52 pages • 1 hour read
Light in August
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Essay Topics
Choose your favorite character from Light in August. Using direct citations, explain how this character grows, or fails to grow, throughout the story. What message is Faulkner imparting on the reader through this character’s story?
Compare and contrast Joe Christmas and Gail Hightower. How are their backstories alike? How do they differ? What lessons can be learned from Joe and Gail?
Using Lena Grove, Joanna Burden, and Mrs. Hines, describe how Faulkner portrays women in Light in August. Furthermore, what commentary is the novel making about gender relations in the South in the early 20th century?
Citing direct passages, describe how Joe Christmas’s being biracial affects how he’s treated by others. What message about race is the novel communicating?
Choose at least two main characters and explain how the community of Jefferson impacts your chosen characters. What message about community can be inferred from how your characters are treated by others?
Are Joe Christmas and Joe Brown morally corrupt or simply doing what they must to survive?
Is there a hero in this story? Analyze at least three main characters to develop your argument.
How does love impact Byron Bunch and Gail Hightower? What can the leader learn about love through their stories?
Which plotline of the novel was your favorite, and, conversely, which was your least? What would you change about your least favorite story to make it more captivating?
Citing multiple examples, explain what aesthetic techniques Faulkner employs to increase the vividness of his prose.
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By William Faulkner
