In this section I will analyze two novels written by John Maxwell Coetzee, namely: The Lives of Animals and Disgrace. Through these two novels I will portray an increasing awareness of animals in Coetzee's work. In this section, I intend to analyze and put forth the importance of the presence of animals in Coetzee's work. In addition to this, Coetzee has given the central position to animals in these two novels on a linguistic level as well which further this indicates how animals are gaining significance and importance in literary texts as well. In the first novel Disgrace, I will show how there is a radical shift in the character of Lurie from treating animals in a barbaric manner to becoming their savior. In the novella The Lives of Animals, …show more content…
Lurie is a professor who fulfils his sexual appetite by exploiting his university students against their will. He considers women and animals as objects existing merely in the structure of the society to gratify his selfish sexual needs. As the plot advances in the novel there comes an instance when Lurie looks at a pair of tethered sheep and says to himself, 'They exist to be used, every last ounce of them, their flesh to be eaten, their bones to be crushed and fed to poultry.' (J.M. Coetzee, Disgrace, p. 123). However, in due course of time he is charged with a case of a sexual assault from his student and thereafter expelled from the university, that is where his character goes through a transformation and he experiences a breakthrough in his relationship with the way he treats both animals and women. In the first part of the novel there exist no real animals, but animals are often used in metaphors. For instance, Lurie describes his love making with Soraya as similar to that of snakes: ‘Intercourse between Soraya and himself must be, he imagines, rather like the copulation of snakes: lengthy, absorbed, but rather abstract, rather dry, even at its …show more content…
As though she had decided to go slack, die within herself for the duration, like a rabbit when the jaws of the fox close on its neck' (Coetzee, Disgrace, p. 25). David places himself again in the role of predator and Melanie and other students are seen as prey. He seems to think of Melanie as a prey animal, mostly referring to her as either a bird or a dove who can be easily exploited. Lurie always thought to himself that women and animals are not capable to stand up for themselves and his this thought made him pay a heavy cost as when he was leaving the committee he was surrounded by students and reporters. He is not the hunter now, but the hunted. 'They circle around him like hunters who have cornered a strange beast and do not know how to finish it off' (Coetzee, Disgrace, 56). This incident leaves an indelible mark on him as role reversal takes place in his life and he finds himself as the prey. There is a radical shift in his character as he moves to stay with his daughter in the countryside because that is where he confronts a wide presence of animals. Lucy, his daughter begins to notice how animals start impacting Lurie in a surprising manner. For instance, the same two sheep whom he had disregarded previously have now become indispensible to him. 'I am disturbed,” he says, 'I cannot say why' (Coetzee, Disgrace, 127). We as readers realize that there is a bond beginning to establish between Lurie's own struggle
The author uses diction in the passages to signify the effect of the author¡¯s meaning in story and often sway readers to interpret ideas in one way or another. The man in the story arrives to a ¡°[dry] desert¡± where he accosts an animal with ¡°long-range attack¡± and ¡°powerful fangs.¡± The author creates a perilous scene between the human and animal in order to show that satisfaction does not come from taking lives. With instincts of silence and distrust, both of them freeze in stillness like ¡°live wire.¡± In addition, the man is brought to the point where animal¡¯s ¡°tail twitched,¡± and ¡°the little tocsin sounded¡± and also he hears the ¡°little song of death.¡± With violence ready to occur, the man tries to protect himself and others with a hoe, for his and their safety from the Rattler. The author criticizes how humans should be ¡°obliged not to kill¡±, at least himself, as a human. The author portrays the story with diction and other important techniques, such as imagery, in order to influence the readers with his significant lesson.
Jim had just turned 30 and was feeling depressed for not having anyone in his life. After dozing on the beach awhile Jim awoke to an “unmistakable odor”, he’d been pissed on.(1108) He first heard Alena’s voice after cursing the dog. Alena is a very attractive girl and Jim fell for her immediately. Alena and Jim left the beach to go clean the piss off his clothes at Alena’s house. While waiting for the clothes to dry, they began a conversation about animal rights. Animal rights are a huge issue in Alena’s life. Jim never paid much attention to the issue but because of Alena’s beauty and kindness he was willing to listen.
