52 pages 1 hour read

William Faulkner

Light in August

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1932

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Character Analysis

Joe Christmas

A biracial drifter, Joe Christmas is perpetually out of place with the rest of the world, as Faulkner establishes early on: “He did not look like a professional hobo in his professional rags, but there was something definitely rootless about him, as though no town nor city was his, no street, no walls, no square of earth his home” (31). Joe’s otherness is further reinforced by how he’s treated throughout the South. Many townsfolk peg Joe to be a “foreigner.” People close to Joe judge him for being biracial. His lover Bobbie becomes disgusted with him, and his biological grandfather, Mr. Hines, calls for Joe to be lynched. After he’s accused of murdering Joanna Burden, the Jefferson community constantly refers to Joe using the n-word; the town associates Joe’s negative actions with his being Black. His gruesome death at the end of the novel makes Joe’s story a cautionary one—an example of what happens to a person who, from birth, constantly has their back against the wall because of their race.

Joe’s character enhances Faulkner’s commentary on masculinity and gender relations in the South. From an early age, Joe has a complicated relationship with women. He experiences harsh treatment from the dietitian in his orphanage, who strikes him and calls him the n-word when he misbehaves.

Related Titles

By William Faulkner

Study Guide

logo

Absalom, Absalom

William Faulkner

Absalom, Absalom

William Faulkner

Study Guide

logo

A Fable

William Faulkner

A Fable

William Faulkner

Study Guide

logo

A Rose for Emily

William Faulkner

A Rose for Emily

William Faulkner

Study Guide

logo

Barn Burning

William Faulkner

Barn Burning

William Faulkner

Study Guide

logo

Dry September

William Faulkner

Dry September

William Faulkner

Plot Summary

logo

Go Down, Moses

William Faulkner

Go Down, Moses

William Faulkner

Study Guide

logo

Intruder In The Dust

William Faulkner

Intruder In The Dust

William Faulkner

Study Guide

logo

Sanctuary

William Faulkner

Sanctuary

William Faulkner

Plot Summary

logo

Spotted Horses

William Faulkner

Spotted Horses

William Faulkner

Plot Summary

logo

That Evening Sun

William Faulkner

That Evening Sun

William Faulkner

Study Guide

logo

The Bear

William Faulkner

The Bear

William Faulkner

Study Guide

logo

The Hamlet

William Faulkner

The Hamlet

William Faulkner

Plot Summary

logo

The Reivers

William Faulkner

The Reivers

William Faulkner

Plot Summary

logo

The Unvanquished

William Faulkner

The Unvanquished

William Faulkner