Disgrace

The ingenious and vigorous use of metaphors reveal to the reader how crucial division between the laudable ones and those who live in contempt is and the role that possessing a unique identity plays in that. The book explains that each man should be left alone "in the temple of his spirit", and one should let it be “untouched and undefiled”, distinguished by their personalities and traits. (Rand 79). By likening a man's spirit to a temple, it establishes that every man's spirit exhibits sacrality. This comparison implies that a man may not dirty others’ hearts just so their own soul shines brighter by contrast. Soon afterwards, these thoughts are tied to the word "we" when it is written that the pronoun should "never be placed first within man's soul" or else it will "become a monster", one that is inherently evil (Rand 79). When the word “we” equates to a monster, the reader sees that not retaining individuality and submitting to the will of many leads to being like a monster taking root inside of men,

“oftentimes to win us to our harm the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence.”

Being called a disgrace can be hurtful, but are you actually one? In the book,

Have you ever wondered if the ordeals you went through could become a “rite of passage?” These ordeals could be a big event that could change a person’s entire foundation, such as marriage, or it can be something small, like being inspired to cook because of feedback. The novella, “The Body” written by Gordie Lachance, elaborates about the author’s childhood where he and his friends went through an ordeal that is a rite of passage. This ordeal was considered a journey for the boys as they believed in the frame and glory once they found the corpse of Ray Browser, a young boy around the same age as the author and his friends. The journey started out as an easygoing adventure, a playful type that could be considered as an innocent boy running in the park playing tag with his buddies. However, the journey changes into a more “serious business” for the author and his friends have to face many circumstances where it becomes flight-or-fight situations. In the novella, Gordie reveals many insights into the characteristics of his friends and himself

A Tale of Two Cities is a classic piece that explores many motifs through the lives of the characters it involves. The consequences of the desire for revenge and how it introduces ambiguity to the lives of Dr. Manette, Madam Defarge, and Mr. Defarge are masterfully played out in this literary work, in such a way that gives warning and hope at the same time. The message is clear: we are all human, and we are all in control. To what extent we allow the desire for revenge to control us is entirely in our

A National Disgrace documentary by reporter Dan Rather changed my perspective towards quality public schools in America from adequate to shockingly shameful. Rather exposed the corrupt school system in detroit that is resulting more than half of the people predominantly African Americans to be functionally illiterate. Prior to watching the documentary, I have always thought the American school systems were difficult to be rigged due to the adequate quality of education provided in my area. However, as Rather stated, “At Auburn High School in Detroit, 900 students start freshmen year and the same cohort will drop to 200 students in senior year. By then they will have to take the NAEP test(minimum competency to graduate), and only 11 students… 11 students will pass.”

Throughout this quarter we have read many books and many genres, at first glance they don’t seem to have any intertwining themes or ideas. Yet when you dig deeper than face value you can see that there is many underlying themes that the average reader might easily overlook. Shame is an overall human element that is seen all throughout; The Things They Carried, the Fifth Child, and Pocatello. Shame is the key to good literature, it is what drives the other emotions, and without shame people would not be people.

Authors often use characters within their novels to show the consequences of challenging cultural boundaries and, in turn, display their own personal concerns. It is not uncommon for characters to reflect an author’s ideology regarding social groups in their contemporary time periods. It is clear that this is certainly the case with the 1975 novel The Lost Honour of Katharina Blum, (also referred to as How Violence Develops and Where it Can Lead), written by the German Author, Heinrich Boll. The Lost Honour is, on the surface, an attack on yellow journalism and the damage it causes to the lives of the people reported on. However, with a more in depth analysis of the novel we are able to

It was once suggested that evil was simply the absence of good, and while this statement is not entirely false, it is a vast understatement to the reality that is an all-powerful, omnipotent, God, or good, and ever scheming, ever tormenting enemy of all things good, or evil. This false dichotomy is equivocal to the argument that black is simply the absence of white. It is correct to state that there is no white in black, but the reality is much more complicated than that. Black is an amalgamation of all colors on the color wheel, not just the subtraction of white. Likewise, evil includes the absence of good, but also includes many other elements such as, “people [just being] people; petty, self-absorbed, stupid, unadmirable, but not wicked” (Ryken, 307) in the words of Susan Wise Bauer. Or, as she later states, “this is how the evildoers of Scripture are portrayed, as ordinary men and women who, for whatever psychological reasons, open the door to transcendent evil—and willingly leave it cracked.” (Ryken, 310) There is good, there is evil, and there is a great deal of ambiguity in the middle. These ideas provide evidence that evil is much more then simple the absence of good. This knowledge, as well as addressing the modern world’s perception of good and evil will be further scrutinized through the course of this essay.

