p through which from the study window he watches the street. So hidden it is that the light from the corner street lamp scarcely touches it. (pg. 52) Faulkners description emphasizes Hightowers alienation in the town of Jefferson as we are told that the house is hidden from the rest of the community. The reader gets a sense of Hightowers current life, as he watches the community of Jefferson he is not included in, from the secluded box he calls home. We are also presented with another secluded area in Jefferson, the Burden house. As Christmas first drifted into town, he had described the house, It was a big house set in a grove of trees; obviously a place of some pretensions at one time. But now the trees needed pruning and the house had not been painted in years. (pg. 213) The description of the landscape, the trees needed pruning and the house had not been painted in years, paints the reader a picture of a secluded house hidden from the community of Jefferson. Not only was the house poorly cared for, it was also situated deep into the woods, right beside a Negro community. The Burden house and Hightowers cabin in the woods are both described as mysterious places hidden from the community of Jefferson. The setting gives the reader a sense of loneliness in both characters as they are alienated from society in the confines of their shelter.In the novel, we are presented with different narrative point of views. Therefore, we experience the thoughts and feelings of each character as they are introduced into the novel. Although, all of the characters have one thing in common: they are all products of alienation. Faulkner uses the shifting in time in the plot, from present to past, to support the theme of alienation. We are first told the story of the Burden house burning down, and then the plot jumps to tell the reader the past lives of the characters experiencing or witnessing the fire. The central character, Joe Christmas, ...
