The Mirror has Two Faces A mirror reflection can only show so much. The outside appearance really does matter, but also the character does too. The viewer of the mirror can see their flaws and mistakes, but they can never see their good qualities. Identity is a person individuality, its what makes them stand out from everyone else. Identity is a curious mystery that many people are to be scared to venture out and find themselves. Some people copy others identity or simply choose not to find one. In A Light in August, the characters and the South’s identity is unique. The identity in the South is questioned in A light in August. Identity is a fragile thing, especially in the south, the south is new and has not established their identity. …show more content…
He doesn’t know who he is or where he belongs which causes Joe to be wandering around most his life. He has a rough time with relationships with people because society isolates him because of his violent ways. His relationship with Miss Burden seems like he would change, but he only ends up disappointing her and causes her to destroy herself. Joe Christmas also has a violented when he dies, and nothing is resolved in his life. Joe represents the old South and how if it doesn’t change it will die. The choice of Joe struggling to choose an identity is like he is punishing others for giving him the option to choose. He is trying to weigh the pros and the cons of each race. Sometimes he will use his race for his own benefit and other times he will use it for a weakness. For example, when he was having sex with Bobbie he told he was “black and had nigger blood”, this caused Bobbie to not want to be with him or have him get beaten after the church scene. When you used the “nigger blood” on Miss Burden, she didn’t care. It was not a big deal to her because she wanted to help him as a person. Joe Christmas was the one who suffered from identity crisis the most out of all the characters in this