zaaaAP Lit Blog 4

Patriotic Shame

As we continue to explore Light in August, I wonder just what point Faulkner was trying to get across to his readers. He obviously deals with some pretty heavy topics; gender, race, religion and age conflicts are present throughout the entire novel. But just how are we supposed to interpret the violent, sexist, murdering half-black half-white male? Are we intended to sympathize with Lena, the naïve and slightly off-center knocked up teen? Whose side is Faulkner on??

I dare to argue that Faulkner did not intend us to be on any one characters “side”; basically, I think all characters developed in the novel have good and bad attributes to them, and no set group of people adopt a protagonist or antagonist role in the novel. By telling the story in his objectively subjective way, Faulkner displays America in its true form: as a bunch of people and stories seen and interpreted in many different ways.

I think that over every other huge issue Faulkner highlights, or possibly within them, he comments most on the American people as a whole. For example, on page 225, Ms. Burden drops this on us, in response to why her father never killed the guy who killed his son: “And he was French, half of him. Enough French to respect anybody’s love for the land where he and his people were born and to understand that a man would have to act as the land where he was born had trained him to act. I think that was it.”

The irony in that statement is that in America, we not only have no respect for other’s actions or beliefs, we are actually trained to act in our own self-interest and to alienate all others who do not think like us. What kind of country would train their subjects to hate one another?

Any other thoughts on how Faulkner comments on America as a country?

Intentions Behind Religion

Throughout the novel, I've noticed subtle uses of religion. However, I've found the insistences almost offensive and slightly ridiculous. Religion has been nothing but a negative topic throughout Christmas's life starting with McEachern. When Christmas wasn't able to memorize parts of the cathecism McEachern would beat him hourly. Later on when Crhistmas and Burden are passionate lovers, Christmas can't stand hte idea of her praying for him and finds it offensive that she wants to. After Burden's murder and Christmas's escape, Byron and Hightower have an intense conversation about where Lena should live. Multiple references connecting to religion and woman are made:

"Like it was God that looks after women, to protect them from men..." (302).

"It's like God sees that they find out what they need to know out of men's lying, without needing to ask" (304).

So far, religion has been seen as a negative and weak. Personally, I think it's a bit ridiculous that women are the only ones that benefit from it according to Byron and Hightower's discussion. For men, religion has given reason for violence, as seen with Christmas. In Chapter 14, the violence continues with Christmas raiding the church.
What is Faulkner trying to get at? What is the purpose of religion? Is it more than just irony that something such as religion is supposed to be helpful in people's lives and not the opposite?

A Break from the Big Issues?

Lately, we in "2nd period Bernie" have been absorbed with the Big Issues.

Race. Gender. Sex. Power. Society.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for drawing connections between literature and the rest of the world. I think these conversations make written works more applicable to daily life. I believe that the study of literature in context lends immediacy to the texts we read.

I sometimes feel, however, that we have the same conversation day after day, week after week. It seems that we are fed a thesis (an interesting one, admittedly) relating one of the five Big Issues to our current text. It's usually something along the lines of "Gender and Power in King Lear" or "Race, Sex, and the American South in Light in August."

Is anyone else slightly tired of this formula?

While I enjoy these conversations, I feel that they sometimes divert attention from the text itself. Faulkner's language is so difficult, his imagery so rich, that I feel we could use some more discussion on the words themselves, not just on interpretive theories.

Maybe an anecdote will help me to explain my frustration.

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For a time, some musicologists (musicology is the study of music in a historical and cultural context) loved lending narratives to certain works. Tchaikovsky Sixth Symphony, for instance, became the story of unrequited homosexual love. Elgar's Violin Concerto became a tortured love letter to the composer's beloved "windflower." Barber's Adagio became a sex scene or a funeral, depending on who you ask.

The point is, however, that these pieces resound with many, many listeners, and chances are, strike a different chord in each one. To one man, Tchaikovsky's 6th might be a gay love story, but to another, it might be a drinking song. In other words, we should be more careful not to pigenhole an entire artistic work in one, big issue.

Yes, Light in August is an examination of race, gender, sex, etc. But on another level, it's a story, and I hope we can spend more time discussing that side of it. Any thoughts?

Societies role in hatred

I'm not sure if this will be relevant or even helpful, but let's see how it pans out as I type...

