Themes in Light in August
"...a man's future is inherent in that man..." -Faulkner in the University. p.139 Faulkner's Light in August is a metaphor. In fact it is many metaphors, almost infinitely many. It is a jumble of allusions, themes, portraits, all of them uniquely important, many of them totally unrelated. In fact no 20th century writer has even approached the sheer quantity of symbolism Faulkner packed into every page, with, perhaps, the exception of James Joyce who went so far as to surpass Faulkner in this regard. So obviously it would be foolish to attempt to trace every line, follow every branch to its root, one could spend a lifetime dissecting the book in this manner. Fortunately, in the midst of this menagerie of wonders, there are dominate themes. There are veins of meaning that permeate throughout. Chief among them; Faulkner's study of 20th century man's search for identity, and his compassionate portrait of the origins of evil. I have come from Alabama a fur piece (Faulkner, p.3). Th!e reader begins the book in this manner, following the simple-minded and determined Lena as she travels, neither coming nor going, simply moving. Immediately the book draws into her past, relating events leading up to this point, explaining her motives. On
a result of the actions of others, and is symbolized by the fact that he is unaware of whether or not he is black. He drifts through town after town, aimlessly searching for identity, accomplishing nothing. Christmas meets Joanna and for awhile the reader senses that he may undergo some type of transformation. It seems likely that Christmas will finally reconcile himself, but Joanna betrays him by trying to force her own ideas of who he is onto him, another reenactment of the scenes before follows, only this time ending in Christmas once again killing the person trying to change him. The book ends with yet one more transformation for Christmas, this time from the uncaring being he was before, to a being of pure hatred and loathing. Such transformations always occur after the aforementioned scene is reenacted, pushing Christmas further towards evil, culminating in his bursting into the negro church. Starting life as a pure, Christ-like baby, Christmas undergoes a brutal series! sor, his own father, killing him. This final act of defiance is not so much an act of pure malice, but rather an irrepressible reaction to the extreme Calvinism. So extreme morality has led Christmas to an act of extreme immorality. And this is where the downward spiral begins. The youth upon it's back rode lightly, balance lightly, leaning well forward, exulting perhaps at that moment as Faustus had, of having put behind now at once and for all the Shalt Not, of being free at last of honor and law........He cried aloud "I have done it! I have done it! I told them I would! (Faulkner, p.228) Now Christmas is freed from all morality. When Christmas kills his adopted father he becomes completely immoral. Caring nothing for those around him Christmas has completed his journey from innocent boy to
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Approximate Word count = 1199
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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