Race and racial categories played a special role in the business of colonialism. How are they asserted in the novel `Disgrace` by J M Coetzee. Also, what has post-apartheid South Africa learned from these categories in your reading of this novel?

Srika Prathipati

1 June 2007

The Disgrace

The Disgrace ' written by J .M . Coetzee in 1999 won him a Booker prize this was his second Booker prize . This book is one among the series of books written in post-apartheid South Africa

David Lurie is a 52 yr old white professor , who has been divorced two times , he teaches romantic poetry at the Cape Technical University , the professor has an affair with one of his students Melanie . Everyone comes to know of this affair and he is accused and called to face

an inquiry into this affair . The professor admits his mistake but refuses to apologize for his actions , as he feels he has been disgraced . The professor resigns from his job and goes to live in a small land with his daughter Lucy

Lucy and her father help her friend Bev at the animal clinic , where unwanted pets are incinerated . Petrus is Lucy 's black friend , who helps Lucy in her farm , he shares some land with Lucy , and dreams of occupying the whole land for himself . Petrus would help Lucy in carrying water digging and other odd jobs , but now Petrus seemed very busy to do these jobs . Lucy had to do her own jobs without any help . The whites had to carry their own water , and do their own digging . Later three black men attack Lucy and her father they beat up David and took turns to rape Lucy . David felt even more disgraced after this incident , as he couldn 't stop it , and was helpless

Post the apartheid in South Africa , the blacks who were using the economic freedom to do anything , assaulted the whites and felt it was their right to do so . This part of the novel gives an example of the racism , which was so strong in South Africa at that time . David is such a person who sneers down at others , and who takes his position to advantage to do what he likes justifying that he is right . He is a person in South Africa where the whites no longer have the power they used to possess

The novel also shows why people like Petrus and the three black Africans who raped Lucy , did what they did . But Lucy regards the rape as a payback for the racial discrimination the blacks underwent . It was a newfound freedom for them , full of violence and confusion , as if the blacks were taking revenge for what they underwent . The new South Africa post the apartheid is were white women were assaulted and the men were supposed to leave the past behind and lead a new life

The character of Lucy is very intriguing she even wants to keep the baby , who is a result of the rape , she agrees to become Petrus 's third wife , even after knowing that he must have prearranged the rape attack on her , to acquire her property . They see me as owing something she states about her attackers . They see themselves...