The Lamp At Noon Summary

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Land, Wind and Lamp Embodied as Emotions Hopelessness, isolation, fear, anxiety, exhaustion, desperation and optimism are all emotions that can be creatively portrayed through symbols. In the short story “The lamp at Noon”, written by Sinclair Ross, the symbols reflect and resemble the characters’ attributes. Firstly, the lead characters’ perished farmland mirrors Ellen’s, the protagonist, emotions and capability to stay whole and unbreakable for her family. Additionally, the detrimental wind exemplifies the main characters, Ellen and Paul’s disorientated marriage. Finally, the lamp in the main characters home and Ellen and Paul’s baby are alike and both symbolize hope for the family. Clearly, the symbols land, wind and lamp all embody and portray…show more content…
In this case, the demented wind mirrors Ellen and Paul’s relationship, which causes them to become disunified. At this moment in time, Ellen and Paul are separated because of the tension that was built between them. Ellen needs to distract herself so, “she fixed her eyes upon the clock, listening. There were two winds: the wind in flight, and the wind that pursued. The one sought refuge in the eaves, whimpering, in fear; the other assailed it there, and shook the eaves apart to make it flee again” (64). It is evident that the two winds personify the married couple, Ellen as the wind in flight and Paul as the wind that pursued. The reason for this is that, Ellen stands up for herself, fighting for a better life and to leave the farm and go back to her hometown as a means to become normal again. On the other hand, Paul does not want to leave his farm because he is scared, weak and covers up his true emotions by implementing that he does not want to be emasculated. Furthermore, this quote and symbol foreshadows what occurs between Ellen and Paul; Ellen runs away with their baby for a

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