I was reading Melvin's post and planned on commenting on it but decided to turn it into a post. And I hope it's okay, Melvin, that i'm taking a direct quote from your post, but I promise i won't take credit for it.

" I think society has played a significant role in the development of Christmas' identity confusion. Southern society has defined being black as dirt, filth, inferiority, and basically someone who has no place in society. It disgusts me to see Christmas' act this way, but given the time period I can't be mad. He was probably brainwashed like many other whites during the time to believe that BLACK=BAD! " -Melvin

So tonight at was at the school board meeting and they were honoring students and one of the students that they had honored was Gaby Cole for her MLKjr speech that we all heard at the assembly.  Melvin's comment reminded me of what she had to say in her speech, sort of.

Society has always been the one to label color specifications and anything else as good or bad, whether it be 100 years ago or 5 minutes ago. People are still now brainwashed to think of negative connotations when associating with different races. Societies are the most critical judges out there and the only way to be happy is to fit in with a societies standards, which is why Christmas has never found a happy moment in his life. He is always left struggling to figure out what side he fits in best with, if he even wants to fit in. He is always left in the black or white sections, which is why it's interesting in the part of book that we are at now to see the color gray play out. I feel like we will definitly be seeing some interesting strengths being revealed by Christmas if he is able to stop worrying about which group to make happy and to start figuring out how to make himself feel as comfortable as he can in his own skin and skin color. 

Indivualism vs. Society

Faulkner does alot to accentuate the relationship between the indiviual and society.  So far Christmas, Burden, and Hightower have all been shunned by society as a whole and it has a really big effect on them.  What is Faulkner trying to say about society and how it possess such power to completely alienate some-one?

Joe and Doc Hines

As we all know, Joe Christmas is rather "messed up," to put it simply. He is violent, cold, abusive to women and men alike and does not connect with anyone. The closest relationships we have witnessed him having are the ones with Bobbie, who turned out to be a prostitute that he possibly killed his father with a chair in front of, and Miss Burden, who he had a strange relationship with and allegedly murdered. What I want to know is, why is Christmas so troubled? There are a lot of easy answers in the text, like the fact that he is an orphan, and that the first woman he slept with was a prostitute. But to me, they don't all connect. Even when he was a child with the McEachern's, he was already troubled. He wouldn't abide by religion like Mr. McEachern wanted and he had an aversion to Mrs. McEachern, even though she was nice to him and tried to help him. He also hit a black girl he could have slept with, and ran away when the boys his age told him about periods. I know we've discussed a lot about Christmas' views on women, but he has problems with EVERYONE, not just women. He is incredibly violent, and I still don't understand why. I don't think I'm missing anything crucial, the facts are all there, but I still don't see how he was even messed up as a child of the age of 5. Now from reading a bit further, (don't read on if you haven't read past ch. 16), I am starting to see more of his background, even from before he was born. Christmas is eerily similar to Doc Hines. Doc Hines killed Milly's lover in cold blood without a second thought, he watched Milly die as she gave birth to Christmas, and he hits his wife. I know this post is going all over the place, and I don't really know what I'm trying to say here, but what I think I'm getting at is the similarity between Christmas and his grandfather. What connects these two people, aside from their blood?

Christianity

Through much of Light in August, the Christian religion is viewed as self righteous and vindictive. Starting with the orthodox Calvinism of Simon McEachern and then leading to the sermons         of Doc Hines and the unusual religious ideals preached by Calvin Burden, Christianity is often used solely as an excuse to be racist in this novel. Light in August also features much Christian symbolism. The Christian symbolism could be a means of comparing Christianity (and criticizing it) while analyzing the life and times of an angry and violent man, Christmas. Most readers probably believe that the Christian symbolism emphasizes         Joe's suffering and sacrifice without really conveying a specifically         religious message, but I heard more than once this year that Joe Christmas could be viewed as Jesus Christ. I finally see how people would compare him to Christ, however. Christianity is viewed as being so vindictive in this story, but then Christmas may prove to be the savior, and make the final sacrifice in some sort, just like Christ.  I don't think Christmas is a martyr, but I am not sure at the moment. Discuss.

What's So BAD About Black?

