Wood Imagery and the Cross in Faulkners Light in August Essay

Wood Im eldry and the Cross in elucidate in terrible It is nearly impossible to interpret Light in disdainful without noning the Christian parallels.1 Beekman Cottrell explains As if for proof that such a Christian symbolic interpretation is valid, Faulkner gives us, on the outer or upper level of symbolism, certain facts which many readers lease famous and which are, indeed, inescapable. There is the name of Joe Christmas, with its initials of JC. There is the fact of his uncertain paternity and his appearance at the orphanage on Christmas day. Joe is approximately thirty-three years of age at his lynching, and this event is prepared for throughout the smart by Faulkners constant use of the word crucifixion. These are firm guideposts, and there are perhaps others as convincing. (207) In fact, there are many more convincing Christian symbolisms, which, in sum, have led to Virginia Hlavsas suggestion that in Light in wonderful Faulkner coherent his events and directed hi s themes to parallel the 21 chapters of the St. John Gospel (St. John and Frazer 11).2 These symbolisms, however, stray from the text of Light in noble and seek to unify the reinvigorated through biblical or mythic allusions alone. They attempt to answer the questions of how Light in August functions as a work of literature by avoiding the novel itself. Because of this, they all(prenominal) fall short of being a definitive interpretation of the novel. In Francois Pitavys view, these critics do not base their interpretations on methodical analysis. They do not pick out each chapter or group of chapters to see how and why the spatial and temporal breaks occur (2). Faulkners use of Christian myths in Light in August has produced scrawny paths for critic... ...uri State University, 1995. Gwynn, Frederick L., and Joseph Blotner, eds. Faulkner in the University. Charlottesville University of Virginia, 1959. Hlavsa, VirginiaV. The Crucifixion in Light in August Suspending the Rules at the Post. Faulkner and Religion Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha 1987. Ed. Doreen Fowler and Ann J. Abadie. Jackson UP of Mississippi, 1989 127-139. -------. St. John and Frazer in Light in August Biblical Form and Mythic Function.Bulletin of Research in the Humanities 83 (1980) 9-26. -------. The Mirror, the Lamp, and the Bed Faulkner and the Modernists. American Literature 57 (1985) 23-43. Meriwether, mob B., and Michael Millgate, eds. king of beasts in the Garden Interviews with William Faulkner 1926-1962. New York Random House, 1968. Pitavy, Francois. Faulkners Light in August. Bloomington Indiana UP, 1973 Wood Imagery and the Cross in Faulkners Light in August EssayWood Imagery and the Cross in Light in August It is nearly impossible to interpret Light in August without noting the Christian parallels.1 Beekman Cottrell explains As if for proof that such a Christian symbolic interpretation is valid, Faulkner gives us, on the outer or upper level of symbolism, certain facts which many readers have noted and which are, indeed, inescapable. There is the name of Joe Christmas, with its initials of JC. There is the fact of his uncertain paternity and his appearance at the orphanage on Christmas day. Joe is approximately thirty-three years of age at his lynching, and this event is prepared for throughout the novel by Faulkners constant use of the word crucifixion. These are firm guideposts, and there are perhaps others as convincing. (207) In fact, there are many more convincing Christian symbolisms, which, in sum, have led to Virginia Hlavsas suggestion that in Light in August Faulkner arranged his events and directed his themes to parallel the 21 chapters of the St. John Gospel (St. John and Frazer 11).2 These symbolisms, however, stray from the text of Light in August and seek to unify the novel through biblical or mythic allusions alone. They attempt to answer the questions of how Light in August functions as a work of literature by avo iding the novel itself. Because of this, they each fall short of being a definitive interpretation of the novel. In Francois Pitavys view, these critics do not base their interpretations on methodical analysis. They do not study each chapter or group of chapters to see how and why the spatial and temporal breaks occur (2). Faulkners use of Christian myths in Light in August has produced jagged paths for critic... ...uri State University, 1995. Gwynn, Frederick L., and Joseph Blotner, eds. Faulkner in the University. Charlottesville University of Virginia, 1959. Hlavsa, VirginiaV. The Crucifixion in Light in August Suspending the Rules at the Post. Faulkner and Religion Faulkner and Yoknapatawpha 1987. Ed. Doreen Fowler and Ann J. Abadie. Jackson UP of Mississippi, 1989 127-139. -------. St. John and Frazer in Light in August Biblical Form and Mythic Function.Bulletin of Research in the Humanities 83 (1980) 9-26. -------. The Mirror, the Lamp, and the Bed Faulkner and the Modernists . American Literature 57 (1985) 23-43. Meriwether, James B., and Michael Millgate, eds. Lion in the Garden Interviews with William Faulkner 1926-1962. New York Random House, 1968. Pitavy, Francois. Faulkners Light in August. Bloomington Indiana UP, 1973