Struggling Against Alienation

In his life William Faulkner wrote twenty novels and about hundred short stories, which make him one of the greatest writers over the world in the twentieth century. All these works compose a chronicle of American South. In these works the author portrays characters from all walks of life: the whites, the blacks, the Indians, the lawyers, the farmers, the capitalists...who rise and fall through the history of the south, and embody the changes and development of their society. So is it in Light in August: Joe the seeker of self-identity, Joanna the white woman whose soul is twisted. Doc. Hines and Grim the white racists, and Gail Hightower who struggles against alienation.In this thesis Marx's theory of labor alienation is referred to analyze the character Gail Hightower in Light in August: the ways in which he is alienated and the causes of his alienation. This thesis also points out that under the influence of various factors Hightower gets on his journey of anti-alienation and starts to wake up.This thesis consists of five chapters:The first chapter gives a brief introduction to the background of the author and the critical comments on the novel. On the base of Marx's theory of labor alienation this paper puts forward its argumentation: alienation and anti-alienation of Hightower.In the second chapter the ways of Hightower's alienation are analyzed. This character lives in a self-enclosed society, refuses to redeem his soul, and embraces an indifferent attitude toward his love and family-all these show the alienation in his characteristics.The third chapter points out the causes of his alienation. When he cannot get love from his parents in his childhood, Hightower has to turn to fantasy. He makes a hero illusion of his grandfather and puts all his minds in it. During his growing up his soul is twisted by Puritanism, which immerses him in the glorious past.The fourth chapter analyzes Hightower's struggling against alienation. The movement by new life when he delivers Lena and the striking by the death of Joe lead him into self-reflection, and wake up the consciousness at the bottom of his heart.The fifth chapter briefly concludes the whole development of Hightower's character from alienation to anti-alienation, which reflects the changes of American South around the civil war. and the mental development of south people. The wakening up of Hightower also proves the theme of Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha series, as the author explains in his speech on the Nobel Prize Ceremony: his aim of writing is "to help man endure by lifting his heart, by reminding him of the courage and honor and hope and pride and compassion and pity and sacrifice which have been the glory of his past".