Fragmentation, Illusion And Doom

William Faulkner is one of the most influential writers of twentieth-century inAmerica due to the distinctiveness in subject matter and writing style of his works.Since the publication of Light in August in1932, this fiction has aroused widespreadcritical concerns. A flood of book reviews and new research methods have comeforth during80years of studies on this fiction, but most of them center upon theauthor’s profound reflection on racial prejudice. The theme of “the way out forindividuals in modern society”, a deep concern of Faulkner, however, has receivedlittle attention. By scrutinizing the process in which individuals step towardsdestruction in modern society, the thesis therefore intends to probe the newbreakthrough in understanding the theme of “Yoknapatawpha saga”.Besides Introduction and Conclusion, the thesis consists of three chapters.Chapter One explores how the narrative structure of the fiction creates the sense offragmentation by disrupting the old order: the fragmented narrative is a challenge tothe integrity of literary works and an embodiment of the fragmented modern societyvoid of traditional foundation. Chapter Two analyzes the conception anddeconstruction of an ideal American South: individuals seek the way out in thefragmented reality. Chapter Three deals with the disruption of self-identity: theprotagonist Christmas’ self-identity best exemplifies individual’s doom todestruction. In Light in August, Faulkner has actually gone beyond his attention onracial issue and sublimated his concerns into shared human emotions and universalvalues; he has made a great contribution to the exploration of the way out ofindividuals in modern society and revealed the modern doom that individuals areunable to escape.