The Burden's Duty

                 In chapter 11 we start getting bits and pieces of information that explains to us the behavior of Joanna Burden. We learn that her half brother and grandfather died trying to fight for the rights of the black race. Joanna's father (Nathaniel) takes her to burial site where her half brother and grandfather were buried. Nathaniel tells her, "'The curse of the black race is God's curse. But the curse of the white race is the black man who will forever God's chosen own because He once cursed him'" (p.253). Joanna has been given the duty to continue to fight for the rights of the black community.

                 All the experiences that Joanna has endured explains, like Cynthia M said, "her independence, endurance of strength, and fortitude." Joe always found her quite masculine for the lack of emotion Joanna conveyed; dissimulated all her thoughts. However, she finally reveals to Joe her history which clarifies her magnanimous actions towards the black community (donating, advising others, etc.). Joanna Burden could, hopefully, be the savior that Joe Christmas needed. 

Miss Burden

" He did not try to be quiet. He entered the house boldly and mounted the stairs; she heard him at once. “Who is it?” she said. But there was no alarm in her tone. He didn't answer. He mounted the stairs and entered the room. She was still dressed, turning, watching the door as he entered. But she did not speak to him. She just watched him as he went to the table and blew out the lamp, thinking, ‘Now she’ll run.’ And so he sprang forward, toward the door to intercept her. But she did not flee. He found her in the dark exactly where the light had lost her, in the same attitude. He began to tear at her clothes. He was talking to her, in a tense, hard, low voice: “I’ll show you! I’ll show the bitch!” She did not resist at all. "

For starters, I have zeal for Miss Burden and her general nonchalance attitude. The understanding that she can tolerate Joe, it could be what he needs after much rejection from his past. If she has a perspective, it's not from her point of view, but mainly from the other person. I glorify her independence, endurance of strength, and fortitude; in all honesty, I want that for myself. It's also  ironic that her name is Burden even though she's no where near one. Overall, she's becoming one of my favorites already.

Christmas and Bobbie

Joe Christmas finally becomes intimate with another--Bobbie. A prostitute, someone who lives on the edge of society, looked down on by most people and being taken advantage of. At the very least, she can be sympathetic to him, an outsider of society for being half-blooded. But she isn't, like most people, she tramples on him and completely forgets anything went on between the two --the intimacy, the love. It's shocking but ironic how even those on the bottom of society are disgusted by someone that was socially considered worse, "best to jump on the edge of the wagon and let it run over the ones who couldn't quite catch up, at least I'm in....just barely".

A Reference to the Messiah?

          Finding an identity is a stepping stone in understanding who we are. Joe Christmas's racial identity continues to determine where he stands in society. He learns that he is not fully accepted in the White and Black community. He is a misfit. A misfit with an unusual name...  His initials are J.C. Just like Jesus Christ. I think that Faulkner chose his name for a specific purpose: to show the similarities between Christmas and Christ. After all, they were both hated by their society and suffered greatly. Christ carried the cross for the shame of the world. Christmas carried his cross for the shame of his past. SPOILER ALERT: They both died at the age of 33...coincidence, I think not. Yet, Faulkner portrays Christmas to be far from Christlike...Instead he is misogynistic, violent, and merciless. Faulkner does not make him a spiritual figure, in fact he actually spends much of the novel trying to avoid Christianity. Why does Faulkner make such clear connections between the two characters and yet make them polar opposites as well?

Chapter 7: Mrs. McEachern

Today in class it was suggested that perhaps Joe Christmas declined Mrs. McEachern's offering, because he was resentful. Throughout his entire stay with the McEacherns, not once did Mrs. McEachern stop her husband from beating him or comfort him after he was beaten. Did we ever take into consideration as to why she never did anything about this crisis? Maybe we should take things into Mrs. McEachern's perspective. Light in August takes place during the 1920's. A quick history lesson, “After women got the vote in 1920, interest in politics and reform generally declined among women. The 'new women' of the pre-WW1 era, who had been interested in education, careers, and social reform, were seen as somewhat old-fashioned by the new generation of young women, who were more interested in enjoying themselves.” The new generation of young woman only had one thing on their minds... TO HAVE FUN! About 10 percent of women were in the workforce.

