A Study On Coetzee’s Animal View In Disgrace

Nowadays human beings are entering into a modern civilized society, while many animals died out or are endangered. The animal problems are increasingly prominent, and thus many scholars have been exploring the relationship of human beings and animals to change animals’ situation. As one of those scholars, J. M. Coetzee has written some novels about animals. His representative novel Disgrace also involves the theme of animals. Referring to animals, domestic researches mainly focus on the theme of ecology.However, the theme of right is rarely involved in China. Based on Tom Regan’s and Peter Singer’s animal rights theory, this thesis aims to explore Coetzee’s animal view through the analysis of animals’ treatments in Disgrace, animal metaphors and words used in Disgrace and the change of protagonist Lurie’s attitude towards animals.Specifically, animals’ treatments are analyzed, which exposes the cruelty and unfairness human beings inflict on animals and further reflects Coetzee’s resolute opposition to maltreatment with animals, slaughtering animals and euthanizing animals.Through analyzing animal metaphors and languages Coetzee used in Disgrace and the protagonist Lurie’s changes towards animals, Coetzee’s viewpoint is manifested. He proposes his method to change animals’ treatments and improve the relationship between human beings and nonhuman animals. The principle of equality should be applied to expand the equal consideration of animals. Animals’ ability to suffer is the key feature that animals should be equally considered their rights. Besides, human beings should inhabit their bodies to animal’s bodies and consider problems from the point of view of animals. Although the awareness of being kind to animals has been woken, individual’s awakening is not enough. The awakening of the collective consciousness of the whole society is advocated.In short, this thesis explores Coetzee’s animal view in Disgrace based on Tom Regan’s and Peter Singer’s animal rights. It is expected to broaden and deepen the study on Disgrace in China and offer a relatively new perspective to study Coetzee’s novelsand his viewpoint. Besides, it is also expected to develop the animal rights theory in the field of literature.