One of the evident drawbacks of having animals depict human characters, is that they are figuratively and literally dehumanized. Humans are more complex than their primitive desires, impulses, and needs; and this fact could very easily be lost in translation with this choice of illustration. For example, it could be interpreted that the Germans who were drawn as cats, were behaving like the carnivorous species that they are, and chasing mice, because it is encoded in their natural instincts and a part of their primitive behaviour. This exempts the perpetrators, since it implies their lack of free will was affecting their every decision. It also implies that since the Germans are another specie, the mass murder of millions of people could never have happened by any other nationality, and that evil actions are based upon ethnicity, rather than a human’s negligence from their moral standings. However, Spiegelman was able to slightly deter from this indiscretion by giving each character dynamic personalities and pragmatic
...inder of the cost of our lifestyle, for no one can live a totally cruelty free life. Cruelty will happen whether we wish it to or not—even people who abstain from animal sourced or tested foods and products will inevitably cause some cruelty by simply going about innocent daily life. For example, nearly any driver will eventually hit some animal no matter how hard they try to avoid it. The best one can do is make an honest effort to reduce his or her own impact on other creatures, whether that be by excluding animal products from their diet or seeking out foods from humane farms. Animal narratives are unique in their ability to allow the reader to experience these stories vicariously through the perspective of the animal, encouraging reflection and introspection on how humans treat others, and accordingly promoting empathy towards humankind’s fellow earthlings.
The relationship between these animals portray the ideas of the Holocaust very well. Mice are small and scrawny creatures which are usually hunted by Cats. Cats chase mice and attempt to devour them, much like the Germans hunted down the Jews during the mass genocide. Pigs are very greedy and self centered. During the story, the Polish(Pigs) sold out the Jewish people on many occasions (Maus I p. 143). An example is when Vladek and his family were staying at Kawka’s farm. “They may come search here any minute! You’ve got to leave!” In this situation, Kawka was not telling the truth, but only trying to protect herself. Dogs chase cats, which in the book was symbolic because the Americans sympathized with the Jewish people. These are very rudimentary overviews of the animals, but they will serve for the purposes of this essay.
The last decade of the twentieth century in America saw a rise in programs for human’s “self betterment.” A popular form of betterment is that of the inner animal. Interest in Native American animal mysticism, vision quests, and totem animals have increased dramatically in the past few years. No forms of media have been spared; Calvin Klein’s supermodels come on during sitcom commercials to tell viewers they need to be a beast, or to get in touch with their animal within. In the last decade of the nineteenth century, however, animalism was viewed not as a method of self-improvement but as the reprehensible side of humanity that lingered beneath the surface, waiting for an opportune time to come out and play. In Frank Norris’ novel McTeague, humans are no better than the beasts they claim to control. They cage and torment defenseless creatures, but cage and torment themselves far, far, worse. McTeague, Trina, Zerkow, and Marcus are animals in thin human’s clothing, walking the forests of McTeague, waiting for the opportunity to shed their skin and tear each other apart, while the real animals of the world continue leading lives far superior to their human counterparts.
For many years, people assumed that humans are significantly different from other species, which made them somewhat superior. However, research on animal behavior, especially our closest relatives, the apes has led to new discoveries that show many similarities between human and animals. Some of these similarities have questioned the uniqueness of humans and have led to debates not only among scientists but in the public as well. Frans de Waal, a renowned primatologist and the author of The Ape and the Sushi Master, is among the scientists that claim animals and humans are quite similar. The main focus of his book is to show that culture is not exclusive to humans. De Waal was not the first scientist to propose the theory that animals have culture nonetheless; it was received with a lot of enmity. He attributes this to the fear of losing the qualities that make humans special. Claims of language in apes became so threating that animal research was almost banned. According to de Waal, “attempts of censorship do reveal just how much insecurity surrounds human uniqueness”. (32) In an attempt to support his argument, he addresses the controversial issue of morality in animals. Morality is considered a cultural aspect and therefore people often use cultural biases in decision making. Dan Kahan, a psychologist, referred to this as cultural cognition, which “refers to the tendency of individuals to conform their beliefs about disputed matters of fact to values that define their cultural identities”. Subsequently, theories on morality depend on the perspective of the scientists who carry out the research. De Waal supports his theory by analyzing aspects of morality in humans and comparing them to animal behavior.
