The Lamp at Noon

When I read this story, written by Sinclair Ross, all I could think about was the Great Depression/ drought of the 1930's. During this time so many people were suffering and not much could be done. People's livelihoods were taken away from them; either by the bank, or the unyielding dry weather. So when I read this I could imagine how Ellen, the wife, was feelings about everything that was happening at that moment in time. But I could also see Paul's point of view and why he wanted to stick it out and persevere.


Paul, like most farmers during that time, knew of nothing else but their fields. It was their livelihoods and they weren't about to give it up, even though there was nothing left. The picture below shows the extent of the drought, and probably what Paul and Ellen were dealing with. In the story, Paul was overly confident in the land because he believed things were going to get better, the drought would end, and he would be able to replant his crops. He had grown up on the farm and knew what to expect. Whereas Ellen doesn't believe/ have confidence in the land. She had grown up in a lavish lifestyle where she never had to deal with droughts or depressions. She led a sheltered life and didn't know how to face adversity.


I felt that this story highlighted the people's feelings about the drought/ Great Depression very well. Though it wasn't mentioned in the story, the great depression was "alive" during this time which added to Ellen and Paul's worries. I did like reading this story because it allowed us to peer into the lives of the people that were living during this time period.