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(clip: trailer of the movie adaptation of Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee)
From the first few pages to the end of the story, a reader will go from feeling revolted about the character David Lurie to pitying him and then eventually feeling happy for his choice. His journey from womanizer to accepting grandfather is so well constructed and intriguing that one cannot help but want to know more about him. David’s relationship with his daughter Lucy is also one of the most interesting angles in the book and the scrutiny with which the book explores it is quite fascinating. But what is most unique about the novel is the background in which the story takes place; South Africa after apartheid.
While the scandal in the book seems equivalent to that in any other American novel, it is the turn that the story takes to the rural Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape that makes it different. The timing of the novel is extremely important. There is no mention of what the political situation is like in the beginning, but one can suppose that it takes place in the present because the element of oppression is never included in the book. Prejudice is however an element that is not ignored and is touched upon often. Immediately, what some reviewers call the white dilemma comes into the picture when black and Colored South Africans enter the story. It's what drove both David as a white male to shame. At first though Coetzee does not blatantly state the race of the characters and it is usually after some clues that we figure it out. Like Petrus, it was only from the description of his role at Lucy’s farm, David’s suspicions of Petrus’ absence during the attack and more details provided at the party that we find out that Petrus is black. Even the rapists did not seem black at first because again there was no particular indication.
Clearly Lucy’s unwillingness to tell the police about her rape or to move from the farm or to confront Petrus about his brother-in-law Pollux’s involvement indicates her belief that she needs to be sensitive because it is a race issue. Even David’s hands are tied as he cannot accuse Petrus “like the old days” and yet he has a nagging feeling that somehow Petrus had some connection and in a way was responsible. Though his suspicions do come true, the fact that the thought jumps into his head angers Lucy and could be seen as prejudiced. Hence the white dilemma in South Africa is highlighted.
David’s sex-capades and the constant reference to Byron are symbolic too. I think in many ways he sees himself as Byron, who was known for his love affairs. While Byron was a poetic genius, he did commit many mistakes. For David, his affairs serve as the premise for his personal downfall, which is furthered by his inability to protect his daughter and often overlook his intellectual pride.
It is known that Coetzee is an animal rights activist and so the inclusion of animals around the plot may have been to raise awareness. The animal “disposal” center that Bev Shaw runs, subtly points fingers at those who abandon animals. But David’s character develops along with the death of each dog he handles. At the very end of the book he says that the virtue of being a kind grandfather will come as his other virtue of lust goes as well. Those parts of him die as disposes of the bodies of the dead dogs.
The title Disgrace applies to almost every character in the book; Lucy’s disgrace of rape and having to live with the result of it for her entire life, David’s disgrace of scandal and of the attack, Petrus’s disgrace of his brother-in-law, Bev's disgrace of euthanasia. It’s their social context and confounding history that is the cause of their pain and disgrace.