The Art Characteristics And South Africa In Coetzee's Fiction On J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2003 is awarded to the South African writer John Maxwell Coetzee, "who in innumerable guises portrays the surprising involvement of the outsider."[1] The reason is "There is a great wealth of variety in Coetzee's works. No two books ever follow the same recipe. Extensive reading reveals a recurring pattern, the downward spiraling journeys he considers necessary for the salvation of his characters."[2] The Swedish Academy said that "J.M. Coetzee's novels are characterized by their well-crafted composition, pregnant dialogue and analytical brilliance."[3] Disgrace, which is the masterpiece of Coetzee, shows his writing characteristics thoroughly. It is a novel that can attract readers'all attentions. Coetzee'thoughtfulness makes people vigilant; questions that he brings are enlightening; meaning and connotation embodied in his works are very colorful. With the colonial strength being in the wane, South Africa enters into the new era. Coetzee writes the discrimination, hatred, and revenge between different races and the suspicion, alienation, and collision among common people simply but realistically, incisively and vividly but not over embellishments. As regards the artistic tactics, Coetzee develops every part of his story all linked with one another ring upon ring; elaboration of the plot and expansion of the theme are combined together organically, which fully demonstrate his outstanding ability to manipulate form and subject matter of literature. As to the contents and social significance, it is like a sharp sword that mercilessly points to the moral life of the South African society at the end of the 20th century. In the novel, Coetzee uses the conflict between Eros and moral, the white and the black as the main clue, exposing all sorts of disgraces and evil consequences caused by the colonialism and racism, and announcing the infinite future trouble left for South Africa, the whole world and human beings. In the process of mercilessly castigating and criticizing colonialism, the writer at times shows his dissatisfaction to social reality and serious concern and anxiousness about the aftermath of colonialism; shows the sense of responsibility and humanitarianism care as a litterateur should have. In South Africa, the system of apartheid, the traditional value standard, and the behavior criterion, they are the basic theme in Coetzee's writing. His writing deeply ponders over the social reality before and after the system of apartheid in South Africa, and reflects the living condition of common people under such circumstances. And the object that Coetzee cares about is not only in one place or at one period, but the world and the future because the system of apartheid, in his opinion, may take root and grow up everywhere in the future, so usually his works do not give readers a concrete space-time reference, while he adopts the form of allegory directing at the weakness of western society. The thesis consists of five parts: "Introduction", "Chapter One Colonial Domination in South Africa and Coetzee's Writing", "Chapter Two The Disordered Carnival", "Chapter Three The Alternate Disgrace", and "Conclusion". "Introduction"aims to give a brief survey and introduction to the Nobel Prize winner South African writer John Maxwell Coetzee and his masterpiece Disgrace, and makes clear the writing purpose and perspective of the thesis. That is to let readers get a thorough conception of South Africa in Coetzee's fiction, and to reveal the connotation and meaning in his fiction by analyzing its art characteristics. "Chapter One Colonial Domination in South Africa and Coetzee's Writing"is divided into two sections. The first section intends to make a brief analysis of the special history, politics, and humanistic environment of South Africa, and to show that Coetzee's fiction creation not only roots, but also grows up on the land of South Africa by combing out the flourish and downfall of the history of colonial domination in South Africa. In order to do a further exploration of the art characteristic of Coetzee's fiction, the second section pays much emphasis on discussion about Coetzee's fiction writing being closely bound up with the transformation of South African history. "Chapter Two The Disordered Carnival"is subdivided into three sections: Summary of the Definition of Disorder and Carnival, Some Forms of Expression of Disorder, and the Disordered Relations in South African Society. The first section gives a summary of the definition of disorder and carnival, and talks about thedelicate relation between disorder and carnival. Regarding the analysis of these two key words'definition as the jumping-off point, this part shows that although there are many kinds of living states, among which the disordered one is the obvious feature in South Africa and the key point in my thesis. The second section analyzes some forms of expression of disorder among persons'communication, and two points in this section are laid special stress on. One is the disordered relationship between men and women, which is very inexplicit, and to some extent, is just like a crazy carnival. Two is the disordered relationship between father and daughter, which is very cold, and to some extent, is just like strangers. On the basis of the first two sections, it naturally goes further to the third section's discussion that focuses on finding out the substantial reason for which those kinds of disordered relations exist in South Africa society. "Chapter Three The Alternate Disgrace"continues to discuss about the relation, but it upgrades from the level of individuals'relation to races'. It includes three sections: The Changing Strength Balance, The Inverted Social Position, and The Hostile State Remaining as Before. The first section gives a survey of the changing strength balance between the white and the black in South Africa that is the strength of the white becomes weaker and weaker; on the contrary, the black becomes stronger and stronger. Following the explanation in section one, section two keeps on discussing about the inverted social position, which corresponds to the changing strength balance. The third section indicates that in the transformative new South Africa, although black people come into power, the hostile state between the black and the white remains as before. It does not turn the peaceful coexistence of all human beings into reality. "Conclusion"attempts to briefly summarize the art characteristics, and to reiterate some social problems faced by South Africa in Coetzee's fiction that is how to deal with such problems as the discrimination, hatred, and revenge between different races and the suspicion, alienation, and collision among common people with the colonial strength being in the wane, and South Africa entering into the new era. Through the analysis in the thesis, we may conclude that Coetzee is the writer who is quite dissatisfied with the social reality, and is deeply concerned about the...