LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 16:5 May 2016
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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The Element of Reconciliation and Co-habitation of
the White and Black South African Population in
Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee

K. M. Deepa, M.A.


Abstract

Colonialism has brought more than three-quarters of people under hegemony. The British rule and the other European powers such as France, Portugal and Spain have influenced the political, social and economic spheres of these nations. After colonialism, new perceptions are expressed through literary writings and other forms of art such as painting, sculpture, music and dance. The experiences of the colonized people are presented in the postcolonial literature and thus postcolonial writings have become profoundly influential. These writings are concerned with the emergence of national cultures after the departure of the imperial powers – Modern Canadian Writings, Indian English writings, African Literature and West Indian Literature which show the confluence of various cultures and traditions. J M Coetzee’s writings revolve around such aspects which can be witnessed in the social phenomena. The hostile environment is transformed into an ambience for reconciliation. The endeavours of the postcolonial writers find a panacea to treat the wounds of the cluttered mass in South Africa. South Africa is the only nation-state named after its geographic location; there was a general agreement not to change the name after the establishment of a constitutional non-racial democracy in 1994. The country came into being through the 1910 Act of Union that united two British colonies and two independent republics into the Union of South Africa. It is after the liberation of South Africa, and precisely in Disgrace that J. M. Coetzee addressed the necessity of reconciliation and co-habitation of the White and Black South African population. Before the liberation, Coetzee argued that time proved to the English-speaking whites that political and cultural attachments to England would fade out and the ultimate fate of the White was going to depend on a great deal more urgently on an accommodation with black South Africans than on an accommodation with the South African landscape. Indeed, Coetzee views reconciliation with the black population as the only way out of the political and social impasse. In Disgrace, Coetzee directly engages with the necessity for reconciliation and co-habitation on equal terms. There is a sense of continuity in terms of their approach to the land despite the fact that liberation of South Africa caused a dramatic disruption in the ways literature responded to socio-political issues. In Disgrace the drama of violence and war seems to continue despite the settlement between the two parties in the post-apartheid era. This paper discusses the element of reconciliation and co-habitation of the white and black South African population in Disgrace by J M Coetzee.

Keywords: Reconciliation, Impasse, Co-habitation, South Africa, Apartheid

Post-colonial Literatures

The term ‘post-colonial’ is used to focus on the cultures affected by the imperial process from the moment of colonization as there is a continuity of preoccupations throughout the historical process initiated by the European imperial aggression. So, the post-colonial literatures are the literatures of African countries, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, the Caribbean countries, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, South Pacific Asian countries and Sri Lanka. Due to its current position of power, the USA is excluded from this group.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

K. M. Deepa
Ph.D. Research Scholar
Department of English
Bharathiar University
Coimbatore – 641 046
Tamilnadu
India
deepasimi@yahoo.com
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