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Paradox
Definition of Personification
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down on the wedding guests, indifferent... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the sentence, "The rain poured down... read full definition
Personification is a type of figurative language in which non-human things are described as having human attributes, as in the... read full definition
Chapter 5
Explanation and Analysis—Yellow Cat:
In Chapter 5, Joe Christmas sits alone against a tree with a magazine, seemingly after he has killed Joanna but before the manhunt for him begins. Faulkner uses personification and a simile to convey Christmas's strange mental state:
It seemed to him that as he sat there the yellow day contemplated him drowsily, like a prone and somnolent yellow cat.
Christmas imagines that the sunny, "yellow" day is staring at him as a "prone" (lying down) and "somnolent" (sleepy) cat might stare at a person. At first, this language suggests that Christmas feels relaxed. However, a sleepy cat is easily startled. Christmas is currently experiencing a peaceful moment, but he does not know when "the day" will get startled or violent, springing up to attack him. There is almost an inevitable sense that this moment cannot last, and that "the day" and forward-moving time are looking at him almost like prey on which they will eventually decide to pounce.
For a man who has just committed murder, Christmas imagines himself to have very little agency. He does not stare the day in the face. Rather, the day stares at him. Christmas is not even sure throughout this scene whether he has already killed Joanna or whether he has simply thought a great deal about killing her. It is only through context clues and details about the murder that are confirmed later in the novel that the reader knows for certain that Joanna is already dead in this passage. By personifying the day and comparing it to a cat, Faulkner emphasizes the idea that Christmas is no longer in control of his own fate. He is subject to the whims of the day and the people around him—people who likewise may not have full control over their own fates. Arguably, he was not even in full control of his actions when he killed Joanna. A lifetime of his trauma collided with Joanna's generational trauma, and the result was violence. This is just one example of how the characters in the novel suffer because they are driven by social forces much greater than themselves.
Related Themes:
