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Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

The Rocking-Horse

The rocking-horse itself is the most pronounced symbol in the story and therefore represents many different things. For one thing, it’s an extravagant gift that Paul’s mother cannot afford, and so it symbolizes a grandiose yet hollow gesture of love, a manifestation of Paul’s mother’s lack of love for her children and the fact that she plunges the family deeper into debt to avoid her real problems. The rocking-horse also represents the misdirected desires Paul’s mother experiences and passes down to Paul. The physical act of rocking symbolizes that Paul is following in his mother's footsteps and misdirecting his energy. Additionally, the way Paul holds on to the horse through the years and continues to ride it furiously long after he's outgrown it symbolizes Paul's resistance to growing up and becoming an adult himself. Many people become uncomfortable when Paul rocks on the horse. His nurse warns him that he'll break it. His sister wants him to stop doing it, and his mother believes he is too old to be doing something so childish. Yet no one steps in to do anything to stop him. The rocking-horse thus represents the process of spinning in place, of going nowhere, of becoming so blindly invested in a singular activity that one is given to endless distraction from actual meaningful pursuits.

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