The barbarians are going to come, causing chaos and destroying the land, but aren’t the civilized people doing just that to the barbarians when they torture them? The barbarians in J. M. Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians are portrayed and treated as if they are below the status or level of animals. When the Magistrate finally realizes this, after listening to stories and witnessing the scars on the barbarian girl’s body, he stands up for them and the people in the town think he is crazy. Is the protagonist truly crazy for defying the laws and rules in his town or is he crazy for thinking the barbarians are “men?” Here is the problem the protagonist faces: is defending your morality the right thing to do or is the right thing to live life by the law?
According to the Empire, the protagonist is a barbarian. Readers can see that the Magistrate views the barbarians not as the enemy, but as human beings. On the other hand, the Magistrate sees the Empire as barbarians when he says, “if there is ever anyone in some remote future interested to know the way we lived, that in this farthest outpost of the Empire of light there existed one man who in his heart was not a barbarian” (120). This back and forth commotion on who the real barbarians are can act as a metaphor for problems not only in apartheid South Africa, but also in our society. The barbarians can stand for what is wrong in our society and the civilized can stand for what is right. This can also be vice versa, where the barbarians portray what is right and the civilized, what is wrong. It all depends on how a person is treated and how a person treats others.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Dusklands
What does it mean to be powerful? Does having power entitle someone to the highest respect? Is a powerful person the only one allowed to govern and decide upon rules or laws? Can someone who is powerless ever become the authority? According to J. M. Coetzee, in Dusklands, some who think they are powerful may in fact be powerless, while some who are perceived to be powerless, actually are in control. The reader can see that having power is puzzling because who we think has full control of a situation, in turn, is unstable or has no control. In today's society, one might say that each of us, as individuals, have an authority over our own lives. This might be true, but what about addiction? What about the soldiers who returned home from a war? Whatever they have been through is still replaying in their minds and bodies. A memory or a drug may in fact be controlling the individual and causing him or her to lose power over something simple or even completely take over his or her life.
In the first novella, "The Vietnam Project," for Eugene Dawn, the line between reality and the mind is blurred, causing Eugene to lose power over his life. Eugene has seen the effects of the war, and he actually carries them around with him in the form of photographs in his briefcase. Eugene cannot escape the reality of what psychological warfare has done. In fact, even though Eugene has not gone to war, it almost seems as if he is at war with himself. From the very beginning, all he wanted was Coetzee's respect. After work where he wants Coetzee's respect, Eugene goes home to a nagging wife, Marilyn. In reality, Marilyn just wanted to be a part of his life, but Eugene couldn't see that. When he finally decides to leave his wife and take his son to a motel, it appears that Eugene is taking control of the situation. It appears as if he now has the power. But then Eugene explains, "giving myself orders is a trick I often play on my habit of obedience... There is no doubt that contact with reality can be invigorating. I hope that firm and prolonged intercourse with reality, if I can manage it, will have a good effect on my character as well as my health, and perhaps even improve my writing" (36). Eugene is totally immersed by his need to please other people, even when he is the only adult and has the possibility to make his own decisions. I ponder the reason how, with this freedom and power, Eugene can make a decision to stab his son. But then I ask myself, in what right mind would a father stab his own son? This is proof that Eugene has lost control of his actions. All aspects of warfare made him crazy and powerless.
In the second novella, "The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee," Jacobus learns that having power can easily turn into dependency on others who are powerless. In this novella, Jacobus describes his journeys surrounding the Hottentots. Hottentots move around following cattle. They are depicted to be less than the white man, but greater than the Bushmen. Bushmen are simply beasts. While Jacobus travels with his team of six Hottentots, he definitely lets them know he is in full command. Jacobus explains, "the success of the expedition had flowed from my own enterprise and exertions... They saw me as their father. They would have died without me" (64). Making all the plans and decisions, the Hottentots are powerless to Jacobus. Jacobus' state of power comes into question when he travels the land of the Greater Namaqua. Jacobus describes, "I realized that, sick with who knows what fever, I had fallen into the hands of callous thieves ignorant of the very rudiments of medicine, barbarians, children of nature whose hospitality I had only yesterday insulted" (76). Here he has lost control over his life. His Hottentots do not listen to him and Plaatje mocks him. In reality, Jacobus is now powerless among the Hottentots. But then there is Klawer, who still obeys Jacobus. To explain this, Jacobus says, "The habit of obedience is not easily broken" (88). If this is true, why does this only apply to Klawer and not the rest of the team? It is clear that when someone is in a state of power, the person is not entitled to the highest respect. Jacobus was treated poorly when the Hottentots took control and lost his power. On the other hand, Jacobus proves that the habit of authority is not easily broken when he embarks on his second journey back to show his power.
