Ch.4 - Time - Patrick Collins
In chapter 4 of A Light in August, Faulkner introduced and gave background information on three main characters of the novel. The first two characters he introduces are Joe Christmas, a half white- half black man, and Joe Brown. They both come to the town of Jefferson Mississippi and end up working in the local saw mill, Christmas a few years longer than Brown. One day after years of working at the mill we find out that Christmas has quit, which is most likely because he has made enough money in his other job (bootlegging whiskey). We also learn aroung the same time that part of the reason Brown is in town is because he is in the bootlegging business along with Christmas. Together they live is the negro cabin behind a carpetbagger women named Joanna Burden's house. Brown accuses Christmas of having a relationship with Burden, and Christmas denies it. A few days later, the same day the Lena comes to town, Joanna Burden is found in her burning house. Brown is arrested because he was rumored to be seen at the crime sight. As he is telling the story to his accusers he tells a skethcy story the mixes up the time that he found out about the fire. He senses that his story is going to be a failure so he goes to plan B, which is accusing Christmas of doing it on the grounds that he is a negro. The main theme that can be drawn from this chapter is that no matter what the story people are going to disagree about what happened in the past. Since the present is really only a fraction of a second, and the past is actually the majority of our life, we are relatively uncertain about the events in our lives. This theme of past uncertainty is best illustrated in the case of Joe Brown attempting to recall the story of his experience with the Burden fire.
Patrick Collins
Chapter 4 and Joe Christmas analysis - Nathan Sheptock
Joe Christmas, in connection with most all other major characters within the novel, has particular influence on nearly all events as well as characters throughout the continuing story line; influence which is revealed from what is both said and suggested about his character and his actions. His real influence stems from the book's perception of him as an outsider, one who came from nowhere and calls nowhere his home. People right away see him as more than likely a foreigner who is better off keeping to himself, which is exactly what he does, until he meets Joe Brown. The relationship which soon grows between them allows Joe C. to for possibly the first time in his life to let his guard down, enough to the point where he reveals to Joe B. his deepest secret, that he has Negro blood in him. This without a doubt is the major cause of his deep separation from society throughout his life up to this point. Ever since he has known of his biracial heritage, he has struggled to find peace, as he says, with those who will accept him for who he is. Belonging fully to neither the white or black societies, he is in a sense entirely isolated from everyone he has ever known, even those whom he has grown close to. This can obviously be primary grounds for his tendency to result to violence when placed in conflict with threats to the secrecy which he holds (like when Joe B. calls him a damn niggerblood, and also his eventual murder of Mrs. Burden- sort of ironic). This isolation, although seemingly mostly influential on him alone, is in fact most influential in its power to relate his character to nearly all the other major characters in the novel (so far). Although they have very contrasting backgrounds, mindsets, motives for actions, and present situations, they are all inherently tied to each other through the feeling of isolation which they are bound to: Lena in her being an unwed, very young expectant mother, to which nearly everyone looks down upon; Rev. Hightower, in past instances of his wife’s death and his departure from the Church, and in his refusal to leave town so as to become the town recluse; Joe Brown in his hiding from Lena, obvious drinking problem, and suspicion in the death of Mrs. Burden; even Byron Bunch, in his secret love for Lena, weekend choir-services in the country, and his being the only frequent visitor to Hightower’s house. This isolation binds these characters together in a way that cannot easily be explained, and without a doubts influences that actions they each take, even those which they do not wish to take. This can also be noted as another very influential theme, irony, at work in this novel also- what separates them from the rest of society is in fact what brings them all together, their sense of isolation. This interconnectedness brought forth through separation and isolation will hopefully continue to influence, to a great extent, these character’s lives as they progress with time and bring their personal stories to a juncture when they will meet to achieve a truly fulfilled outcome.
Through reading chapter four, it now becomes more evident that the pasts of the characters in the story are not pasts in a personal sense. They are pasts which seem incomplete, not whole in tsenseese in which they fit and describe one single character aleadaed that single character to their present situation. They appear to unfold more as pieces of a much larger whole, rather than whole in themselves. These pasts can only make sense and can only truly fit the characters to which they belong when they are interconnected with those pats of other characters. This can, without a doubt, be in direct correlation with the characters' present as well as their futures (since the present and future are merely pasts of those future's future, other, further futures). These major characters' lives as a whole-each of their pasts, present situations, and futures-are interconnected and as a whole are dependent each otherher.
Chapter Four Reflective Reading
Joe Christmas is an interesting character. He seems to have difficulty accepting things (facts or truths) about himself which he has no control over. Joe appears to be disturbed, or at least, extremely self conscious about being half black, also, he appears to be "scarred" from his orphanage experience. Joe Brown, lived with Joe Christmas and together they murdered Joana Burden. They never really knew themselves untill right before the murder of Burden. As far as time goes, the past does determine the present, if Joana Burden hadn't have invited Joe Christmas to live with her, she wouldn't be dead, so the past does determine the future, and so does the present.
Reflection from 12/4-Jessica Huff
Out of all of the events and people that we have met so far in the book, I feel that I can relate best to Lena Grove. Lena is currently on a quest to better her life. She thinks that by finding Burch her life will be better. At times, I feel like I am on a quest to make my life better. Additionally, Lena is extremely naive in believing that Burch really was planning on finding her. Additionally, I can be extremely naive and always expect the best in others, even when I shouldn't. She it seems as if she believes that he will receive her warmly, which the reader from an outside perspective knows otherwise. I can relate that at times I get so caught up with life that I do not see things that are obvious to others. Additionally, when I do come upon these realizations, I am crushed, which is likely going to happen to Lena.
-Jessica Huff
Chapter 5 reflection-Alissa Davis
The recurring themes regarding the senses recur as Faulkner describes the sounds and smells of black women that Christmas cannot see, but notices that they have a distinct smell. Christmas has a hatred toward women apparent in his annoyance with the buttons for unknown reasons, but this adds to his mysterious nature as he is surrounded by the images of darkness. Christmas feels isolated and alone in his search to find his inner self since he does not seem to fit in in black or white towns after he is rejected by both. This chapter has a foreboding sense of something that is going to happen to Christmas, revealed later in the novel. The mentioning of the buried whiskey and the verb "exhume" associated with it foreshadows some future events. This chapter takes place right before Christmas and Brown murder Joanna Burden with Christmas' razor and burn her house down. Faulkner does not reveal why Christmas has this hateful nature about him, or what will become of it in the future, adding to the unfinished storyline.
The intersection of time (Chris Fitzer)
In this chapter I felt it necessary to draw a picture portraying how faulkner uses various forms of time to intersect the lives of Joanna Burden, Joe Christmas, and Joe Brown. Because there is no way that you, the reader, can see this picture, I am going to try my best to describe it.
Faulkner toys with the pace of time and switches the commonplace historical chronology for a reaaranged chronolgy that better emphasizes the themes and motifs of A Light in August. Faulkner weaves in and out of the nature progression of time, creating a curving plot rather than a linear one. In instances of great importance or symbolism, Faulkner seems to slow down times to a pace that allows the reader to fully absorb these details. Such instances are the sardine scene with Lena and the window sunset scene with Gail. These scenes appear to be framed and isolated to show how much Faulkner is emphasizing these sections.
Faulkner uses this format in Chapter 4, where he weaves in and out of the interconnected lives of the three Joes. Joanna Burden's story is the one that traces back the furthest in history. The plot reverts to sixty years ago when her problems began. Her "problems" result after the murder of her parents. The Burdens moved from New York during the Reconstruction period to assist in the furtherment of the civil rights movement, and some would consider them to be carpet-baggers. Her parents were killed by the racists townspeople, most likely KKK members, who did not approve of the actions that the Burdens were taking to better the lives of former slaves. Those evens of her childhood past have altered her character and affected her present. There is no way she can change what has happened, and because of that she is "burdened" with the traumatic experiences of that time. When transitioning back to the basic plot, it is known that Joanna still lives at her home in the south and is seemingly an outcast/recluse of the city. On this estate lies an old slave house, which is the residence of Joe Christmas and Joe Brown. Together they bootleg whiskey from this shack, and they are also co-workers at the lumberyard. The townspeople speculate that Christmas and Brown are actually hiding in this house and living there unbeknownst to Joanna. Later on however we find out that there was some sort of relationship between Burden and Christmas. When Joanna was found murdered, Christmas was on a runaway mission, a time where he was running away from his past, which Faulkner makes obvious that you can never escapes it. Being rootless, Christmas has now further lost himself and he needs to find a home. Greedy Brown then captures Christmas and turns him in for this murder and frames him on racial terms. As the novel progresses, no doubt will these characters storylines intersect again, because I have noticed that Faulkner really enjoys stuff like that. :D
Hannah Robinson: Chpt 4 intersections
Within chapter four Faulkner introduces more the lives of three characters. These three characters lives intersect within the town and story. One of the first characters Faulkner tells us about is Joe Christmas. Christmas has lived in Jefferson for six years. He worked at the town mill, until he quit from the money he made bootlegging alcohol. Christmas is believed to live behind Miss Burden; and according to Brown, he has been carrying on a relationship with her. Brown another character we find out more about came to Jefferson about three years ago, and ends up working at the same mill as Christmas. Christmas and Brown become friends and begin bootlegging and living together, he therefore quits his job also. Brown when arrested for the murder and vandilization with fire of Miss Burden accusing Christmas of killing her and being a mulatto. Miss Burden, the last of the three related characters of this chapter, is an older women, who has had troubles and burdens in her life for the past 60 years. She is the women who is murdered and her house set on fire.
