Comparing Imagery in Flying a Red Kite and The Lamp at Noon :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Imagery in Flying a Red Kite and The Lamp at Noon Imagery is used by many authors as a crucial element of character development. These authors draw parallels between the imagery in their stories and the main characters' thoughts and feelings. Through intense imagery, non-human elements such as the natural environment, animals, and inanimate objects are brought to life with characteristics that match those of the characters involved. Sinclair Ross uses vivid imagery of nature to reflect and influence the emotions of his characters in his short story The Lamp at Noon. The wind is a powerful force that changes with the emotions of Ellen and Paul. Sinclair describes the wind as two separate winds: "the wind in flight, and the wind that pursue[s]" (Atwood/Weaver, 74). Like the wind in flight which cannot escape the wind that pursues it, Ellen cannot escape her isolation. The wind in flight always returns to "quake among the feeble eaves, as if in all this dust-mad wilderness it knew no other sanctuary" (74). Ellen is also forced to seek refuge within her small home, which is also the place where she feels the most secluded. The wind outside often contrasts the silence that is encased inside. During an argument between Paul and Ellen, there is an uncomfortable silence, "a deep fastness of it enclosed by rushing wind and creaking walls"(76). This noise around them makes the silence within even more uncomfortable. Paul later finds the silence comforting when he is in the stable. It is described as a "deep hollow calm within, a vast darkness engulfed beneath the tides of moaning wind" (78). The silence protects him and brings him relief from the dangerous world outside. Unfortunately, the walls seem to weaken against the powerful wind, and "instead of release or escape from the assaulting wind, the walls [are] but a feeble stand against it" (78). Paul begins to understand what Ellen is feeling, and the wind screams like Ellen's cries. As he thinks of ways to restore the land and make Ellen happy, the wind starts to slacken. For a short moment, he feels relief. When he returns to the house, he realizes that Ellen is gone. At this point, the wind whimpers and moans as if it knows Ellen's isolation and Paul's despair. The imagery of the wind is used by Sinclair to intensify the characters' emotions and help the reader understand what the characters are experiencing.