Essays on J.M. Coetzee

People often juxtapose their world to the world of nature. More and more often modern people, in contrast to those living in ancient times, express an opinion that they are masters on the earth and, therefore, have a right to exercise dominion over animals, plants, and nature on the whole. However, in most cases, people are just slaves of circumstances and of the environment in which they happen to exist. Disgrace, a Booker-prize winning novel by J.M. Coetzee (1999), is all about that coexistence of the two worlds – the world of nature and the world of people who want ...

Feminism in Mahfouz's Palace Walk, Nadine Gordimer's None to Accompany Me and J.M. Cotzee's Disgrace

Abstract

Naguib Mahfouz, J. M. Coetzee and Nadine Gordimer are three African Nobel laureates who depicted feminism by showing their central women characters transgress tradition. If Amina, the protagonist of Palace Walk, transgressed tradition by going out on her own to the mosque for prayer, Lucy fought tradition by claiming her right not to take a part in the system of oppression and enters into an impossible relationship of her time by marrying a black man. Vera plays the role reversal by being the party who betrays ...

“Waiting for the barbarians” by J. M. Coetzee

Introduction

John Maxwell Coetzee’s “Waiting for the barbarians” chronicles the sufferings and mysteries that occurred in a small colonial town. The town existed as the territorial boundary of the empire in which the narrator was a resident. An unknown magistrate narrates the story in the first person position by explaining the terrific events that took place in their town. The magistrate was a loyal servant of the Empire and his attempts were to ignore an unavoidable conflict with the “barbarians.” This implies that the novel was inspired by the brutal apartheid system in Cotetzees’ ...

Foe by J. M. Coetzee Different authors employ different styles in storytelling. The choice of a given storytelling technique is crucial as it not only define the author but also determines the connections that the reader has to draw to understand the message. It also determines the connection between the scenes and the different characters. Coetzee employs a unique storytelling technique. The style employed only allows the reader to connect the various aspects of the story by heavily drawing from the instances from the previous scenes (Caracciolo 91). Notably, the last chapter of the story depicts this unique storytelling technique. ...

Classic English Literature

Disgrace, by J.M. Coetzee is a gripping tale of apartheid and in South Africa. The story mainly deals by subtly hinting the various thoughts and opinions of the main protagonist, David Lurie, in the beginning of the novel and certain gripping incidences which finally bring about a transformation in David Lurie. He is a professor in a university in Cape Town. Twice divorced, Lurie is well aware that he does not get along with women and yet he craves to be in intimate relationship with women. The story begins by David meeting Soraya, a prostitute in a restaurant and follows with his torrid affair ...