Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee in Post-Modernism Perspectives
In the novel Disgrace, the author specifically focuses on the disgrace issue among the characters. One can see that the book’s title is reflected in most of the characters in the story. However, disgrace is depicted from different perspectives on the characters. He also uses animals, and in this case dogs to symbolize several things.
J.M. Coetzee published the novel ‘Disgrace’ in 1999. The setting of the story is the post-apartheid period in South Africa. The novel illustrates more than the contemporary features of South Africa. The author uses dogs in most parts of the novel, and this plays a significant role as one of the stylistic styles he uses. He uses dogs to show the development of some of the characters. Additionally, the purpose of using dogs is also symbolic. In the novel, dogs either are owned by the white people or are straying around in streets. One can say that Coetzee uses dogs to symbolize the different statuses that people hold in the society. One can see from Coetzee’s book that the use of symbols in literature has a hidden meaning. Readers have to analyze well the works of literature in order to get the deep and real meaning the author wanted to pass.
Disgrace is evident in David’s life almost throughout the novel. Most of the disgrace revolves around his sex-life. He has an affair with a 20-year-old girl called Melanie, and who is his student. As he talks to Melanie’s father about the sex life with his daughter, David tries to justify his actions. He thinks that he is a man of a certain level and who is free to do some little adventure (166). David also likes prostitutes and has a relation with several of them. Due to his adventures, he is much attracted to “young whores” as he calls them. Even his ex-wife states that the whole affair they had was disgraceful from the time it started (45). It is true to mention that the attitudes David had towards sex and the importance it had to him are nothing but just disgrace. It is also evident that David had no limits in what he did and nothing could prevent him from doing what he wanted.
Disgrace is also evident in the professional career of David. At the beginning of the novel, David is a man with a good job, and this makes him feel more powerful than the others. However, his acts of disgrace bring his career trembling down. He goes from being a professor at the beginning of the novel to being an unemployed person at the end of the book. He was a man of class and power, but ends up being in the lowest level of the social ladder. He knew quite well that having a relationship with a student was a risk to his job, but went ahead to do it (27). Melanie’s boyfriend also confronts him on one occasion in his office (30) and even disrupts his class later on. He is however dismissed from work and runs away to hide at his daughter's place because of shame.
Disgrace is also evident in Petrus’s life, a black man, and the only black character in the novel. He serves as Lucy’s assistant in the house as well as in the field (62). However, Petrus’s life changes in a positive manner throughout the course of the novel. He grows from an assistant to owning the property and finally owning the whole farm. The means he uses to gain more power and finally take over Lucy is however wrong. He uses disgraceful manners in many cases in order to have Lucy and all that is hers. For instance, he orders some men to rape her knowing that she would turn to him for protection.
Therefore, his life also well reflects the title of the book. From Petrus, it is clear that the society of that time was rotten. People could do whatever it takes in order for them to be at the top of the social ladder. That however has not changed as even today; some people can go to the limits of doing the unthinkable just to get money. Disgrace is also evident in Lucy’s life, but this is not much apparent in the novel. She is the daughter of David and lives in the countryside. However, she and Helen are in love, but Lucy never talks about it with his father or anyone else. Therefore, just as the society is today, women could also fall in love with each other during the apartheid period.
One can clearly see the meaning of the title of the novel in the behaviors of most of the characters. It is also clear that life was hard during the Apartheid time. The whites were above the blacks in everything. Additionally, it also shows the extent people can go to get what they want, even if it means doing things that could hurt other people. Coetzee uses real experiences in his book, and some are symbolic. On the other hand, the central issue that Coetzee wanted to pass on to his audience is ‘disgrace’ during the apartheid period. One can say that the author was successful in passing the message he wanted to give to his audience if considering the novel’s title. Disgrace is evident throughout the novel in several characters, and this depicts how the Apartheid period was like in South Africa. One can see that the use of real-time situations in coming up with a work of literature is acceptable.
References
Coetzee, J M. Disgrace. New York: Viking, 1999. Print.
