In everyday living, many ordinary people have very difficult decisions to make that will shape their life. For instance, Ann from "The Colored Door" is shown as a protagonist because of the way her personality is, she is very lonely, despondent and miserable and what she does because of these feelings influences her life enormously. Paul, from "Light at Noon", is also shown as the protagonist because he's doing his best to support his family and earn a living for the kids, but gets no gratitude for this. The protagonists, antagonists and supplementary characters shape the storyplot and each persona influences the story in a tremendous way. Both stories demonstrate similarities in personality showing that loneliness can have a huge effect on life and promote bad choices.
In the storyplot "The Colored Door" Ann is recognized as the protagonist. She actually is partially to blame for lots of the tragic things that happen in the storyline, such as her depressive disorder, her hidden knowledge affair with Stephen and John's death. Just how Ann determines to do things has a huge impact on the results of the storyline, Moore reinforces this idea when she talks about that "Although John does not pay much attention to Ann, it is Ann's fault because she never says John that she would rather he spent additional time with her than working. She also drives John to commit suicide because she "sleeps" with Steven, making John feel that she doesn't love him nowadays. " (Moore) Ann is a very lonely and unsatisfied woman, which may be because she hides her true feelings from John. Ann has an extremely hard time being home only when John leaves for the night time. She does a lot of things to try and keep her head occupied. However, because she is so depressed and Stephen, a neighbour and friend of Johns, comes to play credit cards with her, she messes up and does indeed things she regrets later. The actions she decided to portray when she received sad and depressed affected her marriage with her partner exhibiting to him that she doesn't love him.
In society, just how people action and communicate affects just how others think of these. Paul from "The Lamp fixture at Noon" will everything he can such as working on him plantation to get food and money to aid his family. Paul is considered a protagonist because of his determination to his family and his dedication to his work. Ellen will not realize that he is merely doing it to aid his family, she gets annoyed and wants to move somewhere without particles storms, anywhere that she feels allows her to buy lovely things " 'As much as around, growing up a pauper. You're the one who wants to go; it isn't for his sake. You think that around you'd have an improved time -not very much work- more clothes-' 'Maybe' she dropped her mind defencelessly" (Ross 3) Paul will not believe in living with another family and getting 'charity' from them, he's impartial and trusts they can take care of their family perfectly by himself "I cannot go Ellen. Living off people -charity- stop and think than it. That's where I belong. I cannot do anything else. " (Ross 3) Paul expressing his thoughts this way to Ellen makes her very annoyed, but implies that he's not afraid to convey how he seems.
Ellen, from "Light fixture at Noon" is also a unhappy housewife. Ellen is considered the antagonist in this history because all she cares about is moving away and wanting a much better life. She is the kind of person who when she wants something argues until she gets it or maybe leaves and will it herself. She expresses how she feels about their living conditions to her partner Paul, but she doesn't express the feelings she has towards Paul himself. The elements emulates the emotions of Ellen, the power of breeze and dust appear to taunt Ellen and Paul into desperation. She wants to show him love and affection however when she perceives him she seems she must be upfront in what must happen, "She wished to go to him, to feel his biceps and triceps promoting her, to cry a little just that he might calm her, but because of his presence made the menace of the wind seem to be less, she gripped herself and thought, I'm in the right. I won't surrender. For his sake, too, I will not. " (Ross 2) She hope by doing this he'll see that they have to re-locate of the city they are living in because of the constant sandstorm that is placing all their family in danger.
From the brief tale, "The Painted Door", Stephen is looked upon as the antagonist. Unlike Ellen in "Lamp at Noon", Stephen is not trying for love or attention, he just goes along for the ride. Stephen is very laid back and doesn't really have a plan for his life. Ann is drawn to Stephen's sense of newness and fun. Stephen would go to visit Ann and ends up sleeping with her. He doesn't feel any guilt or remorse after and thinks of it as another night, "For comfort she let her palm rest on Stephens shoulder. It would be easier were he awake now, with her, showing her guilt; but slowly but surely as she observed his attractive face in the glimmering light she came to comprehend that for him no guilt existed. "(Ross 8) This shows him as a selfish, arrogant, naive person. By the end, when John dies, Ann realizes the sort of person Stephen is, he'll not help her with the farm or look after her he'll be vanished tomorrow and she'll be alone forever.
John's personality is generally referred to as a dull, ironically simple man. He is considered a secondary character in this history because he shows that he adores Ann by working and caring for the amount of money and needs of these family, "To him, it felt only right that she should have the clothes-openly right that he, fit for nothing at all else, should slave away fifteen time a day to give them to her. " (Ross 3) One thing John lacks that upsets Ann is he isn't a very affectionate person and does not communicate well with her. Before John sets out to visit his dad, he foretells Ann, promising to come back, "You must know right now I wouldn't avoid. " (Ross 2) John is very happy in what he does and very quite happy with maintaining his farm. He is convinced that he can certainly make the people in his life, especially his partner Ann, happy by keeping on top of his work and 'taking home the bacon. '
Throughout the course of the short account "Lamp at Noon" the main secondary personality would be Ellen and Paul's baby guy. This child effects the story a significant amount. Ellen is usually caring for him and complaining to Paul that if indeed they don't move the infant will pass away. She uses him as a justification as to the reasons they need to move and how all the dirt in the air from the sandstorm is creating them both to coughing constantly. In the end when Ellen requires the baby and leaves the house, it is clear that this wasn't entirely the infant she cared about it was also about her future. It really is recognized that the baby has died when Ellen says "I'll take him again. Such clumsy hands- you do not learn how to hold an infant yet. See how his head falls frontward on your arm. " (Ross 8) This demonstrates all the arguing from Paul and Ellen have nothing and finished up killing their child. If Ellen could have been patient, the infant would have lived.
The short reports, "The Colored Door" and "Lamp at Noon" have a lot of things in keeping, in both testimonies the lonely frustrated housewives try to take action to make their lives more thrilling and end up losing someone they love, Ann in "Painted Door" manages to lose her partner to her selfishness, and Ellen in "Lamp at Noon" loses her baby because of her desire to go to the city from the desert like area they are currently surviving in. Both wives's realize in the long run they should have thought about what they were doing before they did it, and realized that they had to suffer the consequences. The similarities of character in the two reviews show how loneliness and melancholy can have quite an effect on life and encourage bad choices.
Works Sited Page
Bookrags Personnel "Synopsis of the Lamp fixture at Noon:" 2000.
February 19, 2010.
http://www. bookrags. com/essay-2005/9/7/102224/8585
Unknown writer "Characters in the decorated door"
February 19, 2010
http://www. radessays. com/viewpaper/46242/Characters. html
CBC information "Great Canadian Authors"
February 20, 2010
http://www. cbc. ca/newsinreview/apr98/mitchell/greatcan. htm
Greta Moore "The Painted Door Conclusion"
February 20, 2010
http://www. planetpapers. com/Assets/3470. php
