Sorrow And Redemption

J.M.Coetzee is not only the twice winner of the Booker Prize, but also the winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in2003. Disgrace, as one of his masterpieces, was published in1999. Through the depiction of the aftermath of the colonialism and the apartheid system to the South African people in post-colonial era, the novel intends to show the suffering and dilemma of human existence. By describing the collapse of the original social value system and the poor living condition of mankind in modern society, the writer tries to show his humanitarian concern for life and his ultimate care for all people.This thesis, adopting the concepts of anxiety awareness, mimicry and will to life, in light of post-colonial theory, analyzes the thematic significance of the novel. It argues that when man is in a dilemma, there will be deep sorrow inside the heart and the desire to be rescued out of the dilemma with the strong will to life.This thesis mainly consists of five parts. First, there is a brief introduction to Coetzee’s literary achievements, the researches the scholars have done on Coetzee and the novel, as well as an overview of this paper.The second part deals first with the definition of anxiety awareness. Then, through this theory, the author of this paper attempts to show how the protagonist lives in a dilemma.The third part mainly discusses, through Coetzee’s description of violence, silence and death, the sorrow of life, the writer’s deep concern for human survival, and his thinking on the meaning of life.The fourth part first introduces the concept of "will to life", then explores man’s strong life will when in a dilemma, and that life will is the source of strength that an individual can use in order to be saved out of dilemma, which reflects not only the writer’s care for the life of the individual, but also his deep concern for human survival.The last part is the conclusion, mainly putting an emphasis on the exploration of the writer’s ultimate ideal of redemption for all human beings.