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Light In August Study Guide

by William Faulkner

Light In August study guide contains a biography of William Faulkner, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

Light In August tells many stories, but at its center are the story of Joe Christmas and the story of Lena Grove. Joe Christmas is an orphan who is convinced he is of biracial descent and has been tortured by this belief for his whole life. He is adopted by a hard, devoutly Presbyterian man, McEachern, who beats any happiness or self worth out of him, and after falling in love with a prostitute whom McEachern scorns, he kills his adoptive father. His life from that point on is a continual journey: he moves from town to town and city to city, switching between living in white and black communities. He ends up in Jefferson, Mississippi, where he starts a complicated relationship with Joanna Burden, a white middle-aged spinster who is…

Read the full Light In August Summary

• Light In August Summary
• About Light In August
• Character List
• Glossary of Terms
• Major Themes
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters One and Two
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters Three to Five
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters Six and Seven
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters Eight and Nine
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters Ten to Twelve
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters Fifteen and Sixteen
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters Seventeen to Nineteen
• Summary and Analysis of Chapters Twenty and Twenty-One
• Interracial Relationships in the Antebellum and Early Postbellum South
• Related Links on Light In August
• Suggested Essay Questions
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 1
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 2
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 3
• Test Yourself! - Quiz 4
• Author of ClassicNote and Sources

• Light In August: Major Themes
• Light In August: Essays
• Light In August: Questions
• Light In August: Purchase the Novel and Related Material
• William Faulkner: Biography