Although most single women worked for a living, work was generally seen as something that would be given up on marriage. “I pay our women well so they can dress attractively and get married” said Henry Ford. Staying single to follow a career was no longer seen as an appealing prospect.”

My point is what if the reason Mrs. McEachern never stopped her husband from hurting a child was because she didn't want to upset Mr. McEachern. What if she did disagreed with her husband, was she afraid he'll kick her out into the streets? How would she support herself if Mr. McEachern did? Her main priority was to keep her man satisfied, even if it does go her own  beliefs.

I sense she did have sympathy for Joe from this quote,

“I know what you think. It ain’t that. He never told me to bring it to you. It was me that thought to do it. He don’t know. It ain’t any food he sent you.” (Faulkner, p. 65).

...But this is just my opinion? Do you think Mrs. McEachern never did anything because she was afraid of what her husband would do to her if she spoke up (could their marriage have involved some sort of domestic violence) ? Or do you think it might have something to do with their religious/ and or parental beliefs?

The Past of Joe Christmas by Jenessa Armstrong

Hello everyone it's me, Jenessa. I'm using Amanda's account because I'm having problems with my account.
In chapter 5, we learn that Joe Christmas feels like he has no home or place to belong. I wonder why he felt that way. We now learn that even growing up, he never had a place he considered home. He was an orphan with no real parents, then when he was adopted they never treated him as their own child. It goes to show how your past is what makes you and it's something you cannot escape, but something you should come to peace with. Do you think that Christmas will overcome his past as the novel goes on or still be filled with hatred?

Chapter 7: A Broken Child...

          Joe Christmas is described as a violent, dangerous, and obscured man in the novel. In Chapter 7 we were introduced to a young Joe Christmas who had to endure the consequences of being a biracial child and adopted into an abusive home. I found it very interesting that McEachern would beat Christmas, pray for absolution, and harm him again. It's become some sort of ritual or routine for Christmas. There's no wonder that Christmas can't escape his haunting past. He was constantly surrounded by abuse, humility, and shame. How can someone, especially a child, be expected to move on, recover, and abide to the world around him when all he's ever known was hate? I believe that he is unable to fully embrace his identity because of this and until he can face his younger self, he will never be able to move on.

Ch.7: Christmas's Struggle to Understand

In chapter 7, the scene where Joe Christmas rejects Mrs. McEachern's tray of food by dumping it on the ground in the corner of his room seemed like an interesting event that conveyed much about Joe's beliefs in women. When I read this, I saw this scene as a way of showing the reader the refusal that Joe has to accept anything from a woman because, as with the dietician, he cannot understand the true motivations of women in general. I also found this quote about Joe Christmas to be very true in sense, "though he did not then know that, like the eagle, his own flesh as well as all space was still a cage” (pg.160).  Since Faulkner compares Joe to an eagle in this quote, I believe that it is trying to say that his constant anger with himself and his surroundings is like that of a caged beast who just wants to be set free. He is pretty much an imprisoned child who is having such a troubling time embracing his self-identity. Joe's past can clearly be seen as such a painful memory that no matter how much he runs and tries to escape from it, he will never succeed in getting the release that he desperately yearns for.

Ch.7: sex, violence, religion, and TV

     In chapter seven, there is an extremely strange incident in which Joe Christmas and some of his friends go to a barn to have sex with a negro girl. One thing that stood out to me was Mr.Mceachern's reaction to what Joe did: he was furious that Joe might have been with a girl, but when he learns that Joe had only been fighting, Mr. McEachern's only concern was how well Joe did in the fight. It's a strange and common scene in America: we celebrate violence in movies, tv, and video games, but any sexual content is censored harshly. I wonder if this sort of repression is what lead to Joe's issues, and I feel that it likely causes many of our problems today.