As a 52 year old, white South African, David Lurie has not felt the apartheid era as the majority of the black population did. He was a selfish, arrogant, and over-privileged professor who used his authoritative position to his advantage. After his affair was made public, he gets shamed by the media causing him to lose his university position and making him flee to his daughter’s farmhouse. Such Disgrace would teach David about what most South Africans in apartheid era went through, segregation and discrimination. Per Rachel, “He [Lurie] changes throughout the novel because what he represents about the past society, with his Romantic period interests, no longer holds in this changed South Africa “(56). David Lurie learns to cope with the new

Education proves to be a major factor in this transition, as the newly educated class demands higher standards of living and white-collar jobs. Falola is able to give a face to the topics and issues that we have been discussing in class. Little details such as how imported foods change the taste buds of students and "prepare them for a future that would enslave them in the global economy" (Falola 145). As a student who has eaten cafeteria food for many, many years this is a concept that I can identify with and allows me to see the subtle ways in which the Western world has tainted traditional African culture. Another major event, Pasitor's attempt to free Jakobu, leads the reader step by step through the escalating corruption of the government and demonstrates how it directly affects the lives of the citizens. However, while the reader can imagine what it looked like to live in Africa during these times of change and hardship, the memoir does not give any indication of what it felt like. The lack of emotional connections in the text was disappointing and it made it harder to connect on a personal level with Falola's experiences. In this regard, the book failed to live up to my expectations.

Clive Barnett, from University of Reading, Department of Geography, emphasizes that “Coetzee’s fiction has been inserted into dominant moral representations of apartheid” (300). Where, everything on this novel can be related to apartheid South Africa. The white professor, and his daughter represents the disgrace and shame of whites. What happened to them, the attack and Lucy’s rape, represents the punishment to the white community for the crimes they have committed against the black community. Also, Lucy’s reaction to the event was to not press charges against the rapists, “This is my life. I am the one who has to live here. What happened to me is my business, mine alone, not yours, and if there is one right I have it is the right not to be put on trial” (Disgrace 133), and stay in her house and face the consequences. Moreover, Lucy thought that was “the price to pay” in order for her to stay there, and J. M. Coetzee quoted in Disgrace:

First and foremost, Lurie escapes to the farmland as a form of escape. He extends his privilege as a white South African man to be able to move between both settings without complications. During a conversation with Rosalind, Lurie decides he is going to visit Lucy after the trial ends. This seemingly innocuous visit is attached to an overarching theme of movement as being synonymous to improvement. This relationship is saved for Lurie and Lucy as they both acquire the racial freedom to move around as they may. This distinction is resultant of Petrus’s character. Whilst attempting to understand Petrus, Lurie is only able to view him through a series of stereotypes; Lurie states:

Next, I’d like to discuss the ways in which the conditions of “Living, Loving, and Lying Awake at Night,” and the roles that were plagued amongst the women in South Africa and how forced migrations affected their situations. Due to the Apartheid era, and men's non existence in their families life because of forced migration, women began to feel as though they could only do for themselves causing for their acceptance without man's presence. In an early reference to the chapter, leaving, the author shows the ways that apartheid affected the women. For instance, “As year went from the woman had come to

The apartheid era in South Africa, uprooted the lives of many people who were forced to endure oppressive laws and inequality based on the colour of their skin. It continues to remain a painful memory to those who lost loved ones in their struggle for freedom. In Chris Van Wyk’s novel, Shirley, Goodness & Mercy (2004), he explores fond memories growing up in a township called Riverlea. This township is predominantly occupied by coloured people as a result of segregation laws. Contrary to the negative connotations that apartheid holds, Van Wyk shares the memories which enriched his life during his formation. It is against this setting that I will explore various moments in the novel that contributed to Van Wyk’s views of a pre-apartheid time in his growing up. I will establish this by discussing the given extract, and looking at how he perceived a sense of freedom with his friends, his open state of mind towards knowledge, his outlook on justice and the wrongs that were not evident in his growing up. I will also discuss how it relates to the whole novel.