How does joe christmas die

No one knows where Christmas is living and what he is actually doing. Joe is not sure about his race and confronted with a society that strictly divides people into black and white. They construct their own image of him. Jefferson society, whose member treat people in accordance with their racial background, turns Christmas into a scapegoat. He is neither black nor white. In the end people are hunting Joe like an animal.

With the help of this analysis Faulkner makes it easy to form an impression of the Jefferson society. Neither Joe himself nor the reader ever gets an answer to it. N H Dipl. Add to cart. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Femininity 3. Resignation or Acceptance 4. Release, Religion and Symbolism 5. Presentation of the Character, Language and Speech 6. Connections to Lena Grove and Gail Hightower 7. Conclusion 8. Bibliography 1. Here I am I am tired I am tired of running of having to carry my life like it was a basket of eggs What causes this state of fatigue?

What makes Joe Christmas give up? Growing into Isolation Joseph Christmas is an orphan. McEachern shows up at the dance furious with Joe. Joe hits him over the head with a chair; McEachern collapses and possibly dies. Joe drifts from town to town, sleeping with white women and black women alike, living his life alternately as a white man and a black man.

One day he arrives in Jefferson and takes up work at the planing mill. Joe moves into Miss Burden's cabin after noticing that it's uninhabited. Joe begins an affair with Miss Burden. Joe begins selling whiskey illegally to local townsfolk. He takes Joe Brown as his partner in the illegal business and Joe Brown moves into the cabin with him.

Miss Burden begins to pray over Joe and this enrages him. He develops to plot to kill her. Joe kills Miss Burden, nearly decapitating her. I told him so! A white man! Society needs to label people black or white in order to explain the motivations behind actions when in reality the actions individuals take are caused by the structures in society.

Joe Christmas tries to find his identity and break through to freedom. In the Existential triad, man must discover his existence and be aware of it. Finally man must discover the responsibility of freedom Slabey Joe portrays the conflicted human condition and portrays the struggle to be human. Joanna wants Joe to perform as a black man. When Joe murders Joanna, he is trying to define himself and to do this he must be free of societal expectations.

Bleikasten says: Personal identity is never in any circumstances a mere matter of individual preference, but in a closed society there is no choice at all. Identities are defined and distributed according to the prevalent codes: everyone must be tied to a class, a race, a gender.

The community underscores the idea that everyone must be classified. Robert M. Joe has been isolated from society for a significant amount of time and even through all of his actions he could not define himself. Joe feels at peace after he cleanses himself by shaving and cleaning his face. He has come to the realization that he must accept who he is and he cannot escape his heritage. Joe Christmas is a complex and conflicted character created by Faulkner in order to portray the impact of man- made signifiers such as race in society.

Through his actions, readers can interpret how society can influence and affect identity and the human experience. Joe experiences a reality created by American Southern society and his character portrays a complex southern experience, the inner conflicts that result from such a community and an unchanging human condition.

Acknowledgements First and foremost I would like to thank Dr. SparkTeach Teacher's Handbook. Themes Motifs Symbols. Important Quotes Explained. Mini Essays Suggested Essay Topics.