Point of View

Light in August is narrated alternately from various characters' points of view. While much of the story is narrated by these characters in the first person, an omniscient third party narrator quietly guides the story along, without intruding upon the story. The third person narrator's function is to help tie together the various third person narratives; at no point does the omniscient narrator become a character or develop an independent persona. The major viewpoints in the story come from the characters of Byron Bunch, Reverend Hightower and Joe Christmas. However, the collective consciousness of the small towns of Jefferson and Mottstown are also introduced as characters with defined viewpoints. It is through this literary conceit that the author is able to combine his many storylines into one coherent narrative. Additionally, by giving these two towns a narrative voice, the author is able to convey town gossip...