Light in August

A detailed Summary of Light in August

A Light In August tells the story of Joe Christmas, an outcast from a southern society marked by racism. Christmas's role as the victim precipitated the murder of his lover Joanna Burden. Joanna Burden is an important element in enhancing Faulkner's literary work, aimed at addressing the darkest sides of society. William Faulkner uses Joanna Burden as a parallel to the South's burdens rooted in racism. Through Joanna's portrayal as an evil villain, Faulkner explores religious fanaticism, racism, and living in the past- the three major themes of A Light In August.

Joe Christmas was raised by abusive adopted parents who pushed their religious disciplines upon him. Joanna paid for pushing her religion on Christmas with her life. After years of a twisted relationship, resembling the master and slave relationship that plagued the ante-bellum South, Christmas rebelled by murdering her. The final push that caused this was her praying for him, just as his parents had done earlier in his life. Christmas's disillusionment from God had a direct correlation to his lack of a structured and healthy faith. This disillusionment led Christmas to destruct and hate religion. Although not fanatic by society's definition, Christmas could n

Through this important scene, Faulkner attacks religious fanaticism. Christmas's reaction supports Faulkner's opinion that religious fanaticism breeds hatred and rejection. In that moment, Christmas's hatred and rejection climaxed, and he had no choice but to kill Joanna. After being subjected to religious fanatics throughout his early life, Christmas's hate and constant rejection inspired Joanna's murder. If religion had played a healthier role in Christmas's life, he might not have felt complete alienation from society; after all, loving thy neighbor is one of the most important Christian tenants. Faulkner illustrates the hypocrisy of religious fanatics who preach love and understanding, allowing their seemingly benevolent measures to shroud the racism and hate that lies beneath the surface.

Through Joanna, Faulkner illustrates that living in the past can destroy one's inner being. Joanna allowed the past to corrupt every aspect of her life, including her relationship with Joe Christmas. As Faulkner's subtle villain, Joanna led Christmas to further isolation because Christmas was consumed with keeping the relationship a secret. The twisted relationship precipitated Christmas living in the past when it came to his relating to women. Another bad relationship with a woman made him draw upon the incident earlier in his life with the dietitian at the orphanage, further disrupting what Christmas perceived to be the right order of things in his life.

The root of Joanna's evil was that she was living in the past. She was living out her life as if she were part of her family generations before, seeking to play the role of a dedicated and misunderstood abolitionist, working to win justice for the persecuted blacks of the south. Joanna could not realize that the cause her family had so adamantly supporter for her had died before she ever assumed the role,

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Approximate Word count = 1265
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels