A STUDY OF J. M. COETZEE'S NOVELS FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ETHICS

Abstract

Derek Attridge's emphasis on cautious reading is a strength of this dedication to Coetzee's analysis since his concept of "moral of reading" (6) focuses on the "formal uniqueness of Coetzee's writings" and the scholarly text as an "opportunity for both its creator and peruser" (9). However, such a methodology risks emphasizing aestheticism, the text's legitimate features, above its political implications, and even though Attridge is aware of this and attempts to refute it, he does not decide it. This is especially evident in his reading of J.M. Coetzee's 1980 novel Waiting for the Barbarians, which exemplifies broader concerns within the subject. Following a subtle, emotionally-charged reaction to a section of the text, Attridge suggests that Coetzee's books work "against" figurative readings and that readers should value "the experience of reading for itself, as opposed to because it [points to] particular insights about the world or South Africa in particular." While the original's investigation into the death of a detainee may reflect the South African government's accounts of Biko's death, Attridge acknowledges that it is beneath the capable reader to interpret produced by craft as highlighting real-world suffering. The work of J.M. Coetzee compels readers to consider the depiction of political violence in South Africa during and after Apartheid. His work investigates the processes that shape human and non-human hierarchization and the effects of physical and psychological violence on victims, offenders, and observers. In a word, his writing illustrates the consequences of encountering and attempting to represent the other. J. M. Coetzee is concerned with core moral concerns, such as post-apartheid disillusionment and race relations in his native country. In disgrace, he immerses the audience in the struggle of a disgraced university professor, Lurie, to defend his and his daughter Lucy's honor in post-apartheid South Africa. This postcolonial story addresses, from a political, ethical, and psychological aspect, racial payback against whites that appears to arise as neo-racism by blacks, as the title suggests.