In the first novella, "The Vietnam Project," for Eugene Dawn, the line between reality and the mind is blurred, causing Eugene to lose power over his life. Eugene has seen the effects of the war, and he actually carries them around with him in the form of photographs in his briefcase. Eugene cannot escape the reality of what psychological warfare has done. In fact, even though Eugene has not gone to war, it almost seems as if he is at war with himself. From the very beginning, all he wanted was Coetzee's respect. After work where he wants Coetzee's respect, Eugene goes home to a nagging wife, Marilyn. In reality, Marilyn just wanted to be a part of his life, but Eugene couldn't see that. When he finally decides to leave his wife and take his son to a motel, it appears that Eugene is taking control of the situation. It appears as if he now has the power. But then Eugene explains, "giving myself orders is a trick I often play on my habit of obedience... There is no doubt that contact with reality can be invigorating. I hope that firm and prolonged intercourse with reality, if I can manage it, will have a good effect on my character as well as my health, and perhaps even improve my writing" (36). Eugene is totally immersed by his need to please other people, even when he is the only adult and has the possibility to make his own decisions. I ponder the reason how, with this freedom and power, Eugene can make a decision to stab his son. But then I ask myself, in what right mind would a father stab his own son? This is proof that Eugene has lost control of his actions. All aspects of warfare made him crazy and powerless.
In the second novella, "The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee," Jacobus learns that having power can easily turn into dependency on others who are powerless. In this novella, Jacobus describes his journeys surrounding the Hottentots. Hottentots move around following cattle. They are depicted to be less than the white man, but greater than the Bushmen. Bushmen are simply beasts. While Jacobus travels with his team of six Hottentots, he definitely lets them know he is in full command. Jacobus explains, "the success of the expedition had flowed from my own enterprise and exertions... They saw me as their father. They would have died without me" (64). Making all the plans and decisions, the Hottentots are powerless to Jacobus. Jacobus' state of power comes into question when he travels the land of the Greater Namaqua. Jacobus describes, "I realized that, sick with who knows what fever, I had fallen into the hands of callous thieves ignorant of the very rudiments of medicine, barbarians, children of nature whose hospitality I had only yesterday insulted" (76). Here he has lost control over his life. His Hottentots do not listen to him and Plaatje mocks him. In reality, Jacobus is now powerless among the Hottentots. But then there is Klawer, who still obeys Jacobus. To explain this, Jacobus says, "The habit of obedience is not easily broken" (88). If this is true, why does this only apply to Klawer and not the rest of the team? It is clear that when someone is in a state of power, the person is not entitled to the highest respect. Jacobus was treated poorly when the Hottentots took control and lost his power. On the other hand, Jacobus proves that the habit of authority is not easily broken when he embarks on his second journey back to show his power.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
About Me
I am in my first semester of the English Graduate Program at California State University, Northridge. I recently completed the Teaching Credential Program and have received a Single Subject Teaching Credential in English. With my credential, I am currently a substitute teacher and I plan on teaching English at the high school level. My scholarly interests include adolescent literature, feminist theory, Native American literature, author studies, and poetry.
I am taking English 620JMC because I enjoy studying an author’s background and professional written portfolio. Being able to delve into many pieces of writing by one author sheds a new found light on the author’s work. Readers have an opportunity to learn about the author’s past and present experiences and can apply the author’s background to any text they are reading in order to gain a greater understanding.
I am taking English 620JMC because I enjoy studying an author’s background and professional written portfolio. Being able to delve into many pieces of writing by one author sheds a new found light on the author’s work. Readers have an opportunity to learn about the author’s past and present experiences and can apply the author’s background to any text they are reading in order to gain a greater understanding.
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