The relationship I found between these three characters in the chapter is with the relationship between Christmas and Burden, true or fiction; whether Brown or Christmas really killed her. The relationship with time I found was that you can't change the past. Brown tells a story about Christmas, and what he says can never be taken back. People however forget much of what is actually said in the past. When people talk many times past becomes fictional. It is true that the present is only 1/4 to 1/5 of a second. What is true and what is false in this story may become intertangled because the past is never 100% accurate.
Hannah Robinson
Chapter 5 Reflection by Libby Negron
Sensory, sight, and smell reveal truth embedded throughout the novel, in this case throughout chapter 5. Christmas is awakened by bothersome, drunken, and loud Joe Brown and uneasily yet never been so sure sits atop of Brown with the purpose of shutting him up. This night is coincidently two nights before the murder and burn of Miss Burdens house. Instead of recaping the chapter word for word, the thoughts said throughout the chapter are intwined in between the words. When Brown stumbles into the house noisely arousing quite a ruckess, this is displayed throughout the first part of the chapter, then the silence is embedded with the thought of contemplation and silent intent. The intent of what? That is to be unfolded later. Christmas repeats to himself, "something is goign to happen, something is going to happen to me." The darkness beginning in the room then later "appears" within the chapter of the outside symbolizes confusion and utter disbelief. Disbelief of perhaps himself, or disbelief of maybe his original origin. The darkness also traces back to the ethnicity of himself. Whether he is black or white, he is displaying symbolic interpretation of a black man. He has the urge to belong yet shuns himself from the society. Joe Christmas is reminded of Joanne because of the visible buttons that she sewed back on for him. Its as if her actions let alone voice shadow Joe Christmas.
Ch. 5 Interpretation
Chapter 5 takes on a different story than the previous 4 chapters. Lena is not mentioned; it is all about Joe Christmas two days before Miss Joanna Burden's house burns down. Apparently, Christmas gets upset with her because she lied about her age; one could assume that they were having illegal relations. He has an innate hatred for women, perhaps spawning from Miss Burden's lie. The chapter basically details his day, with him going to a restaurant to eat, shaving (has his razor), going to Freedman Town where all the black people live, and dumping out the buried whiskey. This scene with the whiskey perhaps represents how he does not necessarily like his illegal bootleg profession. The people in Freedman Town reject him as well, so Joe Christmas has now been rejected by both whites and blacks. He thinks to himself that God loves him, trying to find something to identify with. At the end of the chapter, Joe Christmas thinks to himself that something is going to happen to him, and Faulkher leaves out a necessary period (.), signifying how the thing that is going to happen to him is yet to come. This all makes sense because this chapter precedes the death of Miss Burden. This is another example of the unique way Faulkner writes.
In a sense, this feeling of rejection and unknown identification can related to everyone when they are feeling down. Everyone feels distant some time in their life. Though this chapter may seem out of place, Faulkner strategically places it in between the climax and other important chapters so that the reader knows how Joe Christmas is feeling, why he chooses to do or not to do certain things.
Written by Caroline Ward
Burden, Christmas, and Brown's past by jeff annis
Joe Christmas bootlegged whiskey with Joe Brown in the backyard of Joanna Burden. Joanna Burden felt guilty about how blacks had been treated in the past and that is why she lets a half black man, Christmas, stay in a hut in her backyard. There have been rumors of her and Christmas sleeping together and this brings shame to her and gets people angry with Christmas. This might be a reason that a drunk Joe Christmas might have nearly decapitated Joanna and burnt down her house. Joe Brown is running away from a girl he got pregnant, Lena. This is how their pasts are connected.
Their futures seem to me like they will be grim. Obviously Joanna Burden's future is short lived since she dies in chapter five, but we don't know who did it. The most likely suspect is Christmas, but I can't see why he would burn down her house and gruesomely kill her if she gave him a place to stay when noone else accepted him. Joe Brown is motivated by the money, and might have attempted to kill those two and take over the bootlegging business by himself. Once a reward is put out for the capture of Burden's killer, he is the first to jump out and accuse Christmas, which makes me suspect him. His past shows that he is not a trustworthy person.
chapter 4 LIA Kate Pennebaker
Chapter 4-LIA
Joe Christmas, a wanderer of the sorts, does not know where he came from or what his own heritage is. He comes off as reserved, quiet and unsure. I believe that Joe Christmas acts this way because, in a way, he has no past, nothing to remember or to look back upon. He is confused as to who he is. How is he supposed to open up to others, make friends and tell them about himself when he doesn’t know who he really is in the first place?
Joe Brown, i.e. Lucas Burch, fled to Jefferson for reasons I am not 100% sure about. It may have been because he got Lena Grove pregnant and did not want to take responsibility for his actions. If this is the case, Brown is a coward. While settling into the town of Jefferson , Lucas decides to change his name to Joe Brown. Obviously, Lucas has done something in his past that he regrets and is shameful of and he prefers to cut his ties with the past because why else would someone change their name?
Joanna Burden, an old woman who has lived in Jefferson for 60 years, was supposedly murdered by Joe Christmas, due to a secret affair. Joe Brown is the supplier of this information, and one is yet to know if it is actually true or not. Ms. Burden let Brown and Christmas live in the slave house in her backyard.
