To Set Our House in Order and The Lamp at Noon

A common theme among many literary works set during the depression era is alienation. In these works of fiction characters often become isolated which cause them to be alienated by society as well as their family. In the short stories such as “To Set Our House in Order” by Margret Laurence and “The Lamp at Noon” by Sinclair Ross, we see characters that face these conditions. As a result the authors address the theme of alienation in similar ways, yet develop it in their own unique methods.

In “To Set Our House in Order” Margaret Laurence, it conveys the message that alienation is self-inflicted on the character “Grandmother MacLeod” as a result of a tragic event. In this case alienation is used as a coping mechanism for the Grandmother who lost her son Roderick in the battle of Somme. In the story she tells Vanessa, “When your Uncle Roderick got killed, I thought I would die. But I didn’t die” (Laurence 94). This shows how she now avoids affection and emotion in fear of becoming vulnerable. In consequence the Grandmother is in a state of emotional withdrawal which is shown where it states, “For she did not believe in the existence of fear, or if she did she never let on” (93). By doing so she decides she is better off trying to feel no emotion which supports the fact her alienation is self-inflicted.

Similarly, Sinclair Ross depicts the theme of alienation through the character named Ellen, in the story “The Lamp at Noon”. We learn that the alienation in this story is also self-inflicted but to a different extent. One major difference is that in this case that she has become alienated from society due to geographical isolation. We learn that Ellen once came from a rich family and it seems as if the shift from city to rural lif...

... middle of paper ...

...tmosphere in the story, this creates a feeling of uneasiness and fear of the isolated environment which inevitably affects the story’s protagonists. The use of descriptive words describing the farmland allows the author to create a sense of despair and gloom. An example where this can be found is, "There was a deep hollow within, a vast darkness engulfed beneath the tides of a moaning wind" (233). By using such diction Ross is effectively able to further reinforce Ellen’s isolation and alienation from society.

In the stories “To Set Our House in Order” and “The Lamp at Noon” the authors are both able to effectively communicate that alienation is self-inflicted, while using multiple different techniques. As a result it becomes apparent that each author can take a similar approach to the alienation of a character in the story yet develop the theme in a unique way.