Art Spiegelman’s Maus is a novel about the Vladek and his experience as a Polish Jew during the Holocaust. It narrates the reality of the Holocaust wherein millions and millions of Jews were systematically killed by the Nazi regime. One of the themes in the story is racism which is evident in the employment of animal characters and its relationship with one another.
In June Robison’s article,”Frosty’s story illustrates scope of animal cruelty”, she argues that animal cruelty is wrong and attempts to persuade the reader to feel sympathy for animals. Animal cruelty is indeed wrong and it must stop. The author made some strong points in her editorial; however, she left out several substantial sources. This evaluation will review Robison’s article and state the main points.
Kenneth Grahame’s use of personification by having animals represent humans in many of his stories can be interoperated as an analogy for how making selfish and rash choices, can cause humankind to look barbaric and primitive, just as animals.
Marie de France's use of animals in her lais is molded and adjusted to fit her needs. She creates metaphors relating to love and love relationships that were not mentioned in the Christian based Book of Beasts. However, the Gawain author appears to have kept true to the type of descriptions and natures of the animals in White's translation. Both authors were able to use animals to express specific features of human emotions and relationships, furthering our understanding of the nature of temptation, love and relationships in the medieval period.
Flynn, Clifton P. "Acknowledging the "Zoological Connection": A Sociological Analysis of Animal Cruelty." Society and Animals 9.1 (2001): 71-87. Print.
In John Donne’s poem, “The Flea”, Donne uses the conceit of the flea to contrast the insignificant size of the flea and the incredibly significant metaphor attached to the flea. The speaker of the poem is talking to a woman, trying to convince her into having sex with him outside of marriage. This poem can be broken into three stanzas, of nine lines each, utilizes the image of the flea to convey three main ideas: the first as a vessel where their essence mingles, second as the institution of marriage, and finally as an insignificant representation of honor which would have no effect on them. Donne’s hyperbolic use of the flea extends through the poem as a metaphysical conceit to convey a logical argument out of something seemingly unrelated to the situation at hand.
The narrator of Disgrace is not a character in the novel at all. As a third person narrator, he knows David 's entire background information, his feelings at any moment, his sexual desires and his thoughts. However people do not know other characters’ thinking, feeling, or motivations at most of the time. Everything almost comes from David 's perspective, even if he is not the actual narrator telling the story. There are two symbolisms in this novel, one is dogs and another one is the opera about Byron. Most dogs appear mainly because Lucy adopts others people’s dogs. David hates dogs when he comes to Lucy’s farm. Later, he has a feeling of compassion to dogs.“Perhaps that is what I must learn to accept. To start at ground level. With nothing. Not with nothing but. With nothing. No cards, no weapons, no property, no rights, no dignity.”“Like a dog.”“Yes, like a dog.” ( Coetzee Page 105 ) Dogs reflect Davids’ personal and mental conflicts. He also compares himself to a dog about its sexual instincts. David spends more time in the animal clinic helping Bev because he wants to release his disgrace by helping dogs. Byron 's opera interspersed in the novel. David’s changes can be reflected from the Italian opera, originally he praises Byron’s creative passion and freedom, therefore he uses Byron as the center of his opera. Since he was attacked in his daughter’s farm, he began to focus on Teresa. “Teresa may be the last one left who can save him. Teresa is past honor. She pushes out her breasts to the sun; she plays the banjo in front of the servants and does not care if they smirk. She has immortal longings, and sings her longings. She will not be dead.” ( Coetzee Page 209 ) David chooses Teresa because he realizes he can learn from her to know how face the reality. He finds previous songs can not describe the demand of the characters, therefore he begins to compose
It is a reasonable thought to think that humans as a society must respect the environment around them in order to have balance. Balance as in knowing what is moral and just and what is blatantly wrong. Sadly, this is nothing more than a thought. Abuse towards the environment, especially animals, is present everywhere. Whether it be through emotional pain, physical pain, or the extent of the abuse, mistreatment of any animal should not be tolerated and should be brought awareness to. It is up to us to decide what should be done about it and figure out how we can better our environment, instead of causing more pain. I believe that this is a much more reasonable thought and can eventually benefit every person and animal alike.