Hannah Simpson – 4U English Blog

After reading ‘Disgrace’ by J.M Coetzee, I have completed 3 posts on 3 different literary theories. These include, a Reader Response, an Archetypal, as well as a Feminist post. Out of the 3 theories, the one that gave me the most insight was the ‘Feminist’ theory.

The storyline of ‘Disgrace’ is around the rape of two woman. By looking at the story from the ‘Feminist’ perspective I was able to really understand the lack of freedom, and the power the female characters had in the story.

Melanie and Lucy were the women who were raped in the book. Melanie did testify against her rapist, David Lurie. However, Lucy (David’s daughter) never did. Female characters are generally considered the minority, as well as in society. This really showed in this particular story as both females stayed quite hush hush about their traumas.

The way the author, J.M Coetzee described woman was quite unsettling though. He had described woman through the character David. David had describes his own daughters breast and butt as “ample”. He had also said that woman’s pleasures, desires, and humanity had no impact on his life, which he had found attractive.  

The author also had made it clear that women’s bodies, belongings, and even clothing are all things that can be taken by men.

To conclude, the feminist theory gave me personally the most insight as to analysis the storyline in a way that made the most practical sense.

For my final blog post for J.M Coetzee’s “Disgrace” I decided to make my post about applying the feminist theory to the novel.

I enjoyed many elements of the book. It was very symbolically as well as multi-dimensional. However, the novel was not an easy read.

The story of “Disgrace” is around the rape of two woman, Melanie and Lucy. Melanie was a student of David Lurie whom he had found a great deal of sexual interest in, and ended up raping her. Lucy is David’s daughter. She was raped by three men who invaded her home and attacked her. Although this novel is heavily about rape, the two women rarely discuss their own trama. Lucy refuses to talk about her rape to anyone, and when she does she gives only a few sentences to describe her thoughts on the situation. Melanie was also quite silent after her testimony in court. This was due to David’s choice to not read her statement.

David Lurie character was very odd, however quite intriguing. For instance, “Maybe, for men, hating the woman makes sex more exciting. You are a man, you ought to know” (135, Coetzee). This quote to me meant that the reader, and even David are made painfully aware of his complicity by committing the same horror against another human being. Lucy’s rape become more of a political metaphor as “a history of wrong. Think of it that way, if it helps. It may have seemed personal but it wasn’t” (98, Coetzee).  Women’s experiences became metaphors for the redistribution of land when Lucy’s rape aligned with Petrus’ desire to obtain her land. It is Petrus complicity in the rape, as Lucy is now pregnant. Lucy being pregnant allows for Petrus to have control of her, her land, as well as demand they get married. Lucy begins living a very isolated life.

Through the story, the way Coetzee describes woman is quite disturbing, especially through David. He describes his own daughters breasts and butt as “ample”. He also describes Bev as a woman who makes little effort to look attractive. David turns to religion at the end of the novel to reassert the idea the the woman in his life have enriched him. He had said that their pleasures, desires, and humanity had an important impact on his life, which enriched him.

Lucy had told her father that she is not a minor character in her life. David and Petrys battle over his daughters body, while she fights to regain control. Coetzee talks about “virgin” terrien. He had emphasized this through Lucy’s sexual orientation. “No wonder they are so vehement against rape, she and Helen. Rape, god of chaos and mixture, violator of seclusions. Raping a lesbian worse than raping a virgin: more of a blow” (112, Coetzee). Lucy’s sexuality had become an interpretation of “virgin soil”. Lucy is gay, and was untouched by men before she was raped by the three men.

Coetzee reminds readers that women’s bodies, objects, clothing and and are all things that can be taken, be damaged, or even dominated by the men in the world. He used Melanie’s rape to mirror Lucy’s rape, and to draw attention to the racial differences and similarities. However, he does not give the woman voices as the woman are silenced by the mens attempts to dominate them.

To conclude, this novel can be analyzed with the feminist theory through Coetzee’s own words, “he can, if he concentrates, if he loses himself, be the men, inhabit them, fill them with the ghost of himself. The question is, does he have it in him to be the woman?” (198, Coetzee). David NEVER wonders if he could put himself in his daughters place, or even Melanie’s. He does not empathize their feelings as a victim. He can imagine being a rapist, a violent one in fact, however he can not imagine being the victim, and being violated.

Since my last blog post, David has found himself in a lot of trouble. He is refusing to apologize for his wrong doing, as he does not see his acts as inappropriate. He leaves Cape Town to visit his daughter Lucy, who owns a small farm. Lucy has a helper on the farm named Petrus. To David’s surprise, Lucy is doing very well for herself and even felt the slightest feeling of pride for his daughter.

When David was visiting the farm, he assisted in the farm chores such as helping Lucy walk her many dogs, going to the stall at the local market on Saturdays where she sells her produce, flowers, and cycads. While they were at the market, David meets Bill and Bev Shaw, who are two of Lucy’s friends. The two are nice people who run an animal care clinic, however David doesn’t warm up to them very much when they first meet.

