The Construction Of Geographic Space In Light In August

Most novels of American writer Faulkner all depict life in a geographical space called "Yoknapatawpha County".Therefore,the literary critic,Malcolm Cowley referred a series of Faulkner’s novels as "Yoknapatawpha" in The Portable Faulkner he edited.Light in August as the early work of the Yoknapatawpha tells a story about the center area of Yoknapatawpha,Jefferson.Jefferson is a typical geographical space to show the rural natural landscape,urban cultural construction and the life of residents in Yoknapatawpha County.On the premise that Faulkner is a local writer,this paper selects the theory of literary geography as the supporting and choose the geographic space as a breakthrough point to analyze the geography environment and the spiritual culture of Jefferson,and then discover the connotation and the aesthetic value of Jefferson’s geographical image.Meanwhile the paper studies the close relationship between Jefferson and the southern United States,in order to prove the local understanding of Faulkner and his works and to further understand the reflection of the real American South in Faulkner’s literary and spiritual world.The main body of the paper is divided into three chapters.The first chapter analyzes the detailed features of three aspects:rural geographical space,urban geographical space and unique characters of Jefferson geographical space in Light of August.The rural geographical space and the urban geography space are two important component part of Jefferson.Firstly it points out that the country geographical space of Jefferson is both busy and monotonous where rich natural resources make the countryside environment beautiful and villagers have a full life with both simple and primitive rural morality.Then it reveals that the industrial civilization in urban center is starting with a large number of rural people who are pleasure-seeking and money-obsessed pouring in.The urban center of Jefferson geographical space becomes both prosperous and chaotic consequently.At the end of the first chapter,the paper analyzes two typical roles,Joe and Miss Burton to point out that Jefferson geographical space is heavily racist.The second chapter studies the realistic basis of the construction of Jefferson geographical space.It indicates that the construction of the Jefferson geographical space is influenced by the actual geographical environment of The United States,the social development of the United States and Faulkner’s childhood experience.The third chapter analyzes the artistic effect and value of constructing the Jefferson geographical space,and points that the Jefferson geographical space concentrates a large number of realistic geographical features.Some geographical landscapes such as streets and forests in Light of August are sublimated into geographical images concisely which do not only reproduce the typical geographical environment in the real world,but also reflect the writer’s subjective impression and understanding of the real world.In the end,they reflect Faulkner’s ideal vision for the social transformation and development direction of the American South.