Images from Flying a Red Kite and The Lamp at NoonImages are used by many authors as a crucial element of character development. These authors draw parallels between the images in their stories and the thoughts and feelings of the main characters. Through intense images, non-human elements such as the natural environment, animals and inanimate objects come to life with characteristics that match those of the characters involved. Sinclair Ross uses vivid images 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 Ellen and Paul's emotions. Sinclair describes the wind as two separate winds: “the flying wind, and the chasing wind” (Atwood/Weaver, 74). Like the fleeing wind that cannot escape the chasing wind, Ellen cannot escape her isolation. The wind in flight always returns to «tremble among the weak eaves, as if in all this dust-crazed desert it knew no other sanctuary» (74). Ellen is also forced to seek refuge in her small house, which is also the place where she feels most isolated. The wind outside often contrasts with the silence inside. During an argument between Paul and Ellen, there is an uncomfortable silence, "a deep solidity enclosed by the rushing wind and creaking walls" (76). This noise around them makes the inner silence even more uncomfortable. Paul later finds the silence comforting when he is in the stable. It is described as a “deep and empty calm within, a vast darkness swallowed beneath the tides of the wailing wind” (78). Silence protects him and brings him relief from the dangerous outside world. Unfortunately, the walls seem to weaken against the powerful wind, and "instead of breaking free or escaping the onslaught wind, the walls [are] but a feeble resistance against it" (78). Paul begins to understand what Ellen is feeling and the wind screams like Ellen's screams. As he thinks about how to restore the land and make Ellen happy, the wind begins to calm. For a brief moment, he feels relieved. When he returns home, he realizes that Ellen is gone. At this point the wind hisses and moans as if it knows Ellen's isolation and Paul's desperation. The image of the wind is used by Sinclair to heighten the characters' emotions and help the reader understand what the characters are experiencing..