One of the biggest and most reoccuring themes throughout the novel Light in August is race. It centers around Joe Christmas and his stuggle with being biracial in the harsh southern society. He beats himself continually for even thinking that he has an ounce of black blood in him. Southern society often gave him crap about being biracial even though he looked and passed for being white. He beats a prostitute and then lives in black communities, I really don't understand his reasoning? I think society has played a significant role in the development of Christmas' identity confusion. Southern society has defined being black as dirt, filth, inferiority, and basically someone who has no place in society. It disgusts me to see Christmas' act this way, but given the time period I can't be mad. He was probably brainwashed like many other whites during the time to believe that BLACK=BAD!

Christmas is even confused on where he is allowed to stay at in the south. He feels his life is on the line if he is in white society because of his blackness, and in black society he feels uncomfortable and an overall disconnect from the people. He feels isolated and alone in both places. So where should Christmas be? He has a huge problem! I say go where he is embraced the most which is black society. What he needs to do is realize that he is partially black and that there is nothing wrong with that!

I want to know some thoughts on the reasoning behind his identity crisis, is soceital definitions and racism playing a role? I don't think Faulkner is racist, he is just giving an accurate account of the time....RIGHT?

Black People in Light in August

It is interesting how Faulkner portrays African Americans in Light in August. They do not seem to come across as particularly stupid or weak, nor do they come across as rebellious or violent. While they play very minor roles, they are seen throughout the book. The picture Faulkner paints of African Americans in the deep south during this time does not seem horribly negative or innacurate. Here are some examples of what seems to be the voice of faulkner desribing blacks. I've noticed that instead of describing their tone, Faulkner describes what their tone isn't.

"'It's two white men,' the negro said. His voice was cold, not sullen, not anything." (pg 293)

"'What you want, whitefolks? You looking for somebody?' The voice was not threatful. Neither was it servile." (pg 117)

All By His Self

I think one important theme in the novel is the idea of being the "other" in society, or being out-casted by society.Christmas obviously has faced being the "other" throughout his life, having to deal with his racial identity. He can't seem to find a place of belonging, which I believe he wants deep down. In the passage where he is on the run, there is a sense of loneliness and isolation from everything that is introduced to us in a new way.
He is a fugitive, all alone, and has lost track of time. He realizes that

"when he thinks about time, it seems to him now that for thirty years he has lived inside an orderly parade of named and numbered days like fence pickets, and that one night he went to sleep and when he waked up he was outside of them."

At first, he attempts to keep up with the days, but after spending each alone and without references, he lets it go. During this period, he seems to be floating in some alternate plane, where "time, the spaces of light and dark, had long since lost orderliness." He is left to deal with his own thoughts, and his own needs.

Possible Spoilers Ahead

I'd like to discuss what we've all been suspecting, but never had confirmed until now- that Joe Christmas is related to the Hinses- the daughter of their daughter Milly.

On Page 370 we see Byron bringing a woman to Hightower. Though she never says it, Byron explains that "[Christmas} is their daughter's child. He... took it right after it was born and carried it away. She didn't know what he did with it. She never knew if it was still alive or not until----"

After this we see a coherent statement from Doc Hines. Though he still sounds crazy and is speaking in 3rd person, what he says makes sense. "Yes. Old Doc Hines took him. God give Old Doc Hines his chance and so old Doc Hines give God His chance too."

I'm wondering why Faulkner chose to have this happen in the story. He must be making some kind of statement but I can't seem to figure out what it might be. Any ideas?

Gender Confusion

During the fishbowl today we were discussing a passage about Christmas' relationship with Miss Burden and it seemed to me that they seemed to be switching gender roles a bit. For example, the man is commonly the dominant figure in a relationship, Miss Burden and Christmas' relationship, Miss Burden seemed to have all the power. She was the one that provided the food for Christmas, she was the one that initiated all the sexual encounters, and she was the one who seemed to have the more dominant sex drive. further more she would tell Christmas when to come to her house and would often make him play into her games of hide and seek before they slept together. based i=on this it seems that Miss Burden is adapting a more masculine role while Christmas is forced into a more feminine role.

