The Neon Bible

The Neon Bible is a 1989 novel by American author John Kennedy Toole. A bildungsroman, or coming-of-age novel, it follows David, a naive young man who lives in the countryside of Mississippi from the onset of World War II to the early 1950s. David encounters and internalizes xenophobia, misogyny, and other forms of social violence, which strongly influence his memories of the American South. As he tries to make the most of the tragedies that occur at seemingly every turn, he also yearns for a means of escape from his past and from the specter of war. The Neon Bible sends a hopeful message about the capacity of individuals to resist bigotry and hatred, though it is conflicted about the question of whether people are innately good. It was adapted into a 1995 film of the same name.

At the beginning of the novel, David lives in a small town in Mississippi with his father, mother, and Aunt Mae, an odd and flamboyant singer. The family is forced to move out of town when David’s father becomes unemployed. They find more affordable housing in the hills outside town. However, living in the countryside cuts David off from his friends, negatively affecting his well-being. Luckily, he finds a friend in Aunt Mae. Understanding that Aunt Mae is belittled and treated as a pariah by the townspeople for her eccentric personality and radically independent way of life, David feels sorry for her, despite knowing that Aunt Mae doesn’t care about anyone’s opinion. Aunt Mae revels in any form of attention, good or bad.

David’s father finds part-time work at a nearby gas station. In his remaining time, he tries to start a small farm behind their house. He saves up some of his salary to buy the necessary equipment and some seeds. David’s mother scolds him, since his spending leaves them with too little money to buy food. Their argument escalates, and David’s father strikes his mother, then leaves the house for a while. Soon after he returns, he receives a notice from the army notifying him that he has been selected in the draft. He is deployed to Italy to fight in World War II. David, his mother, and Aunt Mae mourn his departure, though they know it will bring peace to the family, at least for a while.



Aunt Mae gets a job at the town’s factory producing ammunition and other war goods. Due to her hard work, she rises in the ranks and becomes an important member of the workforce. A group of missionaries, led by Bobbie Lee Taylor, comes through town from Tennessee trying to spread a Christian revival. The revival quenches many of the townspeople’s yearning for spiritual significance, especially given the war raging overseas. Aunt Mae’s war factory throws a party, in which Aunt Mae takes center stage and sings for everyone. The event confirms Aunt Mae’s newfound social acceptance; afterward, she travels through town with a band, singing at local venues.

With Aunt Mae gone so often, David loses his closest friend. David’s mother is frequently busy tending to the crops in the backyard. His father sends letters from Italy, which his mother reads over and over. When David is in the sixth grade, the family receives the tragic news that Father has died in action. His body is buried in Italy; the letter announcing his death contains a photo of the graveyard, where his grave marker is but a small white cross among many.

After losing her husband, Mother suffers a mental breakdown and withdraws from public life. Aunt Mae starts dating Clyde, a nice older man in her band. David takes up a job at a convenience store, where he meets a customer Jo Lynne. They go on only one date before David feels obligated to ask her to marry him. In response, she slaps him and leaves. Clyde asks Aunt Mae to travel with him to Nashville to try to become famous. Aunt Mae leaves David alone with Mother, who is growing increasingly out of touch with reality. One day, David comes home and finds Mother heavily bleeding; that night, she passes away. The next day, David digs her grave. A preacher arrives, intending to take his mother to an insane asylum. David kills the preacher with a shotgun, buries his mother, then hops on the soonest train out of town. At the end of the story, he has no intention of turning back. The Neon Bible’s ending suggests that David’s individual will is the only thing saving him from despair and that many people entertain an illusory sense of their own goodness.