The Lamp at Noon

In the following I am analyzing the short fiction “The Lamp at Noon,” Written by Sinclair Ross. This is a short story involving a couple in the midst of a dust storm while living on a farm. This couple is currently in hardship since their crops and animals are suffering since the land won’t grow. The land is the only thing this small family has. Looking deeper into the specifics, this passage that was given is a vital turning point in the story. The point where this passage takes place is when the husband Paul realizes that his wife may be right in regards to the argument they were having. This is a very important portion of the passage since right before this scene Ellen and Paul were arguing over moving back to the city so they could make a living, while Paul wanted to stay and try and harvest crops even with the horrible storms that have been happening. During this passage you see that Paul has a sort of epiphany into the words that Ellen was saying, and goes into detail about the noises he was hearing. The choices of words the author uses are intriguing and show his style, which I will discuss later in this analysis, along with his other choices of structure. One of the concepts of this passage that show that he is a great author is the key words used into really seeing the moment when Paul realizes Ellen may be right.

The author of this passage is very descriptive and chose his words wisely. He uses a lot of rhetorical devices in this story. One common statement made by Ellen is that she feels caged. When I stated before that Paul had an epiphany, and in the passage given to us, he even says in his own mind “See Paul – I stand like this all day. I just stand still – so caged! If only I could run!”(Ross, “The Lamp at Noon”) As the passage state he hears this in the wind. Which brings me to my next subject, the author’s use of onomatopoeia. Sinclair Ross uses many descriptive words about the wind; one example is “the wild lipless wailing,”(Ross, “The Lamp at