Christmas and Burden

I've been mulling over Joe and Ms. Burden's relationship for a while now, thanks to all the class discussions. From what I've heard, most people seem to think that Joe and Ms. Burden have nothing in common. While this is true on the surface, I'd say that, down deep, they have a lot more similarities than they get credit for. Unfortunately, I'd also say that these similarities end up dividing them rather than bringing them closer.

They are both outsiders in a society that spurns them. Joe's uncomfortably mixed race is just as shunned as the transplanted Yankee whose crazy family politics ended up with her brother and grandfather getting killed. They're both divided, and their search for wholeness brings them, tragically, together.

Though Joe's inner conflict is about his mixed heritage, Ms. Burden's is about gender. At first, their relationship is clearly divided by nightfall between the platonic and the sexual. It's as if she's two people: one the woman, a lover, and the other a man who has learned from his environment and upbringing to fight to the last breath.

Ultimately, the "man" part of Ms. Burden takes over (beginning with the third phase of their relationship) and her desire for stability and control lead to Joe's violent retaliation. Honestly, Miss Burden doesn't understand her relationship with Joe, why she is drawn to him, or why she feels dependence on their intimacy. Their bond is as unsettling and confusing as it is difficult to resist. As a result, she struggles to find ways to make it more tangible (by claiming to be pregnant and trying to send Joe to school and have him in charge of her affairs).

These attempts that Miss Burden makes to make their relationship more normal, in all honesty, provokes Joe's anger and sets off a chain reaction ending in Miss Burden’s death and the burning of her house. Joe feels threatened by her, as she is feminine (which he resents, as he did with Mrs. McEachern) and masculine, with an instinct to control. Miss Burden is a complex and confusing to Joe, and, in the end, he feels he must eliminate her rather than attempt to understand her.

I'd write more, but I'm really really tired, so this is what you get.

Women in Light in August

As I have been reading Light in August, I have started to take note on the role of women and the males attitudes toward women in the novel. Joe Christmas is aggressive towards women. He beats Bobbie for reasons like that she has her period, and when he finds out she's a prostitute. He steals and is mean to Mrs. McEchearn when she tries her best to take care of him. Joe Christmas' relationship with Miss Burden was hostile as well, he only sees her on his terms and they only saw each other at night. "Lucas Burch" or Joe Brown runs away from women. He leaves Lena at home with the expectation that he is going to come back for her, which he doesn't do. Why do Faulkner's characters have such strange relationships with women?

Rape

I wanted to question the topic of rape in class today, but there was not time, and something Bernie said the other day made me stop short.  When we were discussing the scene (scene in terms of this being part of a "play" and as a portion of the novel) where Joe Christmas first has sex with Ms. Burden, the class resoundingly called this rape.  Bernie said "Yep, no question".  Now, it's quite possible that it was rape, but the description of Ms. Burden not fighting and actually assisting Joe in taking her made me question this being a rape.  When I think of rape, I think of a woman fighting off the man, or maybe not saying anything out of fear, but defintely not assisting the man.  Plus, they keep on having sex after the first time, and Ms. Burden defintely enjoys it.  So, was it really rape?  Also, we sort of answered this in class today, but why does she say "Negro, Negro, Negro" when she's having sex with Joe?  She has always been sympathetic to blacks, and seems to have no problem with them at all.  Why is it such a big deal that she is having sex with a black person that she yells "Negro, Negro, Negro" in a..lustful?..tone.

Joe Christmas the Fatalist

So, throughout my reading of Light in August, I have been struck by the references to fatalism in terms of Christmas's character. I looked up a definition of fatalist in order to understand these ideas better. This is what I came up with:

Fatalist: anyone who submits to the belief that they are powerless to change their destiny

One of the references to fatalism I found interesting is on page 260. "But something held him, as the fatalist can always be held: by curiosity, pessimism, by sheer inertia." This sentence is describing why Christmas stayed in his relationship with Ms. Burden, despite his many reasons to leave.

Another passage that I found interesting was on page 281.

As though all the past was a flat pattern. And going on: tomorrow night, all the tomorrows, to be a part of the flat pattern, going on. He thought of that with quiet astonishment: going on, myriad, familiar, since all that had ever been was the same as all that was to be, since tomorrow to-be and had-been would be the same.

