Ethical Identity, Ethical Choice

William Faulkner(1897-1962)is one of the most eminent American writers in the twentieth century who won Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949.Being so productive,he created19 novels and over 120 short stories throughout his lifetime,telling as much about the Old South as about the whole America.Light in August is William Faulkner's seventh full-length novel published in October 1932,and is the longest among all of his works.In this thesis,the Sphinx factor,ethical identity and ethical choice of the three characters,Joe Christmas,Joanna Burden and Byron Bunch in the novel are analyzed based on the theories of ethical literary criticism advanced by Professor Nie Zhenzhao.It reveals that the tragedy of Christmas and Burden is caused by ethical dilemma and domination of irrational will and that Byron gains ethical salvation through controlling his animal factor.Ethical literary criticism is applied to first explore the ethical identity of Joe Christmas and reveal the racist ethical environment in the Deep South,his attempt to identity exploration in the white-dominated society,his adopt family and love affairs,and his ethical tragedy caused by the failure of identity construction and prevailing of animal factor.It then expounds that Joanna Burden commits the ethical crime of attempted murder dominated by irrational will for being misled by sympathy,a contradictory moral sentiment in marriage and black affair,thus causing the tragic fate of Christmas and herself.Finally,it elaborates the conflict between the human factor and the animal factor in Byron Bunch's ethical choices.Bunch faces ethical dilemma in love,and he makes his final ethical choice after hesitation and struggling,thus achieving the transformation from natural sentiment to moral sentiment in his love affair.Byron realizes ethical salvation by controlling himself by his rational will,and his pursuit of the romance reveals the ethics of love and provides ethical enlightenment for readers.This thesis aims to make new interpretation on Light in August from the perspective of ethical literary criticism can,and explores the ethical nature of this novel and issue of human nature in the cultural context of American South,so as to provide a new researching way for the racist problems and puritan ethical dilemma in the Old South in America.