Light In August By William Faulkner: Literary Details (Protagonist, Antagonist, Plot) And Key Themes

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Introductory Information

  • Title of Work and Author
    • Title: Light in August
    • Author: William Faulkner
  • Genre: Modern Literature and Southern Gothic
  • Historical Context
    • Light in August by William Faulkner was written in the 20th century – 1932. The major historical relevant to the novel are the aftermath of slavery, including the Civil War, World War I (WWI), and the Great Depression. The pervasiveness of violence and moral contravention in Light in August can be seen as a result of the enduring legacy of slavery. In the novel, William Faulkner portrays Joe Christmas’ unclear racialization in an effort to assert strict oppression following a brief moment of hope that occurred during the Reconstruction Era. Thus, during this time, especially in Mississippi, a staggering number of lynchings took place due to resentment against African American freedom and white rage.

Literary Details

1. Protagonist

a. Joe Christmas

One of the novel’s most enigmatic characters, Joe Christmas is considered to be a figure who “walks on the fringes”, striding neither comfortably or lightly in both the white and black worlds. In the beginning of the novel, Joe provokes a hefty amount of curiosity on the fragment of the mill worker – accompanied by disdain for his disarming factors. Even though William Faulkner provides many details of Joe’s personality throughout Light in August, Christmas still remains a mysterious figure. With the several loose correlations between the connection of Joe Christmas and Jesus Christ, Faulkner complicates the ethical character of the protagonist.

2. Antagonists

a. Miss Atkins

In Light in August, Miss Atkins is the dietician at the orphanage. Because she is spiteful and insecure, Miss Atkins allows her paranoia and anxiety encourage her racist attitude as well as vengeful character. In order to eliminate the guilt she feels at her own sexual indiscretions, Miss Atkins informs the matron of Joe Christmas’ biracial upbringing, and thus speeding his adoption from the orphanage.

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b. Simon McEachern

Simon McEachern is Joe Christmas’ foster father. McEachern’s religiosity surrounds itself on fanaticism and outweighs the limited reserves of sympathy that he is able to assemble. Blinded by his extreme belief in divine retribution, McEachern displays a marked disapproval for humanity as well as the sin of others. He advocates that self – sacrifice and personal suffering are the hallmarks of a life subsisted in an upright moral manner. However, Simon McEachern’s authoritarian presence comprises his indispensable humanity and ultimately aggravates the homicidal rage of Joe Christmas.

c. Percy Grimm

Percy Grimm is characterized by a fascist passion for protecting the white Southerners by lynching African Americans. Because he eventually kills Joe Christmas, white civilian hate groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), start picking up in the 1930s. A debate regarding Percy Grimm is whether if his response reflects that of a white community as a whole, or he stands unaccompanied as a “violent outcast” in his desire for Christmas’ death.

3. Plot Summary

Light in August’s centers the story of Joe Christmas and Lena Grove. Joe Christmas is an orphan who is convinced he is of biracial origin. After killing his adopter father, McEachern, Joe’s life is a continual journey in which he moves from city to city, switching between black and white communities. Once he ends up in Jefferson, Mississippi, Christmas starts a complicated relationship with Joanna Burden. When Joe does not want to follow Jonna’s path of spiritual salvation, she decides that they both must die. When she tries to kill him, Joe immediately shoots her and burns down the house. Ultimately, the Jefferson police are chasing Christmas because of his partial blackness. The rest of his story is about the escape, capture, and eventual lynching.

The rest of the stories are compelled of Lena Grove and Reverend Gail Hightower:

  • Lena Grove’s story is about her walking from Alabama to Mississippi in hopes of finding the father of her baby
  • Reverend Gail Hightower’s story is based on his obsession with his family’s past and determined to remove himself from life

In the novel, William Faulkner offers the readers a convergence of unique characters that show the interconnectedness of the South.

Key Themes

1. The Burdens of the Past

a. History, in abstract meaning and the sense of personal history, emerges hefty in Light in August. For example, Reverend Hightower is trapped in the past, torn between his father the pacifist and the romantic image of his grandfather. Thus, his unresolved relationship, combined with his personal history, encompasses his effectiveness as a spiritual leader and leads to his excommunication. On the other hand, Joe Christmas is a man without a history, beyond the personal provision of memories that creates a painful pattern of violence as well as negligence. In other words, Christmas believes that the past is a too powerful force to resist.

2. The Struggle for a Coherent Sense of Identity

a. In Light in August, the issues of gender and race are particular thematic situations that intersect to become part of William Faulkner’s all – encompassing analysis regarding the nature of identity. According to Faulkner, society attempts to superimpose crude, restraining notions of identity based on extensive categories – race and gender. Based on the novel, it is critical to acknowledge that while some individuals need external cues to provide themselves with a sense of lucidity, others struggle within the intrusive attempts to classify and restrict. For Joe Christmas, the lack of a stable sense of self undertakes tragic extents, making a symbolic journey an illusive and elusive quest.

3. The Isolation of the Individual

a. Light in August is filled with isolated figures who are chosen or forced into inhabit the fringes of society. For example, Byron protects himself from the outside world with his cataleptic approach of detachment. To add on, Lena is involved with the theme of the isolation of the individual. In the beginning of her story, Lena is seeking the support of Joe Brown because she believes that she cannot be an independent being. On the contrary, as her story progresses, Lena finds that she is able to stand alone and is better off for it. Byron and Lena are the only two characters in the novel to solve the conundrum of their own estrangement and seclusion.

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