and DH Lawrence stories can be connected in various ways, as illustrated by this essay, one of the strongest links has to do with the differences between people and the problems that relationships between them can cause . Works Cited: Lawrence, David Herbert "The Rocking-Horse Literature: Reading,". Reacting, Writing Ed. Laurie G. Kirzner and Stephen R. Mandell Forth Worth: Harcourt, Inc., 2001