An Existential Analysis Of The Identity Crisis And Alienation In Light In August

Although Faulkner is not widely considered as an existentialist writer,many of his work embody the existential philosophy,thus an existential reading of Light in August will help us to examine our existence and our own plight.In this thesis,the author intends to indicate two main themes: the predicament of the characters in this novel is the epitome of identity crisis of human in modern society,and the anxiety and alienation brought by the modern society are the contemporary dilemma of human beings.This thesis consists of five chapters.The first part is the introduction of the whole thesis,it can be divided into three parts,the first part deals with the background of this research,it includes a brief account of William Faulkner's life and the summary of the novel.The second part is the literature review.It offers the up-to-now researches done on Light in August both at home and abroad.The third part is a brief introduction of existentialism.Chapter One focused on the formation and apperance of identity crisis of the main characters in the book.Chapter Two analyses the main characters' struggle against the alienation brought uopon them by the society.Chapter three utilizes Sartre's famous proposition “Hell is other people” to clarify the complicated relations of the main characters.The last chapter draws the conclusion that Light in August is in a large sense an existential work,and a close relation exists between the theory of Existentialism and this novel,it reflects the writer's deep humanistic concern about the relations of human beings and the meaning of their existence.It is hoped that a new perspective will be offered to interpret the novel and the writer.