So I thought that this passage was pretty consistent with the fatalist view. It struck me as a really interesting was of looking at the passing of time and events. Lastly, I found a passage on page 339 that also reminded me of this fatalist point of view. Christmas is considering his future when he is about to go to Mottstown. He reflects on his past:

And yet he is still inside the circle. 'And yet I have been further in these seven days than in all the thirty years,' he thinks. 'But I have never got outside that circle. I have never broken out of the ring of what I have already done and cannot ever undo, he thinks quietly.

Anyway, sorry, those were some long quotes. I just thought it would be interesting to compile all of the instances that I have found of Christmas's fatalist tendencies. I think its a really interesting and important aspect of his personality that it is easy to overlook, and I just wanted to highlight it. If anyone has come across anything else that they think would fit this, I'd be really interested.

The Role of One Mr. Lucas Burch, also known as Joe Brown

After the litany of Christmas centric chapters and race driven discussions, I have begun to feel as there is something that has been abandoned in the narrative of Light In August, at least for the time being.  What I am referring to is the Lena/Burch story.

It all started with something Sam F. said a few days ago, about how when he first started reading he was intrigued by this simple story of a pregnant woman walking large distances to find a man who has run out on her.  He said he was wondering when we would get back to her story, and now I too wonder the same thing.  I wonder if in the writing of the novel, Faulkner fell in love with the character of Christmas, and found it increasingly difficult to pull himself away, as some argue Shakespeare did with Shylock or Iago.  So now I wonder: what is the point of Lucas Burch, aside from some common thread and plot device to segue into the Christmas story (the regretful pun is wholly unintentional)?

I can only hope the coming chapters will give me a bit more Lena/Burch/Byron and a little less Christmas, or at least bring the stories back together, because the Christmas thing has become so straightforward structurally that it causes the nonlinear style Faulkner used to lose it's luster.

Maybe I'm just tired.

Props to Byron

I just want to pretty much give a shout-out (yeah, I'm lame) to Byron Bunch. He's a cool guy. And to me, he seems to be one of the most normal characters in the book.

So, Lena shows up in Jefferson, pregnant and searching for her deadbeat man, Lucas Burch. Byron is drawn to her immediately, and falls in love with her despite the fact that she is apparently naive and unexpectedly hopeful.  Unknowingly, he reveals the identity of Lucas Burch - Joe Brown - and feels totally responsible for what happens to her from thereon out.

Despite Hightower's warnings and scoldings, Byron continues involving himself with Lena's future. His only fault is failing to reveal the truth about Joe Brown. I felt that Byron was one of the more honorable characters of the novel. He sacrificed his own feelings in order to help Lena. Not to say that he denied those feelings, but only that he struggled with them to the point that it was admirable.

I just wanted everyone to know how much I love Byron!

Let's Talk About Faulkner's THICKNESS

Anyone struggling with all of these dense books? I must admitt I'm losing it. I mean we read GOST one of the most heartwrenching books I've ever read, then we read one of literatures greatest tragedies (in case you forgot, the book's name is King Lear) and now we're reading a book juggling with more people and more issues than my mind desperately ailing with senioritis can handle.

Every single sentence (much like Roy's) are so stock filled with meaningful symbols and descriptive adjectives that I get so overwhelmed and emotional after reading just a couple of pages. Especcially when going through Christmas' relationship with Ms. Burden, I just get so wrapped up in how dramatic and beautiful and confusing his writing is, let alone focus on the ridiculous-ness of the relationship.

I don't even know how to organize and filter my thoughts into 'issue' categories. I mean there is a ridiculous amount of problems going on from racial, sexual, to behavioral, and tons of childhood trauma, and oh yea, murder. that's kind of a biggie.

Somebody tell me how you're doing with this. I mean I'm getting behind on my reading just cuz it takes me forever to just get through a single page. (I have to re-read stuff all the time just to get the jist of what's going on...) So gimme some tips on how you get through this big guy!!! 

Innocent until Proven Guilty

I am in the midst of my mock trial season at the high school. Our state competition is actually this weekend. We are about to show up our Springfield competition. Anyways, all of the trial practices, cross-examinations and objections have put me into the legal mindset. At times this is a hassle (accidentally objecting speculation to a teacher is not a good idea), but it also has given me insight into Light in August.

