Much of the novel is devoted to an artistic and psychological study of Joe Christmas' character. He is the central figure, and plays both the role of sacrificial lamb and hot-blooded murderer. On the sacrificial lamb side of the scales, Christmas is thrown to the wolves the moment he enters this world. His violently insane grandfather prevents anyone from going for a doctor as Christmas' mother dies in childbirth. Christmas' grandmother is powerless to prevent her daughter's death, or to stop her husband from abducting the newborn baby. The grandfather, Eupheus Hines, dumps the baby on the doorstep of an orphanage on Christmas day, then spends five years working incognito as the orphanage's janitor, while keeping an evil eye on Christmas. When the innocent five-year-old witnesses something he doesn't understand, the orphanage's female dietician.....
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