Literary Analysis Essay on Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee

Introduction

Lack of peace of mind can have extreme consequences on the affected individuals. In his novel, Disgrace, J.M. Coetzee looks at the life of a man struggling with himself. Set in the post-apartheid South Africa, the book features the life of David Lurie, a university professor, who uses his position in society to engage in multiple sexual activities in total disregard how such behavior affects him and the women involved. This is because of his lustful nature that he cannot withstand women and sees them as a potential source remedy for his troubled mind (Beyad and Keramatfar 157). In the entire text, Coetzee subjects Lurie to various instances of disgrace to show the challenges South Africa faced as it transitioned from apartheid to democracy.

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At the start of the story, the author lets the audience know about the lustful nature of the Lurie, the main character in the story. The author indicates that Lurie is a, a 52-year-old second-time divorce who has 'solved the problem of sex rather well"(1). Coetzee also reveals about Soraya, the Muslim whore, with whom Lurie had several sexual encounters. As the story progresses, the audience further learns of the sexual relationship between Melanie, a woman of color and student in his class at the university. To lure Melanie, Lurie uses alcohol and other acts that can be regarded as rape. The body of Soraya is depicted as a commodity because prostitute and Lurie had a specific time for sexual acts and also involved. In this case, it represents the power balance in South Africa at the time (Beyad and Keramatfar 157-58). For the example of Melanie, the professor is dismissed because of the relationship. As a result, the woman acts a source of misery to the professor contrary to his intends whereas the professor is depicted as a source of domination and violence on women (Beyad and Keramatfar 157). Given that Melanie is a woman of color, it shows the suffering blacks and whites inflicted on each other in the period immediately after the end of apartheid.

Following his dismissal from the university, Lurie goes to live with his lesbian daughter in Eastern Cape. Here, he hopes to settle well and engage in the farming activities advanced by the daughter in the rural areas. The activities included working with a black South African man named Petrus. This encounter appeared to give some peace of mind to the protagonist. However, tragedy strikes as three black men, posing as persons needing help from Lucy, attack the farmhouse and rape Lucy. The attackers shoot the dogs dead and attempt to kill Lurie by setting him on fire. He later muses that black people were conditioned to fear dogs as a sign of power and oppression. Lucy's rape and the shooting of dogs are indicative of the power struggle in South Africa between whites and blacks. The violence highlights the tensions that existed as the country underwent through a transition from apartheid to democratic rule.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Coetzee succeeds in highlighting rape, violence and power struggles that characterized South Africa after the end of apartheid. The author traces the life of David Lurie by showing his lascivious behavior and affinity to dominate women. Lurie's experiences of violence reveal to the audience the nature of the political in the environment in South Africa shortly after the end of the white minority rule. The most interesting aspect of the novel is that Coetzee promotes the idea that violence was not encouraged by blacks alone. By showing Lurie, a white character, as a man who oppresses and uses women, the author promotes the idea that people of all races committed violence in post-apartheid South Africa.

Works Cited

Beyad, Maryam, and Hossein Keramatfar. "Subjection and Survival in J. M. Coetzee's Disgrace." Journal of Black Studies, vol. 49, no. 2, 2017, pp. 152-170.

Coetzee, John M. 'Disgrace'. New York: Penguin Books, 1999. Print