Joe Christmas has proved himself to be legitimately insane, at least in my opinion. Walking around with razors and guns, attacking innocent persons, and disiturbing church services is definitely not normal behavior...and it is not legal either (obviously). I was just thinking as to how Christmas has gotten away with numerous crimes, that when accumulted, would without a doubt put him away for life. Him getting away with everything is not due to his sly and stealthy escapes, in fact Christmas walks about town like anyone else, practically sentencing himself.

I do not think the question is, is Joe guilty? Rather, my question is, how come the town does not punish Joe (at least thus far) for his heinous crimes? He has killed two people, raped numerous women, and disturbed the peace on several occasions. Is it because of his white skin? Is it because the town is clueless to his other crimes besides Ms. Burden, and thus they do not care? Is it because they have no tangible evidence against him? Any verdicts?

Augusttremulous Lights

My group's motif is light. I was hoping to perhaps get some feedback on ideas about light I have come up with thus far. I'm pretty much just thinking out loud here.

Light by its very nature is revealing. However, depending on how much light there is, it also creates shadows, obstructing vision. As is the case when Christmas first meets Ms. Burden. She is holding a candle (I can't seem to find the page) and he says she looks to be in her thirties. We later find out that she is in fact 41. Any other instances of light as both revealing and concealing?

Another thought I had was light as a sort of witness. Multiple times, Christmas describes lights almost as eyes. This occurs after the confrontation at Bobbie's house:

He opened the door at last and passed out and closed the door behind him, arguing again with his body which did not want to bother to close the door, having to be forced to close it upon the empty house where the two lights burned with their dead and unwavering glare, not knowing that the house was empty and not caring, not caring anymore for silence and desolation than they had cared for the cheap and brutal nights of stale oftused glasses and stale oftused beds (223).

I don't know what to make of the light in August. Why is this the title of the book? What is so peculiar or extraordinary about the light in August?

Need for Relationships

This book is filled with characters searching for relationships. I look at the main character, Joe Christmas, and I see a man hungry to have a real, honest relationship with another human. Now, in his life we havent seen as the reader, that he has experienced this kind of interaction nor has he seen one. So, he might not even realize what he needs in his life, but because of this lack of relationship he is socially screwed up. Christmas lives as loner, in his own world, and as a result he struggles for a coherent sense of identity. He struggles in finding what his relationships with men, women, white and black people are and how he fits in. He has been abandoned to find out on his own. He sees that men beat women, so he meats women. He sees that white people hate blacks. and blacks hate whites, and since he is both he is confused as to where he fits in. His wonderings become a symbolic journey of searching for his life meaning and people around him. It is a perfect example of how we follow a lot of what we see around us and we have been treated. If we were yelled at as a child then we will most likely yell at our children unless we make a conscious effort to change. Christmas has only seen exmples of the horrible relationships around him and so he follows the example he sees, resulting in him being alone.

What does Hightower think?

OK, we're almost done with the book now, at least relatively speaking, and I still am not quite sure what the real reason is for the town's shunning of Hightower, or what his stance on things is.  Given Faulkner might just be waiting until the last minute to reveal this story or he might deliberately withhold Hightower's thoughts and full past just to frustrate the reader's will to know everything about the plot and discourage them from behaving like the Jefferson townspeople.  But still, we don't know if he's a racist, after all he is very deeply interested in the Confederate South and his Confederate grandfather, who died fighting for it, but on the other hand, he also seems to feel pity or camaraderie for Christmas because people hate them both.  But then again, he refuses to offer a testimony that could help Christmas.  We also don't know the real reason that he was banished from his post, unless it was just for PR reasons because his wife was cheating on him and the elders didn't want to be associated with that whole business, but if that's the only reason then the townspeople are a lot shallower than they already seemed, which is hard to fathom because they already seemed really shallow and it also doesn't explain the KKK going after him. Any insight on the whole Hightower part of the story would be helpful.

In the Lord's Holy Name?

In class, we have talked a lot about the public and their views on the media, rumor, and religion. In Jefferson, there is no privacy. People die to know about other's personal lives (well provided they are interesting...). There was a line in Chapter eighteen that I just read, "The sheriff listened quietly to the man, the quiet little man who for seven years had been a minor mystery to the town and who had been for seven days wellnigh a public outrage and affront" (421).

