An Interpretation Of Ethical Identity Of Characters' In Coetzee's Disgrace

John Maxwell Coetzee,one of the most important contemporary writers in South Africa,won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003 for his work Disgrace.As a South African white writer,Coetzee began writing about the colonial life and racial conflicts in South Africa from 1974,with a cool style of writing about his concern for South Africa.Disgrace,a work published by Coetzee in 1999,focuses on the complicated relations and conflicts between white and black who are living in South Africa which is interweaved by old and new periods after the abolishment of apartheid in 1994.This thesis mainly analyzes the ethical identities of three protagonists named Lurie,Lucy and Petrus from the point of view of ethical literary criticism and reveals that in the new South Africa filled with change and hope,the different ethical environments that declining descendants of colonizers and the rising local black have to face force them have a correct perception of their ethical identities ultimately so that they can make correct ethical choices.This thesis,adopting the ethical literary criticism,analyzes Lurie‘s family ethical identity and social ethical identity firstly.It discusses his violation of ethical taboo which is driven by free will because of his ignorance of social ethical order and his identity anxiety due to his lack of awareness of his ethical environment.In the end his rational will returns and he makes the right ethical choice.Then it probes into the ethical analysis of Lucy‘s ethnic identity and gender identity.Her ethnic identity brings disaster to her.Eventually,her female self-awareness and moral emotion prompt her to make a rational choice.At last,it analyzes the transformation of Petrus‘ identity and explores the influence of his ethical environment on his identity.In Disgrace,Coetzee reveals that in South Africa which is in the post-colonial era,to achieve the real reconciliation,both the white and black need having a correct cognition of their ethical identity and ethical environment where they are in.It also inspires the nations who are still in the postcolonial era to realize the real reconciliation and establish the new ethnic relationship.By interpreting the ethical identity of characters in Disgrace,this thesis expects to explore the importance of cognition of ethical identity,reveal the ethical inspiration embodied in the text and reflect the teaching function of the text and then to provide new ideas and methods for the study of new ethnic relationship and national issues in the postcolonial period.