J.M. Coetzee's Disgrace

1475 Words3 Pages

The ethics of desire and shame include the main issues at the heart of Coetzee’s Disgrace. Coetzee remarks the issue of human sexual ethics in David Lurie’s desires. While some who read this novel feel distressed at David’s lack of control over his desire, David himself fairly confident in his manners. David feels no embarrasment for the actions of his manners, but rather disgrace for yielding to social pressure after taking an hypocritical apology and shame of his daughter’s raping. David claims that the relationship between Melanie lies in the ‘‘ rights of desire’’ (90). In this exclamation, David makes the contradiction between the right to desire and reproduction and opposite ideas of undesired love or rape. I will question whether the David’s treatment of women loving or immoral or David has the right to seduce or he goes into unethical areas through his desire. At the end, Coetzee claims that while it is ethical to have right to your own behavior, it is not ethical to harm others.
Coetzee claims David’s inner thoughts which include lust and desire. At the beginning of the Disgrace, David’s relationship with Soraya has ‘‘ solved the problem of sex’’. He believes that how wrong he is about Soraya when he thinks Soraya as ‘‘ too old enough to be her father’’. However, David’s desire is a hindrance in making a moral decision. His temperament is never going to change and he lives in his emotional world. Lurie missed what was going on about Soraya because she denies that she even knows who Lurie is. What urges David to follow the pleasure with her is based on the inner lustful behavior and desires arising from egoistic feelings.
David’s typical mind slides one side to another. The desire of David’s m...

... middle of paper ...

...eels for having a sexual relationship with a much older man whose manners disgust her to come to an end. Disgrace does not come from himself because of his sexual desires but rather in the eyes of others who humiliate his actions, such as Melanie cleans herself of him and tries to escape the real situation while having encountered. According to Melanie’ s situation, David remains the still and though he knows that it is unethical for his social potion, does not apologize for the desires and the relationship which has brought him great pleasure and desire.

Works Cited
Wojtyla, Karol. Love and Responsibility. New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 1981. Print.
Coetzee, J.M.Disgrace. London: Vintage.1999.Print.
Giles, Jana M. Of Gods and Dogs. The Postcolonial Sublime in Coetzee’s Disgrace
Wright, Laurence. David Lurie’s learning and the meaning of J.M.Coetzee’s Disgrace

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