The past affects the way everyone acts in the present and no matter how hard one tries to escape the past, in my opinion, it is impossible. Although one can’t escape it, the past can be viewed as fictions because everyone recalls different events happening in different ways. It is highly unlikely that two people would recount one event in the same detail.
Ch. 5 Key Ideas- SHundt, MSnider, ATaylor, SMehrotra, & KMarsh
In chapter 5 there are some main reoccuring themes, which include:
*Sound- emphasize sound effects heavily in first part of the chapter
*Buttons- Bring back memories of his past, emphasizes hatred of women who have sewn them on
*Joe Christmas is cold-hearted and silently calculating & hates women
*Brown snoring- Constant annoyance
*Darkness, blackness- Represents confusion and isolation
*Can't see, but smell- Cannot see black people in darnkess, but they have a distinct smell to him, sensory
*Towns- Christmas does not fit in either the black or white town
*Lonely, solitary, isolated
*Christmas has the need to belong, yet he pushes everyone away
Ch 5 interpretation (C. Fitzer, J Huff, D Lewis, A Phan, C Samson)
In the scene, in which Christmas digs up the whiskey from the ground Faulkner specifically uses the word "exhuming" to describe how he digs it up. The definition of exhume is to remove from the grave, to bring to light. This foreshadows an upcoming death, because since Christmas removed the whiskey an empty grave remains, awaiting a new body to replace it. (This open grave is in preparation for Burden's body). Faulkner besides using eloquent vocabulary, he uses a psuedo-form of synesthesia when describing the sounds and smells of the black women walking around him in the night. "It was as though he and all other manshaped life about him had been returned to the lightless hot wet primogenitive Female." These instances of being surrounded by women further enrages Chritmas's drunken hatred towards women aftter an unknown reason. This hatred causes him to fell the emotion expressed in the previous quote. Being around all these women has made him feel as though he is constricted in the mother's womb. Later on it is stated "The wind blew dark and cool; the dust even through his shoes was cool." This line compliments Christmas's mysterious nature, how he is dark and almost seems to be part of the night. He stands their with his razor, blending into the night air and unbeknownst to the passing black women. Finally at the end of the chapter there is no ending period. it states "Something is going to happen. Something is going to happen to me" This symbolizes that this topic, this story line is not yet finishes. It has yet to be completed but at this time there is a switch in time, and it will have to be brought up later.
(Time and character Intersection) Light in August by Tyler Smith
Time is the uncontrollable constant, in which our entire being is created. Time, gives one their past, present, and future aka their Life. Through time, ones true self is unvealed, not only in the eyes of those around, but also in the persons own heart. For through time one can truly find himself/herself, find their true meaning of life. And in a Light in August Joe Christmas, Joanna Burden, and Joe Brown are introduced in the first chapters, through time over 3 or 4 chapters. These characters changed dramatically, Their pasts are revealed, foreshadowing ocurs which in time can predict the future of the character. In chapter 4 we learn the past of Joe Christmas, Well at least as much as he knows, which isnt much. Joe is one of many adults who does not know anything of his ancestry, for he is half black and half white. This brings about conflict within himself of who he is. When one of the workers in the mill comments on how he had never heard of any white man with the last name of Christmas. And also when Joe goes to the city, with all the fellow black men, they call him white. Joe Feels secluded and lost within himself and within society. In a way, one could say that this represented slavery in the olden days, in a sense that Africans were born and seperated from their parents, never to see them again, and never to know anything about them. Joe Brown is the father of Lina's baby. However, Joe changed him name from Lucas to Joe, to escape the responsibilities of fatherhood. Joe Christmas and Joe Brown both lived in Joanna Burden's nigger house in the backyard. Joanna Burden is a female abolitionist who is shunned upon for the caring of the Blacks. She is referred to as one of "them" by society. She is thought of being morally wrong and insipid, for the thought of helping blacks is unheard of in the eyes of the community. The characters are all similar in way, for they all are running away, running away to escape their past, a past they are shamed of. One can only run so far, and their past will catch up to them, causing them to face reality, to face the real world in which they have ran away from.
Intersections-Kyle Smith
The pasts of the characters in a Light in August all run into a crash course for each other. Each character's past has different dimensions that seem to all come together when Lena Grove comes to Jefferson to find the man (Lucas Burch) whom she conceived a child with. She knows Lucas Burch is the man who is the father of her baby, but she does not realize that he changed his name to Joe Brown, a change that could prevent Lena from coming back into his life. He works at a mill where nobody makes an effort to get to know him. His coworkers consider him a suspicious man as he was convicted of bootlegging whiskey with a man known as Joe Christmas. Christmas was half-white/half-black, and everyone considered him a foreigner. Joanna Burden's property in the back of her land is the house of Christmas for the past 6 years (his time in Jefferson). But the important thing to know about him is that he was accused of pushing Reverend Gail history's wife out a window which led to her death. Therefore, his past has greatly affected him since the whole society has shunned him for the crime. Joanna Burden doesn't play a huge role in Chapter 4/5, except for the fact that she has been accused of having affairs with black people.
