A Post-colonialist Approach To The Identity Construction Of The Hero In Light In August

William Faulkner(1897-1962)is a world-famous American modern novelist.As a typical American Southern writer,issues such as religion,race and attitude toward the blacks can't be avoided in his “Yoknapatawpha novels”.This thesis is to focus on the protagonist,Joe Christmas' s identity construction in Faulkner's Light in August,guided by the post-colonialist theory.Through close reading and deep analysis,this thesis points out that identity is not only constructed but also dependent on constructors.Joe Christmas can't use the hybridity strategy to fight against the racial system as the post-colonial theory has supposed,thus become the scapegoat of the racism in Southern America.So the tragic essence of Joe Christmas does not lie in his uncertain black descent but in multi-elements including a complicated long history,society,culture,religion,and racism as well as individual factors.This thesis argues that these factors play a role in the construction of the protagonist's social identity;identity is dynamic,constructed in a complex social context,not born as essentialism advocates.This thesis consists of three parts.The first part is introduction and the last part is conclusion of the thesis.And the second part,as the main body of the thesis,can be divided into five chapters.Chapter one offers literature review,elaborating gains and losses of the previous studies both abroad and at home on Light in August.And then the research focus and significance of the thesis will be presented.Chapter two introduces the post-colonialist theory and its major concerns to form a theoretical framework.Chapter three analyzes the indeterminacy and the root cause for Joe Christmas' failure in his identity construction in the context of American Southern racist discourse,revealing that racism is purely a subjective prejudice without any objective basis and is a means through which the so called the “God's chosen people” label other races as “the other” in order to maintain their own race position.Chapter four mainly traces Joe Christmas' s confused journey in search of his identity from childhood to adolescence to middle age and finally to his death,signifying that in the American South where the racist discourse dominates,Joe Christmas internalizes racist thought,which is one of the main reasons for his failure of identity construction.Chapter five probes into the necessity of constructing the individual and group identity of the black in Light in August,and believes that acquiring the right of discourse power to construct a new identity adapted to the contemporary social and historical context is an effective way to successfully construct black people's identity.Through research into the protagonist's failure of identity construction in Light in August,the thesis thinks that identity is dynamic and is dependent on social construction.And among the factors that influence the identity construction,the most important one is who manipulates the discourse power and brings those elements into display.This thesis further points out that it is a way out for the black community to reexamine their history,re-know themselves,use the hybrid theory through the third space and gain discourse power so as to reconstruct their own identity.