In our groups Mr. Heidkamp assigned us, my group is supposed to be tracking the motif lightness and darkness. And while going back through my annotations on chapter 5, I noticed I had the most marked for my motif in the section on Freedman's Town. I found that interesting because we have been talking about Freedman's Town a lot in class. What we have mostly been talking about is if Christmas's journey through Freedman's Town is symbolic for his journey to discover his race. Christmas is half black and half white, which I think messes with his head a little. But I also think the trip through Freedman's town shows how much more comfortable he is being white.
When Christmas is in his normal environment he is in the white community. But when he steps into Freedman's Town he not only steps into the black community, but into a little piece of himself that he forgets is there. Also the reader can tell by the tone Faulkner sets on pages 114-115 that he is uncomfortable in Freedman's Town. Another way we can tell he is uncomfortable not only in the town, but in that other half of himself is by looking at the motif of lightness and darkness. On page 115 we can tell he needs light because Faulkner says, "He began to run, glaring, his teeth glaring, his inbreath cold on his dry teeth and lips, toward the next street lamp." Faulkner is an author who puts a lot of thought into every single word he writes. So to have Christmas running towards a street lamp is no coincidence. I think Faulkner is trying to tell us that he is running towards that white part of himself and trying to let go of the black part. Because not only does your skin look literally more white in lights, but you can hide all the darkness in the light.
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