So how do these 3 characters' pasts become intertwined? All three have been accused of something that the Jefferson community remembers. This creates a sense of ambiguity and restlessness in this couple of chapters.
Kyle Smith
Intersections in the Past by Robbie Stephens
The past brings our lives together in stragne ways. Joe Christmas is an orphan who does not know his parents. This mystery gives him a sense of a fleeting past, one he doesnt know. It also allows him to be unanchored, and not tethered to a past event. Joanna Burden is a recluse in her town of Jefferson. This is because of her actions as an abolitionist, and the type of people she associates with. As a result of this she has lived in her house her whole life in solitude. Joe Brown is the father of Lena Groves child. He works in the mill and does not stay in a certain area long. As a result of him leaving, Lena Groves leaves her home and attempts to find them. How does all of this make their lives intersect? Joe Christmas and Joe Brown live in Joanna Burdens cabin. They are also somewhat close as they make liquor together. This also shows that both have a shadowy past.
RObbie Stephens
Times - Chapter 4
Joe Christmas had come to the town and was living with Joanna Burden, the woman who was a stranger to the town and lived in an old mansion. Joe Brown and Joe Christmas worked at the same place. From what Joe Brown had said, Christmas and Burden had lived as man and wife for three years. When Brown came, the two men slept in the cabin, where Christmas admitted that he had slept in the cabin the whole time. One night, when Brown couldn't sleep, he heard Christmas leave and go to the mansion. One morning, Christmas told Brown that he had killed Burden, the woman who had loved him. Christmas then got dressed and made a fire to cook breakfast, which was the fire which erupted in the house when they later learned of Burden's .
The past cannot be changed or altered, it is there as a memory of what has already come, therefore it would be meaningless to try and change it and to dwell on the past. The present is affected by the past because, as humans, we think of the past, reminding us what happened and affecting our present day decisions. The present is the time in which we live now, we live in it and every second that passes by becomes the past, therefore, we must always move forward. Everything that we do affects us, the past helps shapes our present, which prepares us for the future. We must do everything that we can because the present becomes the past easy and soon enough, we have the future which is what is the result of everyhting else. The future is affected by the present, which in turn is affected by the past in which we have already lived. We lived, we are living, and we will live, that is the way that life is and that is the one thing in which will not change.
-Anh Nguyen (B Period)
Times they are a'changin'
So the story with them three is......Joes Christmas (JC)(a Jesus figure? also Christmas is the birth of Jesus) lived with joanna Burden (JBu) for three years. then along comes Joe Brown (JB) and JC and JB start hanging out together. Then together they set JBu's house on fire, which kills her. At the end of chapter 4 JB is trying to prove that JC is the er. JB wishes he had never helped JC burn down JBu's house but he can't reverse the past (maybe ironic b/c we the readers keep going back in time to when he could have changes courses)
Throughout all these chapters, the time changes quite a few times. When Lena arrives, she sees the fire that JC and JB set. Which means that chapter two happened a big while back (like 3 years) which makes no sense b/c Lena is still pregnant with the baby....Then in chapter 4 we go back it time yet again to hear about the story from JB's pov, but its told by Byron. Then at the very end, it jumps to when Lenna arrives, which would be past from actual time, but foreward from the story that was just told.
-Ellen Wagner
Faulkner - Chapter 3
Faulkner is an interesting author, for lack of better words. Throughout the chapters that we have read, I've noticed that the way he chooses to write is different anyone else's wriitng which I have read. The things in which he does go from obviouis to inconspicious, such as the changing of point of view to the way in which he has wrote the story. His way of writing is very interesting and strange compared to how most authored write. It seems as though his way of writing is to confuse the reader until the very end, when everything is cleared up. Although, like most authors, he foreshadows through his writing and he foreshadows in his own way by going against the popular style in which most people rather do.
-Anh Nguyen (B Period)
Chapter Three - L. Mill
In Chapter Three, the character who interested me most was Reverend Hightower. He is drenched in time and timelessness. To be said, he is never in the present. Either he is speaking of his grandfather back in the days of the Civil War, being killed riding through Jefferson, or he is looking out at the sunset. He is stuck out of the present. He lives and breathes his grandfather's , which is a past event that is ruling his present. Furthermore, in , time almsot seems to stand still, then does for the macabre. Hightower also stares as the sun sets in a scene that may be described as timeless as well, wathching the brilliant sun go down. Does Hightower not want ot be in the present? Does he have past regrets he wishs he could change? It is almsot as if he wishs he were no longer living but frozen in tiem somewhere, perhaps ... He does ot enjoy living, he does not look to his future, he lives in the past, where the are and where he cannot yet join them.