David finds himself volunteering at the Shaw’s clinic where he is responsible for looking after some of the animals.

All seems to be going well, until when Lucy and David were walking two of the dogs they noticed two men and a younger boy approach them. The men asked Lucy to use her phone, she agrees to them and leads him inside. The man inside the home locks the door, and the other two knock David unconscious. David finds himself in the locked bathroom, screaming for Lucy as she is nowhere to be seen. David tries to escape but he is tripped by one of the men, who proceeds to pour alcohol on him and set him aflame. He remains put in the bathroom until the men leave. The men shoot most of Lucy’s dogs and even take his car as well as some of Lucy’s things, including electronics and a rifle.  The Shaw’s take Lucy and David to the hospital and it is discovered that Lucy was raped by the men, however Lucy does not report it to the police.

This portion of the book was gut wrenching and shocking. I believe that this turn of events will be what the rest of the book is surrounded around.

David fits into a few archetypes. He fits into the archetype of a professor and an analyst. Throughout the story, David tries to make sense of his situations with logic. This includes when he gave his reasons for not wanting to publicly apologize for the affair with a student. An example that stuck out to me was when he used the story about the neighbours of his who punished their dog for its sexual desires to the point where it became disgusted with its own nature (Coetzee 90)  

I also see David as fitting into the thrill seeker archetype. This archetype can be described by his relationship to Melanie and the way he took advantage of her. Or even his relationship with Soraya. To me, he lives his life for his pleasure only, without thinking about the possible consequences to himself or even the others involved.

Bev Shaw is seen as a caretaker, and even a good samaritan due to her caring acts towards the animals. It also is seen by the care her and Bill provide to Lucy and David after their tragedy

Although there are many character archetypes, it doesn’t stop there. Although the plot is quite strange, it fits into the archetypal structure of “the hero’s journey” quite well.

The call to adventure could be considered by David initiating his affair with Melanie, is it provides quite a large scandal. Without this happening, there would be no scandal which would mean David would have probably not went to Lucy’s farm, and possibly the other events would not have happened  

The events in chapters 7-10 are seen as David’s challenges, and even temptations as he explores the philosophy of the world, and the morality of his actions; past and present. This process consists of many characters who are seen as his mentores to assist him through his journey. Lucy, who has a great deal in assisting him is one of these characters as she helps him the most in hopes to make sense of things for him. Since she is his daughter, he naturally has a greater respect for her. Bev Shaw is another mentor who demonstrates this by her actions of caring for animals.

If the model of “the hero’s journey” is followed through the rest of the novel, then David’s transformation will be quite profound and maybe even lead him to his possible atonement for his affair with Melanie, and cause him to turn over a new leaf in hopes of a better life.

It’s senior year, the time most high school students have been waiting for since registering for grade 9. We are now in the final stretch of classes and even the time of year where students have began to hear back from universities that they have applied for. Finally, no more english classes needed, or is that really the case?

When applying to postsecondary institutions, every major has specific requirements in that must be completed in order for an offer of admission to be sent out. In Ontario, every university program requires 4U English credit.

Should 4U English be a requirement for all university programs? In my opinion, I personally believe that 4U English should not be necessary for all programs. Having English is a very critical skill to possess. I believe that taking 4 English courses over the course of your high school career should be a requirement to graduate, regardless of the program or school you are applying to.

Personally, I think the education system is still quite flawed. For example, I think it would be far more beneficial for a student to either complete 40 hours of volunteer work OR complete a Co-Op. Both teach you very valuable skills. However, a student wanting a career in a trade would benefit more from a Co-Op placement, rather than complete 40 hours of volunteer work.

Back to the topic, I will agree that English is a huge skill as communication is needed wherever you go. Without proper use of communication or grammar, it would be quite difficult to be a functioning member of society.

On a more personal level, I have applied to University of Guelph’s Animal Science program. This program is all about agriculture. Once I graduate high school, that will be the last english class I ever take. This is because my major is completely science based. 4U English, 4U Biology, 4U Chemistry, as well as 4 other 4U courses were the requirements. Having the science courses made sense to me as they will be needed later on in my degree. Having other courses such as horticulture or animal science I believe would be much more valuable to further my education, as well as they are more relevant to the program I applied for.

In conclusion, no, 4U English should not be requirement for admission for all university programs. English should be a requirement to to graduate high school. I believe that courses of more importance to your particular program should be requirements.

Welcome to my 4U ENG blog!

About me!

I am a grade 12 student at College Ave in Woodstock, ON with plans to graduate this year, and hopefully attend University of Guelph in the fall majoring in Animal Science. Something cool about me is that I am currently employed at an AgResearch farm which conducts global research for swine, dairy, as well poultry!