Essay for "The Lamp at Noon"
“The Lamp at Noon”
Every human being wants to achieve something greater than they thought was possible. Achieving greatness and choosing the right way to live your life is all a person wants during their time on this Earth, and doing this while coexisting peacefully with others. All a human being truly wants is to live their life to the fullest, and to have no regrets once they have passed away. In “The Lamp at Noon”, author Sinclair Ross uses conflict to show that the pursuit of one’s dreams, goals, and an idealistic lifestyle will determine how one will behave and how one will react to conflicting forces.
Dreams must be pursued in order to live a worthwhile and exciting life, but, if one’s dreams conflict with another’s, the only thing that will arise are complications. This is shown in “The Lamp at Noon.” Paul and his wife Ellen both have dreams that they wish to pursue. One dreams to live off the land, while the other wants to move into a city and work in a store. Since the story is taking place during The Great Depression and crops are growing scarcely, problems arise. The farm’s ground is overworked and neglected, and the couple’s child is having a difficult time living comfortably, let alone breathing at all. Ellen wishes for a better life for her child. She envisions of a good life in the city, away from strong wind and an extensive drought. She wanted valuable possessions for herself and also to be part of a moderately wealthy family who could provide for themselves comfortably. Unfortunately, her husband Paul was attached to the land that he farmed so excessively. He would not give it up without a fight. Eventually, Paul and Ellen’s dreams conflicted so much that they could not even have a simple conversation between one another without a fight arising. The thought of compromise had never occurred because neither wanted to give up their dreams of a good life.
Paul and Ellen had simple goals, yet, these goals were unattainable for the both of them. The
Every human being wants to achieve something greater than they thought was possible. Achieving greatness and choosing the right way to live your life is all a person wants during their time on this Earth, and doing this while coexisting peacefully with others. All a human being truly wants is to live their life to the fullest, and to have no regrets once they have passed away. In “The Lamp at Noon”, author Sinclair Ross uses conflict to show that the pursuit of one’s dreams, goals, and an idealistic lifestyle will determine how one will behave and how one will react to conflicting forces.
Dreams must be pursued in order to live a worthwhile and exciting life, but, if one’s dreams conflict with another’s, the only thing that will arise are complications. This is shown in “The Lamp at Noon.” Paul and his wife Ellen both have dreams that they wish to pursue. One dreams to live off the land, while the other wants to move into a city and work in a store. Since the story is taking place during The Great Depression and crops are growing scarcely, problems arise. The farm’s ground is overworked and neglected, and the couple’s child is having a difficult time living comfortably, let alone breathing at all. Ellen wishes for a better life for her child. She envisions of a good life in the city, away from strong wind and an extensive drought. She wanted valuable possessions for herself and also to be part of a moderately wealthy family who could provide for themselves comfortably. Unfortunately, her husband Paul was attached to the land that he farmed so excessively. He would not give it up without a fight. Eventually, Paul and Ellen’s dreams conflicted so much that they could not even have a simple conversation between one another without a fight arising. The thought of compromise had never occurred because neither wanted to give up their dreams of a good life.
Paul and Ellen had simple goals, yet, these goals were unattainable for the both of them. The