Religion seems to be another commodity that gets blown out of proportion. Reverend Hightower uses church as his excuse to rant about his grandfather and the Confederacy. The Hines preach their own views, even though they do it at the risk of the back community. Joanna Burden lost her life for the sake of her religious beliefs. Christmas, who has distinctly defined religious views, is constantly harassed for not believing in God, however he is harassed by people who do not believe themselves.

Religion seemed even then as I tend to see it now: a means for community, but there is no real personal base in the religious beliefs. Jefferson does not believe in God, they only go to church to get the gossip, but will stand up for their views even at the expense of other people they do not agree with. Religious views are something people think they are deeply rooted in, but do not actually know their true beliefs.

This conflict is common rght now in society. All reigious beliefs are the same for the most part, but people are so absorbed in what they believe that they will completely ignore anything anyone else has to say, no matter how alike their viewes ultimately are. It is akin to the differences between Communism and Fascism: hundreds of thousands of people died sticking up for what they believe in, but in the end, both views are totalitarian.

What does it matter to one person what another person, or society believes about the existance of God, or life after death? As long as everyone stays invested in their beliefs and in the act of only worrying about their lives, the world would have a lot fewer people who end up like Ms. Burden.

Faulkners writing style

While getting further in Light and August, I'm beginning to appreciate Faulkners writing style more and more. In chapter 4 when Brown was saying Christmas killed Mrs. Burden, I was thinking 'Yeah right. You totally killed her.' Now because I'm further in the book, I'm beginning to believe him.

Once Faulkner focuses the story on Christmas the audience begins to see what a horrible and inconsiderate character Christmas is. I think its unusual that once the audience enters Christmas' train of thought, we find him even more guilty. This is interesting because usually when we get a new charcters point of view, the author writes in such a way that the audience feels sorry and pity for that charcter. I was wondering if anyone noticed this, or if im reading Faulkner completely wrong.

The Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Throughout the novel Faulkner repeats an extended street-corner-lonely metaphor for Christmas' predicament.  Classically streets take you to places, and those places form your experiences.  For Christmas his streets take him nowhere.  Or rather, metaphorically they take him to the same place -as he seems to repeatedly have similar relations with women and tendency towards aggressive behavior.  The eerie congruency of Chirstmas' character stems from his early childhood and is also reminiscent of Faulkner's language describing him.  Those mysterious, shady words or maybe the motif of darkness that floats around Christmas is repetitious like his childhood years through his adult life, until he finds his utopia and reaches the end of the street.

First to set up this transformation I must log some quotations symbolic of Christmas' inner identity struggle -that arose from the dietitian- between white and black.

He could see the street down which he had come, and the other street, the one which had almost betrayed him; and further away and at right angles, the far bright rampart of the town itself (116).

In this scene Christmas walks through the white town.  The street that betrayed him is the street in the black neighborhood.  I is not a far leap to say his blackness betrayed him.

he was ready to travel one mile or a thousand, wherever the street of the imperceptible corners should choose to run again (237).

Christmas' nomad life style and refusal to settle down reflects his inner struggle to find harmony.  He is grey in a society that sees in black and white.  Moreover after he murdered Ms. Burden -the one women who made him struggle a little to choose an identity he asks, "How far does this road go?" (283).  He is trying to run away again from his identity as he did when he hit the black girl, as he did with bobbie, and as he murdered Ms. Burden.  Finally, while on the run he finds what he is looking for.

It seemed to him that he could see himself being hunted by white men at last into the black abyss which had been waiting, trying, for thirty years to drown him and into which now and at last he had actually entered...feeling with each breath himself diffuse in the neutral grayness, becoming one with loneliness and quiet that has never known furry or despair (331).

Christmas feels embracing his blackness means running from the white men and finding assurance in nature.  Also, while Christmas says this he wears the shoes of the black man -symbolic of his transformation.

Looking, he can see the smoke low on the sky, beyond an imperceptible corner; he is entering it again, the street which ran for thirty years.  It had been a paved street, where going should be fast.  It had made a circle and he is still inside of it.  Though during the last seven days he had no paved street, yet he has traveled further than in all the thirty years before (339).

