Religious Symbolism in the Light in AugustWilliam Faulkner, "The Light in August" contains many references to Christianity. He employs a large amount of religious symbolism in all his characters. These parallels seem very intentional, even though Faulkner himself says he didn't do it on purpose. The story of Christ is one of the most popular made-up stories and it only seems right that at some point someone would write a similar story. William Faulkner says he did not intentionally draw Christian parallels. Many critics claim that there is no religious symbolism in this novel and that other critics focus too much on the novel. After reading Faulkners' novel, it's hard not to make connections to Christianity. The most obvious of his connections to Catholic origin and knowledge is found in his writing of "Light in August". William Faulkner was born in New Albany. His family was a mix of Presbyterians and Baptists. As an adult he became a communicant of the Oxford Episcopal Church, but he rarely attended services there. In response to a question about Faulkner's Christianity, he said: "I have the sort of provincial Christian background and I feel that I am a good Christian – I don't know if that would satisfy the standards of someone of 'other' (203). According to Amy Dooley (who is a research assistant at the Faulkner Study Center at Southeast Missouri State University), Faulkner spoke of religion as something that a Southerner absorbs as part of his culture and cannot not stop using it. He said it doesn't matter whether he believes it or not. It appears that Faulkner uses Christianity in his writings to support his themes of human suffering, renewal of rebirth, human continuity, and death. The most significant example of Fau...... middle of paper ...... que is never specified either. Noel could have black blood in him, so he could be black or he could be white. This gives him a character that does not correspond to the others; he is different. This is similar to Jesus Christ in the sense that there was something different about him that separated him from other people. This fact and the fact that his initials are the same as Jesus' may lead a person to believe that William Faulkner did this intentionally. If we look at the personality of Joe Christmas, his entire life and death, we will see that there are no parallels. If Faulkner says he didn't intentionally draw parallels, then it seems ironic that there are any. In conclusion, Joe is a character from William Faulkner's novel, "Light in August", and nothing more. Works Cited: Faulkner, William. Light in August. 1932. New York: Vintage, 1987.