I WAS ABSENT DECEMBER 1ST, THAT'S WHY THIS IS POSTED LATE
Light In August (Time) by Libby Negron
Time, an everchanging constant, yet the most inconsistant piece of our lives makes up our past, future, and present. Within itself, time unfolds who we are, who we are to become, and who we should be. Without a doubt, every motion made by even the most insignificant part of our bodies predicts our future. In example, while sitting in my chair, shaking my leg back and forth, may register conflict or mobilize other motions within my body, or perhaps, even irritate others around me. In this novel, the pasts of the four characters, Joe Christmas, Joanna Burden, and Joe Brown are unfolded in the first chapters. They signify how the characters came to be. Joe Christmas, is one of many adults who does not know anything of his ancestry. This causes conflict within himself of who he is. When one of the workers in the mill comments on how he had never heard of any white man with the last name of Christmas, this illustrates the point of how blacks are mainly the ones without knowledge of their past families. Joanna Burden is a female abolitionist who has very strong beliefs as to why slavery and racial segregation is wrong. This affects the people who live within the town because it is unheard of. They almost create a seperate category for Joanna as an outsider, or one of "them." Joe Brown is the father of Lena's baby. He like the other characters are running away. They are all running as if they were running from their past. These characters are somewhat ostracized by the surrounding community. "The past is forever lost to us; it cannot be recovered, relived, or changed. Yet the past can determine our present." This quote from our prompt illustrates how one cannot run from the past, what had been created in the past is forever remaining in the past. Although it does, and is proved to affect its future. I believe they will discover their past will catch up to them and running will no longer be an option.
By: Libby Negron
Chapter 4- Past and Future- Emily Rew
The theme of isolation from the community is prevalent throughout the first four chapters of Light in August and links the characters of Joe Christmas, Joe Brown, and Joanna Burden by a common thread. Joe Christmas has no past that the reader knows of excpet for what he has done since he came into Jefferson. Christmas is isolated because of his mixed race that no one seems to know what he is and the fact that he has no parents or past. This causes the community to isolate him as well as causing himself to act hostile towards others. Joe Brown in somewhat isolated by befriending Joe Christmas and the fact that he ran away from home because of Lena Grove. By giving himself a new name he has isolated himself from the past. Joanna Burden is also isolated from the community because of her supposed love and relationships with negros. Her brother and grandfather had been killed in the town square after a debate on slavery and she had been locked up in her big plantation house on the edge of town ever since. Although each character seems to have a distinct past they all become linked together when Joe Brown moves to Jefferson. Brown and Christmas become bootleggers and live on Joannas property and Christmas has supposed relations with Joanna Burden. The relationships between these characters become exploited when the fire occurs, the day Lena Grove comes into town. The sad thing about these three characters is that it is very difficult for them to change what people think of them because of thier past. The past cannot be changed or relived but does influence the future of these characters by bringing them together at this point in the story. BEcause Joe Brown imprenated Lena he ran away and came to Jefferson to start fresh. Joe Christmas came wondering into the town without any apparent past and if he had not been working at the mill, he and Joe would not have started bootlegging and living on Joanna's property. Also, if not for the isolation of Joanna Burden she might not have stayed in the same house. The pasts of each character therefore determined how they became a part of each other's lives apparent to society the day of the fire.
The past exists only in our memory and cannot be changed or relived but is ever growing and reflects the accomplishments or failures of each person to one another. Each time a point in conciousness passess it is add to our every growing memory. Our past also affects mroe than just our individual person but affects the pasts of other persons as well. Each persons past actions influence the pasts of others in direct or indirect ways.
-E REw
Time Light in August Ch4 BY CAILIN LOYD
The pasts of Joanna Burden, Joe Christmas and John Brown do not necesarily coincide until the murder of Joanna Burden, at the time when Lena arrives. While Christmas and Brown live on Burden's land, it was unusual to find Brown downstairs in her house with Joanna Burden's decapitated body upstairs. While in town people think Brown is the culprit, he blames the act on Christmas, but no one believes him until he describes Christmas as being "part-negro." This ties in Christmas's life to that of Burden's and Brown's. Past time can not be recovered but all of those characters pasts determine their present. All of the stories in Ch4 look to be seperate, when they are actually concurrent with each other. Faulker uses this tool to express the stories as if one is reflecting on the past in the present, even though the events occur in the present. Time is in the present, but the past plays a large role in determining that present. In Ch4, the entire chapter is a conversation, but uses events in the near past to create a present. Also the idea of what we think is the present comes into play. When we think of an event as being in the present, that even can only be in the present for around 1/5 of a second or however long we think about it in that present time. Faulkner uses that idea in expressing the story about Joanna BUrden in Ch4, by connecting the lives of 3 characters and Lena Groves arrival with the present event of Joanna Burden's murder.
BY CAILIN LOYD
Chapter Four Reflective Writing: Rebecca Hall
Time is fleeting.
Each character in Light in August shares a common embrace for the present as well as a profound understanding of the fleetingness of the present. The characters in this book are all slaves of their past, deeply affected by mistakes and tragedies on their and fate's behalf that has determined their presence in the world today.
