Charm Of Grotesque And Mystery

William Faulkner is a shining star in the history of American literature. Light in August is one of the most important and controversial novels ever written by Faulkner. It has often been criticized as too obscure and morbid. In the present thesis, the author attempts to analyze the Gothic art in the novel and intends to make positive comments on it.The whole thesis consists of six parts. In Chapter I, the author introduces Faulkner's position, life, his family background and social background, especially southern background that accounts for the Gothic tendencies in the novel. In Chapter II, the author traces the origin and development of Gothic novels. The term "Gothic" is first used to refer to "Gothic" architecture dating from the Middle Ages. Gothic novels have been so named because Gothic architecture is the setting for the elements of horror in them. As a reaction to realism and rationalist philosophy, Gothic novels enjoyed much popularity in England in the 1790s and the early years of the 19th century. However, the Gothic epoch fell into a neglected and dim period after 1820. The appetite for the strange was deflected from Gothic to Romantic. From the 1830s to today, there has been a flood of literature descended from the Gothic, including stories of ghosts, vampires, and thriller fiction and so oh. Gothic horror is not only used in literature, but also in other media like cinema. In Chapter III, the author sums up the characteristics of Gothic novels, which are medieval background, grotesque characters, violent scenes, and gloomy and mysterious atmosphere. In Chapter IV, the author gives a general introduction of the Gothic art in several works written by Faulkner. Faulkner inherited the Gothic tradition fromhis predecessors, but he transformed, modified, parodied the Gothic elements and added new ones in the novels. By his creative power, he enriches Gothic heritage. In Chapter V, the emphasis of this thesis, the author first makes a brief introduction to and some comments on Light in August. Then the Gothic art in Light in August is analyzed in detail, which covers four aspects: Gothic setting, Gothic events and atmosphere, Gothic character, and Gothic theme. As to the Gothic setting, Faulkner makes use of the Gothic castle, the Gothic moonlit landscape, etc. Then, the author analyzes the scenes of violence, sexuality and flight-pursuit and also the suspense and mystery in the novel. And Faulkner creates a gallery of grotesque characters in the novel. The grotesque characters are deviations from the normal in appearance and actions, and the more important are their abnormal states of consciousness. The main characters in the novel, Joe Christmas, Gail Hightower and Lena Grove, all have their own quest journeys. Quest theme is one of the features of Gothic novels.From the detailed analysis, we can find that Faulkner uses Gothic art in his unique way. The author concludes that Light in August is a charming and fascinating work and the Gothic art is a treasure in the sea of literature.