William Faulkner, one of the great stylists of the 20th century, explores the South's haunting past through several novels. His novel Light in August is one of several novels set in Yoknapatawpha County, a fictional place in Mississippi, where he explores the fallout and changes brought about by Reconstruction in the early and mid-1900s. In this novel, Faulkner uses a strange protagonist, Joe Christmas, to reveal the moral and social values ​​of this society. Joe, a man allegedly from racially diverse parents, has never been proven to be part black. His distancing from white society, however, is only one example of the influence of white supremacist theology on the people with whom he interacts. Faulkner also seeks to illustrate how religion can be misused, becoming nothing more than an instrument of racism. The interactions between Joe Christmas and the locals reveal that truth and facts are ambiguous and not always consistent; but this does not prevent public opinion from passing judgment on what it interprets as the truth. Say no to plagiarism. Get Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get Original Essay Joe Christmas is alienated by society because of his alleged race and behavior. Noel is raised in a white orphanage and appears to be white. However, he is ostracized by the other children and subjected to racist insults. During his stay at the orphanage, the dietitian noted that “he has been called a nigger for years”. (133). Additionally, the dietitian claims, for her own benefit, that he should be moved to an orphanage for black children and tells the matron, "I don't see how we haven't been able to see him for so long." You can now look at his face, eyes and hair. (134). Even though the dietitian wants to get rid of Christmas because he threatens her job security, her comment is based on the fact that he shouldn't be like other white kids. Faulkner deliberately keeps Santa's race a secret. Previously, Christmas was described as not black, but foreign. Later, Mr. Hines, Christmas's grandfather, recounts how, when he asked the circus manager about the employee his daughter was sleeping with, the manager initially said he was black, but moments later he changed his answer and said he wasn't. Of course. When Noel speaks with Joanna, when she questions his race, Noel is forced to respond "I don't know." (254). Although Noel's race is never confirmed, Jefferson residents judge him black on the word of Joe Brown, an unreliable man who illegally distilled alcohol on Christmas and then sought revenge for a murder with religious and social connotations. The fictional Faulkner County embodies the racial prejudice and strong religious influence that were present in the South in the early 1900s. Faulkner uses a unified urban voice to express the opinions and moral assumptions of this society. In his novel, Faulkner often uses the word "them" or "they" to describe the city. For example, “They believed for a while that he helped do it. " (regarding Joe Brown's responsibility for the murder) and "They wouldn't have suspected him then if it hadn't been for a guy named Brown, who the nigger used to to sell whiskey pretending to be a white man and tried to do so. blame the murder and the whiskey on Brown, but Brown told the truth. (pages 420, 449). The city speaks with one voice and chooses to believe Joe Brown because he is white. In addition to his way of writing, Faulkner highlights.