Confessions is an autobiography written by Augustine of Hippo in 397-398 CE about his struggle with sin and his conversion to Christianity. The early parts of the book describe Augustine's struggle with selfishness, peer pressure, lust, sin and the fallacious teachings of Manichaeanism. Under the influence St. Ambrose, Augustine abandons Manichaenism and eventually finds enlightenment and relief from suffering in Christianity. In the end of the book, Augustine expounds upon the meaning of time, memory, Genesis and the Holy Trinity.
Light in August is a novel that explores the lives of two visitors to Yoknapatawpha County: Lena Grove, a pregnant woman searching for the father of her child, and Joe Christmas, a man who appears white but is troubled by his black ancestry. As Faulkner's tale unfolds he examines the interconnected lives of Lena and Joe. The story culminates in Joe being wrongly accused of murder by the father of Lena's child, Lucas Birch. Neither character finds a happy ending in this classic narrative which explores race, class, identity, and life in the American South.
Part of a 10-play cycle examining African American life and experience in the US across the 20th century, Fences is set in 1950s. Troy is a man in his 50s who is trying to provide for his wife and son, but has also gotten his mistress, Alberta, pregnant. Throughout the play, Troy is working on a fence, which he thinks will keep death away. The fence also acts a symbol for the family, as it keeps them safe inside their home and intruders out.