Light in August by William Faulkner
Light in August by William FaulknerIn the novel by William Faulkner, “Light in August” there is alienation in the novel.
The alienation occurs with Joe Christmas. He is a stranger that comes into the town of
Jefferson with a unkonwn past. Prior to his arrival, he went under the name of Lucas
Burch. Whne Joe Christmas arrives at Jefferson, he alienates himeself from almost
everybody for about 2 years. His past has taught him to do so, with all the bad things that
has hapened to him.
We get extended interior monologues from Christmas, and the story of his past
occupies a third or more of the book. Despite the amount of information provided,
Christmas remains hard to comprehend. It isn’t that he is not what he seems to be. Rather,
he “seems” to be many things, but the reader can never be quite certain which of these are
real.
Christmas’ tragedy is that he does not know himself what he is. He seems certain
that he is part “nigger” but there is no reliable evidence that this is true. Certainly, he looks
white. Christmas moves back and forth between white society and black society. Every
time he does so, he reveals himself as an outsider. In white society he exposes his own
“nigger” blood; in black society he portrays himself as white. When he does so, he expects
a violent reaction from which he has...
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