The murder of my Aunt Nelcina Charles in her home in 1995 was a surprise to us. She tried making a turnaround in her life. After years of drug abuse, Nelcina reached her lowest point. She realized that she needed to make a turn for the better, for her children. Nelcina became more involved in her children's lives and started living a normal life. As the transition began to take hold for the better, Nelcina’s life was abruptly taken from her, the police came, did their regular procedure. Yet the murder
A Study of Joe Christmas in Light in August Joe Christmas's eating disorder and antipathy to women's sexuality (or to the feminine) in Light in August also can be traced back to the primal scene in the dietitian's room. However, the primal scene is not the final piece of the puzzle in the novel. The primal scene is already given as a working condition for a further analysis of Joe's psychology. Readers are first invited to interrelate the scene and Joe's behavior in the rest of the novel
Isolation in Light In August In William Faulkner’s Light In August, most characters seem isolated from each other and from society. It is often argued that Lena Grove is an exception to this, but I have found that I cannot agree with this view. Consequently, this essay will show that Lena is lonely too, and that the message in Faulkner’s work on the issue of human contact is that everyone is essentially alone, either by voluntary recession from company or by involuntary exclusion, and the only escape
Major Themes in Faulkner's Light in August 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
Contrasting Lucas Beauchamp of Go Down, Moses and Joe Christmas of Light in August Lucas Beauchamp, found in Intruder in the Dust and Go Down, Moses, is one of William Faulkner's most psychologically well-rounded characters. He is endowed with both vices and virtues; his life is dotted with failures and successes; he is a character who is able to push the boundaries that the white South has enforced upon him without falling to a tragic ending. Living in a society which believes one drop of black
Wood Imagery and the Cross in Light in August It is nearly impossible to interpret Light in August without noting the Christian parallels.1 Beekman Cottrell explains: As if for proof that such a [Christian] symbolic interpretation is valid, Faulkner gives us, on the outer or upper level of symbolism, certain facts which many readers have noted and which are, indeed, inescapable. There is the name of Joe Christmas, with its initials of JC. There is the fact of his uncertain paternity and his
Light in August - Themes 1. RACISM The Southern concern with racial identity is one of Light in August's central themes. When people think that Joe Christmas has even a trace of black ancestry, they treat him completely differently from the way they treat white people. Many of the characters in Light in August seem twisted by their preoccupation with race. Joe Christmas, Joanna Burden, Nathaniel Burden, Doc Hines, and, ultimately, Percy Grimm are among these. But even many of the
Burden: The Name Says it All in Light in August Expecting parents put so much thought, time, and energy into the choosing of a name for their baby. They turn to family trees and dictionaries of names to help in their important decision. In many ways, a child's name can determine who they will become and what kind of person they will be. Then there is the last name. It's automatic; no one has a choice in it. The last name perhaps has more of an impact on determining who a person will become,
Disjointed Characters of A Light in August In the novel, A Light in August, William Faulkner introduces us to a wide range of characters of various backgrounds and personalities. Common to all of them is the fact that each is type cast into a certain role in the novel and in society. Lena is the poor, white trash southern girl who serves to weave the story together. Hightower is the fanatic preacher who is the dark, shameful secret of Jefferson. Joanna Burden is the middle-aged maiden from
Light in August - Setting Most of Light in August is set in the towns, villages, and countryside of the early 1930s Deep South. It is a land of racial prejudice and stern religion. Community ties are still strong: an outsider is really identifiable, and people gossip about their neighbors. In this part of the country, the past lives on, even physically. For example, the cabin in which Joe Christmas stays and in which Lena Grove gives birth is a slave cabin dating back to before the Civil
Light in August - Style Chapter 6, opening paragraph: Knows remembers believes a corridor in a big long garbled cold echoing building of dark red brick sootbleakened by more chimneys than its own, set in a grassless cinderstrewnpacked compound surrounded by smoking factory purlieus and enclosed by a ten foot steel-and-wire fence like a penitentiary or a zoo, where in random erratic surges, with sparrowlike childtrebling, orphans in identical and uniform blue denim in and out of remembering
Light in August - Hightower's Epiphany Most criticism concerning Faulkner's novel, Light in August, usually considers the character of Joe Christmas. Christmas certainly deserves the attention paid to him, but too often this attention obscures other noteworthy elements of the complex novel. Often lost in the shuffle is another character, the Reverend Gail Hightower, who deserves greater scrutiny. A closer examination of Hightower reveals Faulkner's deep concern for the South and the collective
Religious Symbolism in Light in August William Faulkner’s, "Light in August" has many references to Christianity. He employs a great deal of religious symbolism in all of his characters. These parallels seem very intentional, even though, Faulkner himself says he did not do it purposely. The Christ story is one of the most popular stories invented and it seems right that at some point someone is going to write similar to it. William Faulkner says he did not put the Christian parallels in intentionally
Author William Faulkner who is considered one of the Great American authors, wrote during the modernist period. Particularly, in his work titled Light in August, written in 1932 we can see evidence of the characteristics, themes and style identified with the modernism movement which was extant in American letters between 1900 and 1950. As a representative of such movement, modernist then remains one of the most identifiable and iconic writers of his time. William Faulkner was born on September 25
“Fences”: Parentless It is scientifically proven that people are affected by how they are treated in their childhood, mainly in the relationship with their parents. Children who have experienced abuse in their childhood tend to reflect that in their lives as adults. Troy Maxson grew up with an abusive father. He did not have a relationship with his mother because she left him and never came back. He basically lived the life of a slave and had to look out for himself. In the story, Troy did not
A fence provides a barrier intended to keep something in or possibly keep something else out. The hurdles of those that try or wish to cross boundaries that hold them back is the focus of the play Fences by August Wilson. Throughout the play He creates an extraordinary symbolic idea behind the fences built around his house. As the story progresses the various symbolic meanings of fences are revealed. Wilson’s play is a story of injustice, repressed feelings, and pride set during the 1950s. Troy
Throughout Fences by August Wilson, we understand that Troy Maxson went through many struggles in his life prior to the time of this play. He had spent time being homeless, and robbing others to help his girlfriend and first son, Lyons, survive, and had also spent fifteen years in the penitentiary for killing a man after a robbery gone wrong. During the time of the play, Troy was married to a new woman, Rose Lee Maxson for 18 years and had had Cory. He had gotten of the penitentiary years ago and
August Wilson’s “Fences” Act Two begins with Cory, Bono, and Troy are working on the fence discussing Rose’s desire for the fence. Bono is onto Troy about his affair which led to Troy admitting to the affair. Furthermore, Troy lets Rose know about the affair since he expecting a child with Alberta. Rose also had terrible news which was about Gabriel being taken away to an asylum since Troy had signed the agreement forms. Soon after, they received a phone call from the hospital that Alberta had passed
The play The Piano Lesson by August Wilson, describes the life of an African American family in Pittsburgh throughout the 1930s. Two siblings, Bernice and Boy Willie continuously fight about what to do with a piano that has been in their family for a long time. The piano has a connection between Berniece’s family and their ancestors. Despite this spiritual bond, the play also describes an average African American life in the 1930s. It explains simple activities such as occupations to the more serious
The play Fences by August Wilson revolves around Troy Maxson, an African American who works in the sanitation department during the late 1950s through to 1965, a period best known for the Struggle for Civil Rights and fight to end racism for the African-Americans. Troy in order to escape his abusive father made his way north where the black lived in poverty and had hard time finding jobs. Troy is sent to prison for stealing and killing, where he learns how to play baseball. His baseball dream is