The Role Of Animals In Disgrace By J. M Coetzee - 1344 Words

â€Å"With their parallel lives, animals offer man a companionship which is different from any offered by human exchange. Different because it is a companionship offered to the loneliness of man as a species† (Berger 4). In the novel â€Å"Disgrace† by J.M Coetzee, animals, especially dogs play not only the common role as a companion but also as a fundamental key in our protagonist’s behavioral change. Dogs were the creatures able to fill at least a portion of the lonely heart of our main character, David Lurie. They were significant characters throughout the entire plot of Coetzee’s novel where they assumed different roles. JM Coetzee’s Disgrace portrays dogs as more than just another animal, but as symbols and metaphors used to represent†¦show more content†¦With nothing. Not with nothing but. With nothing. No cards, no weapons, no property, no rights, no dignity. Like a dog. Yes, like a dog† (Coetzee 200). These lines tell everythi ng that we should know. Here Lucy is comparing the dogs with being a powerless creature, without pride or title. To summarize it, what she meant is that to be a dog, is to be the low of the low. To be a shameless yet helpless being without any power or pride whatsoever. These few examples are just some of many that Coetzee used in his novel to link dogs with the roles that they played in exemplifying people’s status in the Post-Apartheid South Africa. Second of all, the concept of dogs was also used as a metaphor to demonstrate the development of some characters throughout the novel. For example, in the beginning, while describing his relation with Soraya, David Lurie called himself a snake, â€Å"lengthy, absorbed, but rather abstract, rather dry† (Coetzee 2). This comparison showed his opinion on the matter of love and life at the start of the novel. Besides, as we all know, snakes are cold creatures, commonly used to represent darkness and evilness since ancient tim es. They are cold-blooded beings incapable of the feeling known as love, that’s why David sees the similarity between them. However, later on in the story, Coetzee presents the dogs to show the change that the character of Lurie underwent. As we all know dogs are one of the most affectionate creatures in the world. TheyShow MoreRelated`` Disgrace Byj.m Coetzee `` : Sexuality And Gender Essay1388 Words   |  6 PagesSexuality and Gender People around the world tend to say that this is a man’s world, and in the novel Disgrace by J.M Coetzee, the author demonstrates how men are more â€Å"powerful† than woman through the way the characters use women for sex and the experience each women in the novel goes through. The three main female characters that demonstrate the different experience of women and sex are; Melanie, Lucy, and Bev. Melanie is a young, ex-student of Professor Lurie, who is beautiful enough to seduceRead More J.M. 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Structuralist and Semiotic Theories of Genre. Only study guide for THL2602. University of South Africa: Pretoria. SECTION 2: READING, RECEPTION AND INTERPRETATIONRead MoreLiterature and South Africa6682 Words   |  27 Pages References Jong, M.D. 2008. Theory of the Sign in Literature and Culture. Only Study Guide for THL201A. University of South Africa: Pretoria Lotman, J. 1977. The Structure of the Artistic Text. Translated from Russian by G. Lenhoff and G. Vroom. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Oliphant, A.W. and Keuris, M. 2010. Structuralist and Semiotic Theories of Genre. Only study guide for THL2602. University of South Africa: Pretoria. SECTION 2: READING, RECEPTION AND INTERPRETATION Read More Fantasy vs. Reality in J. M. Coetzees Disgrace Essay1791 Words   |  8 PagesFantasy vs. Reality in J. M. Coetzees Disgrace J. M. Coetzees novel Disgrace is, on the surface, the story of a wayward college professor, Dr. David Lurie, who is aging into a disrespectful decline. But this story tells of not only the strife and wrenching change that exist in the microcosm of Luries mind, but also the parallel themes that underlie the social, political, and ethical systems that are the reality of present day South Africa. As David Lurie interacts with people and creatures