While Christmas feels a sense of identity as he is on the run.  It explains his consistency for non-committed relationships and shady dealings.  I think he roams the streets of Mottstown because he gives up.  He cannot run blissfully forever.  He cannot be the only, lonely shade of gray amidst a sea of black and white.  Christmas comes full circle and walks the boulevard of broken dreams -little shout out to greenday.

Which meaning?

During Chapter 12 there is a quotation that can be interpreted in two different ways. On pg. 260 it says, "Perhaps he realised that he could not escape. Anyway, he stayed, watching the two creatures that struggled in the one body like two moon-gleamed shapes."
THis could mean two different things. First, it could be talking about Christmas and his struggle with staying with Mrs. Burden and leaving her. He wants to leave, but he ends up staying after repeatatively telling himself that he is going to leave the next day. It could also be referring to Mrs. Burden and her own personal struggle. She usually needs to be independent and fend for herself. Yet she finds herself wanting to completely give up her control to Joe spiritually and sexually; though she doesn't seem to know how because you can take a look at there relationship and tell that it is unnatural because of the lack of communication.
I don't know if this quotation is supposed to have multiple meanings or not, if not which is correct or are there any other interpretations that I do not know about?

Understanding Faulkner...slowly but surely

I am beginning to truly understand the many complex aspects of this book. I initially began reading the story simply as a story, enjoying the plot and wandering what is going to happen next. But after the many monitored discussion in class and the dreaded but loved fishbowls I have come to realize there is more to Faulkner. The interesting thing about Light In August is that you don’t have to search very deep to discover complexity in the book. Faulkner frequently foreshadows what will occur, or tell the future before he explains the past.

Both cases have played a crucial role in the development of the character, Joe Christmas. His distance between him and the workers in the begging, the different attitudes people had about him in particular, and his initially undistinguishable race leads into the Joe of now who is biracial, always feeling distant from people in each race. Faulkner’s flashes back to Joe’s childhood after talking about Joes adulthood to explain where his ideas of race and gender hierarchy/roles began to form. With the first encounter of women and sex, he experiences violence something that will continue throughout his life. All this intertwined plot are revealed in the simple diction, and syntax of the book, no more, no less.

I have now learned to read more carefully, to guess at what Faulkner’s getting at, and to be right most of the time. The one thing I regret is the time allotted for the reading of the sections. I never truly have time to thoroughly read the entire section and am forced to rush through the last parts simply for the InstaQuiz.

Nature vs. Nurture...In Faulkner

This is going to sound dumb, but in psychology class we have recently been discussing whether biological factors or social factors influence your upbringing more. For some reason or another, this debate in psych was very interesting to me, and I guess I see many of the connections of the battle between nature vs nurture in Faulkner's novel "Light in August". The main time that I see this connection is between Joe Christmas and Mr. McEachern. Even though they are not related biologically, Mr. McEachern makes Joe somewhat cold and detached from the outer life, somewhat like himself. It seems to me like Joe's violent nature stems from his violent upbringing. Even though Mr. MsEachern was extremely religious, he also often beat Joe and was undoubtedly responsible for many of Joe's faults.

I know there are many holes to this theory, like the fact that Mr. McEachern praised Joe for his work by getting him a calf, and the fact that the orphanage was also a strong factor in Jim's upbringing. But does this make sense to anyone? I think Faulkner is somewhat trying to show that nurturing outwweighs someone's biological upbringing--and Joe is proof.

Trying to Understand Hightower

As I was reading I as struck by one of Hightower's "thoughts." On page 301 it says, "'I am not in life anymore,' he thinks. 'That's why there is no use in even trying to meddle, interfere. He could hear me no more than that man and that woman (ay, and that child) would hear or heed me if I tried to come back into life.'"

I feel really bad for Hightower during this scene and sympathize with him as he feels extremely lonely and no one even hears him. I cannot imagine living a life like Hightowers. What is it that is really keeping him in that town? Why doesn't he leave? He even seems to admit her that he feels unwanted, yet he chooses to stay. What is going on in his head? I do not get it.

At the same time, it is really intriguing to examine his character because while a lot is going on in his head, very little is actually said. Especially because he hardly talks to anyone- aside from Byron. Even with Byron, however, he does not say all that he thinks. I do find Hightower as a truly loyal and good friend to Byron, because he talks to him honestly and supports him even when he disagrees with his actions. Do you think his friendship is reciprocated?