Dreams Vs. Reality In The Lamp At Noon By Sinclair Ross

Dreams give the motivation to persevere. However, by living in a dream as a mean to escape reality, is like deceiving oneself. In Sinclair Ross’s “The Lamp at Noon”, the theme of dreams vs. reality is established through the main characters Paul and Ellen. During the Depression, a challenging time in their lives, Paul escapes to his imaginary world, while Ellen must face the harsh reality by herself. Paul constantly consoles himself with dreams of the future, while disregarding the challenges faced by his family and his hopeless life on the farm. Paul envisions a life where has fertile land, adequate weather and a stable home. He is engrossed with his invented life “and so vivid was the future of his planning, so real and constant, that often the

actual present was but half felt” (Ross 69). Through his extensive planning he leads himself to believe that all his dreams of a perfect life will come true without any thought of exactly how. He lives in his world of lies as they relieved him of his everyday struggles and provided comfort and security.

When Ellen attempts to enter his world with her plausible arguments and existing problems, Paul becomes irritated and defensive, afraid that his fragile world would shatter. Another delusional part of his life is his family. To Paul, the distress of his family “seem[s] remote, unimportant” (68), as he strongly believes that they are “safe within the house” (69-70). Despite the many difficulties his family is facing such as the dust, poverty, and lack of safety, Paul refuses to acknowledge them. He thinks that being inside the house shields them from worries and that futile problems are not his priority. He lives in an unreal state where his family is content and supportive, and expects them the same in reality. That is, why he neglects Ellen’s endless complaints about their quality of life on the farm. He has a deep sense of loyalty towards his farm and cannot bring himself to come to terms with the truth; life on the farm is nonviable. He has “faith in the land” (71) and assures himself that “he would plant alfalfa, breed cattle, acre by acre and year by year restore his land to its fibre and fertility”

(70). The deserted and dry land is incapable of agriculture and can no longer support him, yet he insists on its potential as he knows nothing beyond the farm. Perhaps that is the reason he has created an alternate reality for himself, where no one can reach him. Distraught with his financial and family crisis, and racked with the fear of losing his identity; his farm, Paul dwells solely upon his dreams with no grasp of reality.