Joanna Burden's house has burned down. A person's house is their life, it's where they live and keep all of their possessions. Joanna Burden has lost her entire past and all she can do now is cling to the present.
Joe Christmas has no family, and therefore no past. We talked in class about the unusualness of the last name "Christmas" and how it could be a name taken by his family upon their emancipation from slavery, further contributing to a shadowed past. Joe Christmas is not a nobody, but he struggles with whom he is. A character is formed through memories, mistakes, and past experiences. Joe Christmas has none of these, therefore he is also a slave to the present.
Joe Brown fathered Lena's baby and has disappeared, even taking on a new surname in order to escape from his past.
The prompt says "The past is forever lost to us; it cannot be recovered, relieved, or changed. Yet the past can determine out present." All three of these characters' past is lost. If they have no past, one can only wonder by what their present is determined by? This seems profoundly sad to me; Joe Brown, Joanna Burden, and Joe Christmas' pasts have been annihilated, and now all they can do is hang fleetingly in each present moment with no direction and no place to go.
-Rebecca Hall
Chapter 4- Alissa Davis
Joe Brown, also known as Lucas Burch, is the father of Lena Grove's child. He does not stay for long in one place and lives only for the moment, hoping to forget about the past.
Joe Christmas has no parents and he apparently grew up as an orphan. Since he is rootless, he is constantly moving, never staying in one place too long, almost as if he has no past.
Joanna Burden is an abolitionist who helped blacks and is therefore disliked by the entire town. She lived in the same house her whole life, but it is burned down by Christmas and Brown, as if they hope to destroy her past.
Thus, this is how their lives are connected. These people embody the nature of the human condition of alienation although they do not know it yet. They are not aware of how their past determines their present-day lives which is made apparent through the contradictory statements. Our past is connected to the present, which is connected to the future since the present will soon come to past. Our actions in the present shape our morals when they come to past, and these characters are merely trying to make the best of the present.
THE PAST - L. Mill
In LIGHT IN AUGUST so far, one has learned many things about three important character: Joanna Burden, Joe Christmas and Joe Brown. Especially in Chapter Four, one discovers many new things about these three and their confusing pasts.
Joe Brown is the father of Lena Grove's child. Therefore, some months ago, he was in her area and was obviously a millworker there for a long enough time to get to know her well enough to impregnate her. Furthermore, Joe Brown has a flighty personality, more than likely formed by his past. He does not stay long in an area and does not have a strong work ethic. He is the epitome of a pleasureseeker.
Joanna Burden was an abolitionist back in the day. Moreover, she is shunned by the people of her hometown, where she has lived all her life, namely because she helped the blacks in the past. Although she has always lived in this same house her whole life, she is ostracized from the group, probably for the people she consorts with, blacks and other outcasts of the racist whte society they live in and experience.
Joe Christmas has an enigma for a past. He grew up an orphan and the fact that he does not know who his parents are gives him a sense of having no past, beign rootless. He is constantly moving, "no sqaure of earth to call his own", and he is a hardworker. This gives reason for one to believe that he had a hard childhood, growing up an orphanage probably, working hard to earn his keep, not too many emotions for the lack of parents in his life or a parental figure.
The past determines our future. Our past events and experiences mold and shape our fears and morals, along with our character and personality. The present is fleeting, lasting only a few seconds and then turning into the past. Therefore, the past is made up of our everyday decisions, conversations and regrets. Our past is a huge part of our life and our future is the undetermined aspectof life which will eventually always become the past. However, although the past molds us and shapes us, it does not determine how our lives shall be. One cannot change the past, but one can change the future is one is willing to rise above the past and not allow it to form them. In ths sense, the past influences heavily upon our everyday lives.
Now, how do these three's past intersect? Joe Brown is the father of Lena Grove's child, and Joe Christmas loves Lena. Furthermore, Joe Brown and Joe Christmas live at Joanna Burden's house, they intersect there. Also, Brown and Christmas bootleg liquor together so they obviously had rough pasts as well. All three are alienated from society and are bonded in that sense too. Lastly, Christmas has no past, no parents, an orphan and Joanna Burden is enriched in the past, living in the same osue her whole life, with her now gone family, passed down through the generations. In this sense,t ehy are complete opposites, which links htem as well, especially when urden's house burns down, eliminating her past just as Christmas's past was eliminated by his lack of parentage.
Ch. 4- Pasts
The past of Joe Brown is that he was with Lena Grove and was the one who inpregnated her. He was in her area at one time for some reason. Joanna Burden was an abolitionist who helped slaves and because of this she isn't liked very much. She has lived in the same house for her whole life and still isn't part of the town. Joe Christmas doesn't have a past because he is an orphan and doesn't know who his parents are.
Your past shapes your future. You can't change things in your past but you can work to make the best of what you have done and try and not let your mistakes from your past happen again in your present and future.
