A Lamp At Noon Analysis

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A Lamp At Noon “And always the wind, the creak of walls, the wild lipless wailing through the loft. Until at last he stood there, staring into the livid face before him, it seemed that this scream of wind was a cry from her parched and frantic lips. He knew it couldn’t be, he knew that she was safe within the house, but still the wind persisted as a woman’s cry. The cry of a woman with eyes like those that watched him through the dark. Eyes that were mad now- lips that even as they cried still pleaded, “See, Paul- I stand like this all day. I just stand still- so caged! If I could only run!” This excerpt is taken from Sinclair’s Ross’ “A Lamp At Noon.” This narration is of a young…show more content…
Ross relies on alliteration to resonate the “wild lipless wailing” of the wind which creates the “creak of walls” and echoes through the loft. The use of concrete words, such as ‘walls’ and ‘loft’ also provide a sensual connection to the imagery portrayed in the first line. Ross later enters into great detail to characterize the wind to create vivid images to its reader. Ross personifies the wind by describing it as a cry from the “parched and frantic lips” of a woman who was “staring into the livid face before him.” Ross utilizes adjectives such as “frantic “and “parched” to emphasize the desperate plea of the woman. This cry continues to haunt Paul’s thoughts and is personified as having lips that cried and pleaded and “eyes that were mad.” By characterizing the woman’s cry, it offers the reader Paul’s view of Ellen’s pleading. Furthermore, Ross correlates the ceaseless dust-filled wind to Ellen’s consistent cry by the use of the metaphor. Ross describes “the wind [as persistent] as a woman’s…show more content…
Ellen laments of this tedious lifestyle to Paul when she says to him, “I stand like this all day. I just stand still-so caged. If I could only run!” The author utilizes repetition and parallel sentences to emphasize the character’s loneliness and imprisonment she experiences in her home. In addition, an antithesis is also used to emphasize Ellen’s encagement, when she reveals the urge to run, as a result from being trapped in her home daily. Her ongoing plea remains in Paul’s thoughts when he retreats to the manger. The sentence structure of this paragraph is sophisticated, and longer sentences are used to create more opportunity to include further description and to add richness to the imagery present in the passage. Ross’ use of personification allows the reader to understand Paul’s connection between Ellen’s cry and the perpetual wind. The imagery also contributes to the mood of the setting, and the emotion of the character. The sentence structure, the affluent use of diction, the imagery and the personification of the passage allows a vivid connection between the wind and Ellen’s cry. The imagery allows a parallel with the character’s emotion as well, and contributes to the dark atmosphere at the manger. All these add to the mood and aid the reader to connect with Paul’s desperation and emotional
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