A Light In August tells the story of Joe Christmas, an outcast from a southern society marked by racism. Christmas's role as the victim precipitated the murder of his lover Joanna Burden. Joanna Burden is an important element in enhancing Faulkner's literary work, aimed at addressing the darkest sides of society. William Faulkner uses Joanna Burden as a parallel to the South's burdens rooted in racism. Through Joanna's portrayal as an evil villain, Faulkner explores …showed first 75 words of 1215 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1215 total…leads to a richer life is eliminated. Faulkner also illustrates that living in the past not only destroys the individual consumed with the past, but those that surround that person as well. Finally, Faulkner demonstrates through Christmas's murder that religious fanaticism breeds hatred and rejection and often leads to violence. In this case, the violence was played out through the murder of Faulkner's subtle villain Joanna Burden as Christmas admits, "For her and for me."