Prayer in William Faulkners Light in August Essay example -- Light in

I decline to accept the end of existence...I believe that man leave alone not merely endure he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. -William Faulkner, Nobel Prize acceptance Speech, 1949 William Faulkner illustrates many dimensions of appeal in lilting in August his characters avoid it, abuse it, incubate it, and blame it. In every case, Faulkner portrays prayers power on the psyche. His fictitious world seems Godless, yet his characters struggle to prevail through prayer. Joanna Burden, Gail Hightower, and Joe Christmas exemplify three different approaches to prayer. Joanna turns toward prayer shortly out front she is murdered Hightower turns from it and finally feels liberated before his symbolic death and Christmas, who is murdered in the end, prays throughout the novel. In comparing these three, Faulkner rejects p ompous prayers and advocates for authenticity. Faulkner suggests that it is let out to avoid prayer altogether, like Lena Grove, the happy pagan, than to be hinder by false prayer, like Hightower. To highlight these extremes, Faulkner fuses his novel with tensions between Judeo-Christianity and paganism, filling his characters with an urge to in some way find something permanent. First, Joanna wrestles with her faith, but her shift toward prayer brings pride and prejudice. Faulkners first mention of prayer in reference to Joanna actually comes through Joe he observes her longing to sustain God on her own terms and her struggle to do so She wants to prays, but she dont know how to do that either (Faulkner 261). Faulkner inten... ...Black and White. New York Twayne, 1992.Brooks, Cleanth. Faulkners Vision of well(p) and Evil. Religious Perspectives in Faulkners Fiction. Ed. J. Robert Barth. Notre Dame Notre Dame P, 1972. 57-87. Faulkner, William. descend in August. New York Book of the Month Club, 1997. FowlerDoreen,AbadieAnn Faulkner and Popular Culture.JacksonUP of Mississippi,1990. Kazin, Alfred. The Stillness of Light in August.William Faulkner Three Decades of Criticism.Eds. Frederick J. Hoffman and Olga W. Vickery.New York Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1960. Porter, Carolyn.William Faulkner Lives and Legacies. Oxford University Press. 2007. Print. Tuck, Dorothy. Crowells Handbook of Faulkner. New York Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1964 Waggoner, Hyatt H.William Faulkner From Jefferson to the World. Lexington University of Kentucky Press, 1966. Prayer in William Faulkners Light in August hear example -- Light in I decline to accept the end of man...I believe that man will not merely endure he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. -William Faulkner, Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech, 1949 William Faulkner illustrates many dimensions of prayer in Light in August his characters avoid it, abuse it, embrace it, and blame it. In every case, Faulkner portrays prayers power on the psyche. His fictional world seems Godless, yet his characters struggle to prevail through prayer. Joanna Burden, Gail Hightower, and Joe Christmas exemplify three different approaches to prayer. Joanna turns toward prayer shortly before she is murdered Hightower turns from it and finally feels liberated before his symbolic death and Christmas, who is murdered in the end, prays throughout the novel. In comparing these three, Faulkner rejects pompous prayers and advocates for authenticity. Faulkner suggests that it is better to avoid prayer altogether, like Lena Grove, the happy pagan, than to be stunted by false prayer, like Hightower. To highlight these extremes, Faulkner fuses his novel with tensions between Judeo-Christianity and paganism, filling his characters with an urg e to somehow find something permanent. First, Joanna wrestles with her faith, but her shift toward prayer brings pride and prejudice. Faulkners first mention of prayer in reference to Joanna actually comes through Joe he observes her longing to meet God on her own terms and her struggle to do so She wants to prays, but she dont know how to do that either (Faulkner 261). Faulkner inten... ...Black and White. New York Twayne, 1992.Brooks, Cleanth. Faulkners Vision of Good and Evil. Religious Perspectives in Faulkners Fiction. Ed. J. Robert Barth. Notre Dame Notre Dame P, 1972. 57-87. Faulkner, William. Light in August. New York Book of the Month Club, 1997. FowlerDoreen,AbadieAnn Faulkner and Popular Culture.JacksonUP of Mississippi,1990. Kazin, Alfred. The Stillness of Light in August.William Faulkner Three Decades of Criticism.Eds. Frederick J. Hoffman and Olga W. Vickery.New York Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1960. Porter, Carolyn.William Faulkner Lives and Legacies. Oxford University Press. 2007. Print. Tuck, Dorothy. Crowells Handbook of Faulkner. New York Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1964 Waggoner, Hyatt H.William Faulkner From Jefferson to the World. Lexington University of Kentucky Press, 1966.