Light in August

Byron Bunch, a hardworking and noble young man, reflects on his time working at the mill in Jefferson. He thinks about Joe Christmas, a drifter who came to Jefferson three years prior. Joe is allusive but a decent worker: “He did not talk to any of them at all. And none of them tried to talk to him” (34). Byron and the others aren’t sure if Joe is a foreigner because of his mysterious demeanor and tan complexion. After working at the mill for three years, Joe quits without explanation, and the others speculate about what he left to do. The mill workers are skeptical, too, of another drifter who came to the mill for work—Joe Brown. Brown is an unreliable worker and a sociable jokester. Shortly after Joe Christmas quits, Brown follows in his footsteps and leaves the mill without explanation.

The mill workers discover Brown is bootlegging whiskey. They wonder if Joe Christmas is involved because the two men share a cabin on the property of a woman named Joanna Burden. The town gossips: “They still do not know for certain if Christmas is connected with it, save that no one believes that Brown has sense enough to make a profit even from bootlegging” (46). Byron, meanwhile, works tirelessly at the mill, including a half-day on Saturdays. Unbeknownst to his coworkers, he spends his Sundays leading a church choir 30 miles away in the countryside. He also chats with a former minister, Gail Hightower, an outcast who lives alone in a decrepit house in Jefferson.

The house at the edge of town goes up in flames, drawing everyone’s attention, but Byron continues working. Lena arrives at the mill, excited to be reunited with the father of her child, only to be disappointed when Byron has never heard of Lucas Burch. Byron is kind to Lena and immediately wants to care for her. They talk about the burning house, which is Joanna’s. Byron mentions Joe and Brown and their cabin on the same property. Hearing this, Lena deduces Brown might be Lucas Burch using a different name. 

Gail Hightower, the ex-minister, reflects on his life and his economic standing. He sells art lessons and hand-painted holiday cards and develops photos to make ends meet, but business is slow. Although he no longer preaches, Gail sends any extra money he has to charities and the church. Sitting in his decaying house, he considers his tarnished reputation in Jefferson: “Hightower. He lives there by himself. He come here as minister of the Presbyterian church, but his wife went bad on him […] He had to resign from the church, but he wouldn’t leave Jefferson, for some reason” (58). Night creeps in, and Gail passes the time as he usually does: alone, sitting in his house.

When Byron first came to Jefferson seven years ago, the town told him the story of Gail Hightower. Hightower and his wife arrived in Jefferson right after he graduated from a seminary. Inside and outside of church, Hightower speaks of visions of his grandfather, a Confederate cavalry man killed during the Civil War, which unsettles the townsfolk. Worse, his wife isolates herself, doesn’t attend church, and is later discovered having an affair in Memphis. Mrs. Hightower mysteriously dies in Memphis, causing a scandal and unwanted attention for Hightower and the church. Hightower refuses to resign from his post and preaches to empty pews but finally resigns after the town locks him out of his own church.

After the scandal, Hightower adapts to a life of isolation. He hires a Black female cook, but rumors circulate about the two of them, and the cook quits. Hightower hires another cook, a Black man, but he is beaten one night after work: “And when Hightower waked the next morning his study window was broken and on the floor lay a brick with a note tied to it, commanding him to get out of town by sunset and signed K.K.K.” (71). Byron wonders why the former minister would stay in Jefferson. Hightower insists the town is good. It isn’t his position, or Byron’s, to judge. 

Byron tells Hightower about Lena, and the two gossip about the bootlegging: “when [Joe] took Brown in with him, I reckon Brown wanted to spread out” (78-79). Byron confesses he didn’t tell Lena about Brown’s reputation as a bootlegger. He helped her find a place to stay but kept the details about Brown to a minimum. Hightower doesn’t blame Byron for his actions, seeing it as an act of pity. He wonders if Byron is falling in love with Lena but brushes the thought away.

Byron and Hightower’s conversation moves to the fire. Brown is found at the scene, along with Joanna. Brown is still alive, but Joanna is dead, her throat slashed. When Brown is questioned by the sheriff, he accuses Joe of killing Joanna. To discredit Joe, Brown reveals Joe is biracial: “He’s got n***** blood in him. I knowed it when I first saw him. But you folks, you smart sheriffs and such” (98). Brown remains steadfast and accusatory toward Joe, eager to claim the $1,000 reward for his capture. The sheriff believes Brown but keeps him in custody while the investigation continues. After recounting the town gossip, Byron reiterates to Hightower he hasn’t told Lena anything about the unfolding drama. 

Before the fire and the murder, Joe Christmas tries to sleep in his cabin on Joanna Burden’s property. Brown drunkenly stumbles into the cabin. Annoyed by Brown’s noise, Joe hits Brown repeatedly. Joe considers slashing Brown with his razor, but they stop fighting. After Brown falls asleep, Joe goes outside. He ponders. For years, Joe made nightly visits to Joanna, but now their relationship is soured. Angrily, he mutters to himself about their affair: “‘She ought not to started praying over me. She would have been all right if she hadn’t started praying over me. It was not her fault that she got too old to be any good any more” (106). Fed up with both Brown and Joanna, Joe goes to the stables to sleep for a few hours.

The next morning, Joe goes to a nearby convenience store and buys food and a magazine. He returns to the Burden property to eat and read by a tree. When he’s done reading, he burns the magazine and watches it smolder. He unburies a hidden stash of tin cans, full of whiskey—his bootlegging operation. Joe pierces the cans. The whiskey pours out, and he reburies the destroyed cans.

Joe spends the rest of the day walking around town. He spots Brown in a barbershop and glares at him through the window. Evening approaches. Joe walks through a Black neighborhood. He passes a group of people with no incident, at first. Then, Joe curses at them and realizes he’s withdrawn his razor from his pocket: “‘What in the hell is the matter with me?’ he thought. He put the razor back into his pocket and stopped and lit a cigarette” (117). It gets late, and Joe returns home. Staring at Joanna’s house, Joe senses something is going to happen to him. He moves in, closer to the main house.