William Faulkners first published story was A Rose for Emily. He wrote many stories after this but one particular that can be compared to this story is a Light in August. Throughout both of these works Faulkner uses his own events from his home in Mississippi and focuses on the themes relating to the ruins of the Deep South in the post- Civil War era. Also in both of these stories he shows how cruel and hard society can be towards individuals and towards certain races, especially those in love. Most importantly when reading these stories Faulkner focuses on the gulf between appearance and actuality, and the contrast between public and private and the private self.The story, light in August, is an account of a young girl Lena who is pregnant and is in search of her childs father. From the beginning to the end of the novel we move back and forth between the ongoing present and past of each character. As new characters are introduced, we are taken back into their lives. Thus the plot keeps us in suspense as we try to understand why things have happened, moving between three separate story lines. The theme of this story is the relationship of individuals and communities and the relationship of individuals to their fellow human beings. In these first four chapters, Faulkner presents the major characters of the novel, each of whom is, for specific reasons, separated from society in some important way. Lena Grove, though she relies cheerfully on the kindness of strangers, is morally isolated because of her illicit pregnancy, and socially isolated because of her constant traveling. The sullen, proud Joe Christmas is isolated because of his mixed racial heritage, which causes him to emphasize the differences between himself and those around him, as when he wears his tattered city clothes to the planning mill where everyone else wears work clothes. Diminutive Byron Bunch is, like Lena, morally isolated, though by his own choice; he mak...
