Light In August Analysis

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Recommended: William Faulkner Light in August

William Faulkner’s Light in August (1932) is an investigation of the dilemmas of the modern Man. Faulkner examines the psychological as well as the social motives behind humans’ confused identity and weird behavior through the portrayal of his different characters in a constant search for their true selves. Alwayn Berland in his book Light in August: A Study in Black and White states that Faulkner “dealt directly with the largest human dilemma: what gives value and worth to human life? Why, and for what, do human beings strive?what is the nature of virtue? of evil? What are the limits of human freedom”. This novel, centered basically on the character of Joe Christmas, illustrates best these ideas. Joe Christmas represents the most complex character in this novel; he stands as the vehicle through which Faulkner introduces his views about human psyche and the anxieties of the modern era in the post-bellum southern society. The complexity of this character represents a source of confusion and mystery for critics because of his “confused identity, ambiguous sexuality, volatile temperament” (Walsh, 2), and often violent behavior. There were always conflicting critical views in relation to this character, when some consider him the victim of his traumatic childhood experiences and the Southern society’s cruelty; others perceive that he is the novel’s villain and the embodiment of evil. Relying on the ideas of the German psychiatrist Alice Miller, this paper aims at stressing the importance of childhood memories in defining the mystifying character of Joe Christmas as well as accounting for Faulkner’s use of such character.
Alice Miller deviates from Freud’s claims that innate evil drives represent the major causes behind humans ‘emotio...

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...eing pregnant without being married which was intolerable in a white conservative society and by examining at the same time the story of Joe Christmas who was rejected from his early childhood by these same people because they suspect he has “black blood in his veins”. The image of Joe Christmas functions as a reminder for whites of their responsibility and role as a society for the emergence of such disturbed and even criminal individuals as a result of mistreatment, brutality, physical and more importantly psychological abuse.
Light in August is a novel about human dilemmas par excellence in which Faulkner tries to account for the importance of childhood experiences in determining the character of individuals as adults. He also emphasizes the role played by society in defining the traits of it members as a result of the views and attitudes it imposes on them.

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