Light in August by William Faulkner (April 11-16, 2004)
Light in August tells the story of a number of characters in a Mississippi town. Upon the arrival of Lena Grove, the story’s stage is set. Lena, is nearly ready to deliver a baby, and has traveled on foot from Alabama looking for her child’s father, Lucas Burch. She is innocent and unmarried, believing that she will really find the man who left her in time for the family to be together for the delivery. At the same time, knows how to get a ride or help along the way.
She arrives in town and instead of Burch, meets Byron Bunch, who immediately falls in love with her. During her conversation with him, she learns the father of her child is a bootlegger in town, using the false name Joe Brown. Brown has been living with another man named Joe Christmas, and we learn that there has been a fire at Joanna Burden’s house, whose property the two men lived on. Brown has accused Christmas of killing Joanna and setting the fire to get an offered reward. We travel back in time to learn of Joe Christmas’s history and the events that bring him to the present events. His role in the novel is central. He’s consumed by the fact that he may have black ancestry, but he has no proof of this. He hates whites and blacks, women, and religion. His early life shapes his later world view. As many of the other characters, he seems to believe events are beyond his control, but for me, it was impossible to see him as a victim.
Meanwhile, the Reverend Gail Hightower, is yet another character isolated from the community. He watches the world through his window, and holds himself above all others as being morally upright. Light in August is steeped in religious symbolism and fanaticism, racism and violence. Often the violent acts are held aloof from the reader by a community reaction to the event, rather than a direct narration of what has happened. However, as Faulkner obviously planned, this makes the reader think about each character’s motivation in narrating events. Is the individual telling the truth? Do they have a motivation to exaggerate or speculate and pass it off as the truth? Would they tell a lie to get their way? The religious symbolism leaves the reader with a lot to consider. Looking at his initials, Joe Christmas could be considered a Christ-like figure of sacrifice, or is he a contrast?
This is an easy book to read, but it is not simple in any other way. You’ll
be left thinking about the story for days after finishing it.
