Question

After reading the novel Disgrace and then the New York Times article "Out of South Africa," consider which side you'll take in the controversy surrounding this author. Although he does not tell us Melanie's race, later in the novel the protagonist calls her "the dark one." How are the issues of power and race in J. M. Coetzee's novel (and in life) intertwined?

Answer 1

After reading of the novel “Disgrace” and the New York Times article “Out of South Africa”, it comes to my mind that the author Coetzee had expressed about South Africa, a dimension of the relationship of society in that place. The protagonist election could suggest a racial connotation, but it could be a coincidence. Mr. Coetze was taking advantage of his literary freedom.

The struggle for power is the main idea of the novel and he also got involved in a sexual harassment case. The choice of offenders and victims with regards to their racial disposition is merely a case of a chance here.