1. How does the dietitian affect Joe’s life? 2. Describe Byron Bunch’s role. Is he superfluous to the novel? 3. How does Joe Christmas change during the course of the novel? 4. How does Hightower change during the novel? 5. How might Uncle Doc Hines’ fanaticism be interpreted symbolically? 6. […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsCritical Essays Faulkner’s Style
Faulkner’s style in this novel is not the typical Faulknerian style. Usually, his style has a complexity and an involved sentence structure. But essentially, he uses a more straightforward narrative style here. But the main stylistic achievement lies in Faulkner’s ability to capture the essential qualities of his characters through […]
Read more Critical Essays Faulkner’s StyleCritical Essays The Circular Structure of Light in August
The structure of the novel is best seen in terms of a wheel or of a circular image. Actually, the central metaphor of the novel is also that of a circle. Joe Christmas is the central character of the novel. His story is the hub or center of the novel, […]
Read more Critical Essays The Circular Structure of Light in AugustCritical Essays The Individual and the Community in Light in August*
(*Reprinted from Studies in American Literature, ed. Waldo McNeir and Leo B. Levy, Humanities Series, No. 8 (Baton Rouge; Louisiana State University Press, 1960), pp. 132-53, 170-72, by permission of Louisiana State University Press.) Light in August is probably Faulkner’s most complex and difficult novel. Here he combined numerous themes […]
Read more Critical Essays The Individual and the Community in Light in August*Critical Essays The Lena Grove — Joe Christmas Correlation
One of the main objections to this novel is that there seems to be no relationship between the stories of Lena Grove and the Joe Christmas tragedy. It is always pointed out that Lena and Joe never meet each other. However, they function in the novel as opposites and thus […]
Read more Critical Essays The Lena Grove — Joe Christmas CorrelationWilliam Faulkner Biography
William Faulkner is considered one of the world’s greatest novelists. In 1949, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature, which is the highest prize that can be awarded to a writer. In his acceptance speech, he said that the writer must be concerned with the human heart in conflict […]
Read more William Faulkner BiographyCharacter Analysis Byron Bunch
Before the arrival of Lena Grove, Byron Bunch had lived in Jefferson for seven years. During these years, he had worked six days a week at the planing mill, working overtime on Saturday afternoons and keeping an accurate account of his own time. On Sunday, he was always in a […]
Read more Character Analysis Byron BunchCharacter Analysis Joanna Burden
Joanna Burden’s father and grandfather had both been fanatic on the subject of freeing and helping the Negroes. Her grandfather and her half brother had been murdered in the course of trying to help the Negro race. Joanna, herself, was brought up with the idea that the “curse of the […]
Read more Character Analysis Joanna BurdenCharacter Analysis Gail Hightower
Early in his life, Hightower had used any means he could in order to be called to Jefferson, where his grandfather had been killed during the Civil War. After losing his church and being beaten, he continued to live in Jefferson even though he was no longer accepted by the […]
Read more Character Analysis Gail HightowerCharacter Analysis Lena Grove
Lena Grove is presented as a simple, uncomplicated country person who has great strength and an abundance of determination. Her approach to life is quite simple. She never tries to deceive people about her marital status and willingly accepts help from other people and is not offended when someone morally […]
Read more Character Analysis Lena Grove