Please enable JavaScript.

Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.

Lamp at Noon Annotations (Vocabulary (Parched: to make dry, hot or thirsty…

- - - - Ellen is the first protagonist. It is evident the she was part of a wealthier class in town, but then married a farmer through Paul saying to her "living off your people" would be "charity", and that they would be considered "Pauper" in town coming from a farm.. Throughout the story she is emotional, as well as very conscious of and worried about the situation she and her family are in. She is open and honest with herself and with Paul about weakness and fear. The author demonstrates through the story how Ellen feels weak without her husband, oftentimes describing how she wishes to be held by him “just that he might soothe her”. Ellen’s isolation over the years on the farm have rendered her anxious and fearful for her family’s current and future living conditions on the farm with horrible weather, believing she and her family will not be prosperous on their farm as she repeatedly begs her husband for a change and tells him “I’m so caged - if only I could break away and run. See, I stand like this all day. I can’t relax”. Throughout the story, Ellen’s eyes are “strained apart and rigid”, and the author describes that she “could not close them” to represent how she is constantly in a state of high anxiety, and her open eyes are a symbol of how all she can focus on and see is the peril of her condition constantly. At the end of the story, Ellen takes her child and runs away out of desperation. It is not entirely clear, but it seems as if the reason her child dies is because of her decision to run away, and Ellen is seemingly left in a state of crazed denial, implied through descriptions such as “Her eyes were still wide in an immobile stare, but with her lips she smiled at him” directly after the death of her child. She apparently gives up, telling Paul “you were right” and “tomorrow will be fine” despite her previous concerns and actions.
    - - Paul - Paul is the second protagonist. Throughout the story he holds on to his hope and plan for the future. He is somewhat stubborn, and feels attached to the land he owns and the plan he has for it. Paul is only 30 years old, but his years of hard work on his farm have caused him to become grim and tough, which has played into his stubbornness, making him even less open-minded. His naturally “grim endurance”, as the author writes, makes him unable to empathize with “the fear and weakness” of his wife. He finds comfort in his animals, seemingly more so than people, which is shown when he spends time with his horse “comforting and assuring each other” while he and Ellen often “quarreled bitterly” when they were together. He also finds comfort in isolation where he can think without interruption or pressure, as it gives him “sense of release from a harsh, familiar world”. For the first half of the story, Paul is unable to see the truth of his situation, and focuses on the future without realizing the truth of the present hardships that his family is facing. As the story goes on, Paul begins to believe that Ellen was right about his mistakes and that he needs to make a change. He becomes more open and not quite as stubborn, yet has too much pride to admit to anybody that he was wrong.
- - - - The relationship between Ellen and Paul is a reflection of the expectations of genders in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. Men were typically the breadwinners and had responsibility as well as authority in the household. Men were typically in charge, as men brought in the money and would therefore make the decisions. Men also were expected to not be fragile or overly emotional in order to be “manly”. Paul in the story is shown to have that sense of the “manliness” that society pushes on him. Women in the 1930s typically would stay at home and do the cooking, cleaning, and babysitting, and relied on their husband, much like how Ellen is depicted throughout the story.
      - Woman
        
        Ellen is a woman, and she is depicted as being emotional, and weak without her husband. She cares for their child, cooks the meals, and stays home all day, and overall, her husband seems to make the important family decisions. She is portayed as being weaker than Paul because of her being a woman.
      - Man
        
        Paul is the typical strong, working man. He works all day to make the money for the family, and has a sense of control over his family. It is important to him that he is not pitied or condescended, and that he maintains his responsibilities (of his family and his farm). Without being able to independently uphold his responsibilities, his value as a man, husband, and father are lesser. Therefore, he is stubborn, and doesn’t admit defeat or being in the wrong. He rarely “feels”, often suppressing emotion as men have been expected to in the past, whereas women, such as Ellen, are very full of emotion.
      - By the end of the story, the roles of Ellen and Paul flip, to a certain extent. Ellen heads out on her own, being strong for herself and her child. Paul, after spending time alone with his thoughts, begins to discover and show his emotions more, and starts to believe he should listen to his wife more. When Paul finds Ellen after she leaves home, their child is dead and Ellen becomes emotionless, even more so than Paul previously was, while Paul is the one showing worry and fear.