Although most men and women recognize how traditional gender roles dictate their actions in hopes of being accepted into society, very few can claim to have been completely exiled from their community because they appeared too “masculine” or vice versa. In Light in August, the people of Jefferson are presented as a single antagonist in which they exist only to oppose any unwanted changes within the community. Joanna Burden is first presented with feminine traits typical of a traditional female character; one that exists to meet the needs and desires of their male counterpart. As Joanna begins to develop a relationship with Joe Christmas, it is revealed that she also has an uncanny ability to embody masculine traits. However, the fact that Burden cannot be classified as either a man or a woman calls into question the city's aversion to gender fluidity. Joanna Burden's blurred separation between masculinity and femininity is the most decisive factor in the Jefferson community's collective decision to reject her from society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Due to the residents' need to defend its traditional Southern values, the community of Jefferson becomes its own character that excludes anyone judged unwanted or incapable. to conform to their ideals. During this time, the simple idea of ​​homosexuality was not accepted, forcing some characters to isolate themselves from society as their sexual orientations were continually questioned. Although Joanna Burden has resided in Jefferson her entire life, she is “still an outsider…still talked about in the city about queer relations with Negroes in the city and outside” (Faulkner 46). This illustrates the abnormal tendency of the community to form a single, unified opinion, as opposed to the diversity of opinions expected from a large population. The citizens of Jefferson exile themselves and ignore Joanna due to her transgression of societal norms, which unconsciously influences her personality. The community's aversion to actions that contrast with their conservative ideologies, such as pregnancy outside of marriage, is a factor in proving that Jeffersonians are incapable of forming individual moral beliefs. Lena's brother is representative of this underlying problem when he "noticed her shape-shifting...[and] called her a whore" (Faulkner 6). His opinion on Lena's pregnancy aligns and conforms to Southern society's expectations regarding the imperative to marry. The community of Jefferson grows into a single entity that exists to serve as a metaphorical moral compass for the town. Any character who deviates from his collective opinion or attempts to change Jefferson's conservative agenda is shunned until the individual fades into oblivion. Before Faulkner further develops the relationship between Joanna Burden and Joe Christmas during its first phase, Miss Burden is originally depicted as a stereotypical white figure. Southern femininity. In Jefferson, white women are expected to respect Southern tradition without any desire to change or challenge it, while forcing themselves to adopt the cookie-cutter image of the housewife. Joanna constantly prepares meals for Joe, but never sits down to eat with him, instead she stands "in one of her seemingly endless successions of clean calico house dresses and the occasional cloth cap like a country woman” (Faulkner 233). Strict gender roles placeJoanna Burden in a seemingly unwavering idea of ​​how white women should be physically represented in a society that emphasizes the importance of social hierarchies. In this case, she is the symbol of the Southern community's attempt to exploit its existence for the benefit of the opposite sex. Miss Burden temporarily accepts her femininity when she considers bearing a child; another traditional role of women where they are expected to live in servitude as a caretaker. For Joanna, the idea of ​​pregnancy gives her a feeling of power: “At first, she talked about it impersonally, talking about the children. It took a while before [Joe] discovered…she was discussing it as a possibility, a practical thought” (Faulkner 264-265). Pregnancy gives her a feminine sexuality that is not achieved through sexual acts, but rather through motherhood – one of the most important contributions a woman is expected to make in Southern society, or more precisely in community of Jefferson. Any deviation from these beliefs gives the townspeople a reason to punish the unorthodox individual and exile them from the community. Although Joanna Burden embodies certain feminine traits, her unconventional masculinity is what causes her to become an outcast after being considered a threat to society. Southern social order. Instead of a typical heterosexual relationship that is both common and expected for Jefferson, Joanna assumes a position of masculine authority, challenging the traditional feminine archetype. When Joe Christmas first meets Joanna, he describes her as having masculine traits: "There was no feminine hesitation... It was as if he were physically wrestling with another man over an object of no real value to anyone. of both, and for which they fought purely on principle. » (Faulkner 235). A female character with the ability to alter her personality to resemble that of the opposite sex, such as Miss Burden, quickly becomes a danger to Jefferson's male population; Joe and Joanna's relationship is called into question when their sexual relations can be interpreted as homosexual relations, a taboo act within the Jefferson community. Another implication of Joanna's gender fluidity is illustrated when she transforms into the more dominant "masculine" figure in the relationship, while Joe becomes her submissive counterpart. Christmas suddenly realizes that he is forced to adopt the position of what Joanna Burden should be: a woman: "'My God,' he thought, 'it was as if I were the woman and she was the man” (Faulkner 235). This threatens the very moral principles that the Jeffersonian community prides itself on, that men and women must adhere to their God-given roles in society. Joanna challenges the traditionally black and white binary of male versus female in a culture that is highly intolerant of mixtures of any variation, whether gender, race, or sexual behavior. Because Miss Burden has both feminine and masculine aspects, she is neither a man nor a woman, but rather a combination of the two. His embodiment of femininity and masculinity is not initially manifested through his actions and personality, but is ultimately permanently inscribed in his body. During the third phase of Joanna's relationship with Joe, she is depicted as having an "old maid's face: very bony, long, somewhat thin, almost masculine: in contrast to this, her plump body was more richly and more gently animal than ever". (Faulkner 266). The juxtaposition of the two descriptions illustrates the physical duality that it now represents; although his weight gain may.