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The Theme Of Nature In Light In August

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Nature is everywhere; it is not only animals and trees. Nature is strength, care, power, peace and freedom. Even though it might be hard to see, if one plays close attention, one will find nature hidden in the smallest things. When discussing William Falkner’s book, Light In August, nature is not the first theme that runs through the reader’s mind. However, the essence nature’s details add to the story is truly grandiose. The reader learns that nature is a neutral force. It is unstoppable, uncontrollable and extremely unpredictable. The lives of two main characters, Lena Grove and Joe Christmas, highlight the fact that one might feel nurtured by nature, as much as one might feel defied by it.
The novel begins by describing a young pregnant …show more content…

However, William Faulkner alludes to nature’s supportive side while describing how it foreshadows significant and precarious events. For example, Faulkner describes, “ The grass was aloud, alive with the crickets. Against the dewgray earth and the dark bands of trees fireflies drifted and faded, erratic and random. A mockingbird sang in a tree beside the house. Behind him, in the woods beyond the spring, two whippoorwills whistled. Beyond them, as though beyond some ultimate horizon of summer, a hound howled”(159). This quote describes how, while Joe walks through the pasture, nature suddenly turns frantic, predicting something is about to happen, and nature never lies. Joe Christmas finds Mr. McEachern, his tough foster parent, sits motionless next to the cows, which Joe did not milk. For this, he gets punished and whipped. That night, Joe “felt like an eagle: hard, sufficient, potent, remorseless, strong. But that passed, though he did not then know that, like the eagle, his own flesh as well as space was still a cage”(160). This quote is linked directly to the theme of nature, because by comparing himself with an caged eagle, Joe portrays how he lacks freedom and happiness. Also, nature is seen as comforting because when Joe’s traditional environment seems to fail, he relates nature with his goal of running

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