- Kelsey Fritz
dark out february (opposites, get it)
I think that everyone at some point in their life feels like Lena. Lena is just plodding along, not worried that she won't ever accomplish her goal. She dosn't seem to care about the consequences of her actions. She would make the journey by herself, but she happily accepts help from others.
Shes also very oblivious. Her leaving will obviously cause her brother grief, but she does it anyway. Shes also very naiive about why he left. And also what will happen if he dosnt accept her. Shes just living in the minute; not thinking about the past or future -just focusing on life one second at a time. (another one of them crazy time things). Shes also very flexible. She accepts things as they come and makes her decision and then moves on. And once she does, she dosnt dwell on it. She just goes on her merry way, and to others it looks like she has a sense of purpose. Perhaps this is why she is in the situation she is in. With the whole pregnancy then him leaving. She just takes everything so calmly, and continues on with her life like normal
time and people-kate pennebaker
Many people make the mistake of letting the past affect the present which results in their future. In Light in August, Gail Hightower is a prime example of this. Gail is a preach whose father fought in the Civil War, which is an event that he is obsessed with. While he gives his homilies, he focuses mainly on the vivid details of the war and not on the Lords message. This upsets many people who feel he is not fit to be a minister. Another instance of how time affects Gail's life is that he does not make enough time for his wife. Because of this neglect, she ends up having a long distance affair and eventually, jumping to her death from a balcony. All of these sketchy events lead to Jefferson being fired from his job and asked to leave Jefferson. He quit preaching, however he refused to leave town. This angered many people who committed acts of violence towards him and his home. Eventually they became apathetic towards the man, sometimes forgetting he even existed. Most of Hightower's problems seem to derive from mixing the past with the present, resulting in a pretty awful future.
Faulkner & Mellville, Connection?
While reading Light In August, it becomes immediatle apparent to the reader that something is different about the way in which Faulker writes his story. There seems to be a general distortion of time, place, and action. But, why? What is Faulkner trying to do with his unique and almost absurd style of writing? The human thought process is a strange beast, it rarely pursues things in the logical straightforward way which we are forced to use for the sake of communication. Faulkner realizes this, and uses an approach very similar to Mellville. Mellville's Moby Dick, is crammed from cover to cover with a ridiculous abundance of similies, metaphors, and mythological references used to convey a general idea (that things often cannot be definied); Faulkner like Mellville, uses the "overkill method", but replaces all the metaphors and references to mythology with many random thoughts. A Light in August, is, if anything, a bunch of thoughts, which by themselves make little to no sense, but when viewed as a whole, paint a picture. Painting a picture is exactly what Faulkner set out to do, the human mind is and odd thing, and Faulkner manages to paint a picture of it by combining a plethora of thoughts.
Reflective Journal on Time
General Post about Time
Even though time is constant and never changes, always passes at the same scientific rate, can never get it back again, "time" is different for lots of people. For example, time drags on for prisoners in jail cells waiting for their release, but it flies for CEO's or even parents watching their kids grow up in 18 years. For Lena, everything was all ok all the time, and she just lived life in the moment. For Reverend Hightower, he ruminates on the past and holes himself up in his house alone to just sit and think. In our society today, people are generally busy and occupied with things to do, as I know most people at Nolan are. But in the 1930's and for centuries before that, it took more time to do things. That doesn't mean that they weren't hardworking and wasn't busy at times, but they were almost fored to do things slower. Time is actually fickle and different through the years, contrasting to the supposed nontangible and constant thought of time for most people. In physics, time is taught as a constant, but really time changes in more ways than one.
Specific Post about Brown, Christmas, and Miss Burden and their Pasts
Joe Brown obviously does not have his act together. He has a fling, maybe even a true relationship, with Lena and then disappears after getting her pregnant. Joe Christmas, a foreigner, comes to work at the mill but quits soon after, and Joe Brown follows this example. These two men "work" together by selling bootleg whiskey and live in a slave cabin on Miss Joanna Burden's property. Chapter 4 tells of how Miss Burden is found almost completely decapitated in her home. Perhaps her last name symbolizes what Brown and Christmas saw her as. The answer as to why she was killed in not certain this far into the novel, but her Abolistionist background could have contributed to her killer's motives. Since Brown was drunk in the house when she was found dead, Brown did not want anyone to know about her. Maybe Burden overheard Brown and Christmas' business plans, so Brown and Christmas decided to silence her. But, Brown goes on to blame Christmas for the murder (all the while with the $1,000 reward in mind), saying he must have done it because he is part negro.
Joe Brown's past compels him to move to Jefferson, away from Lena, his child, and his former life. If he had not have been in Alabama and had a fling with Lena, he probably would not be in Jefferson in the crrent predicament. Miss Burden's past could very well be the reason she was murdered. People in the South do not like any talk or remembrance about what the North did to them during the Civil War. Joe Christmas' past, his being a negro, also plays a role in his current situation of being a "murderer." He is somewhat shunned by his fellow mill-workers, perhaps bringing up painful memories of the past.
Written by Caroline Ward
