Resistance Or Reconciliation

John Maxwell Coetzee is the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in2003.The novel Disgrace, which was published in1999, is Coetzee’s representativemasterpiece of the Nobel Prize in Literature.The novel talks about a white old professor’s struggle after he loses his fame andother’s respect, as well as the life he and his daughter bitterly fight for in thepost-apartheid South Africa. Since its publishment, critics have analyzed it from manyprospectives, such as post-colonialism, feminism, narrative patterns, post-modernism,etc. Most of these researches hold a negative and doubtful view on post-apartheidSouth Africa. This thesis makes a somewhat comprehensive analysis of the characters,motif and narrative pattern in this novel, which is embodied in: by applying Jung’s“collective unconsciousness” theory, the thesis analyzes the archetypes of “Eva”,“Satan”,“Resurrection” reflected in Lurie; and by the use of Jung’s archetypal theoryabout “Persona” and “Shadow”, this paper analyzes the double personalities in Lurieand the subsequent life dilemma. Besides, by combining Frazer’s related theories ofanthropology, the thesis analyzes the archetype of “Scapegoat” revealed in Lucy. Withthe help of Jung’s theories of “Anima” and “Animus”, the thesis discusses the journeyof the protagonist’s spirit as well as the hope of reconciliation between races it implies.What’s more, through using Frye’s literature cycling structure for reference, the thesisobserves the plot of Disgrace moving from a harmonious and peaceful world to amiserable and pitiful period and then back to a world pursuing for ideal peace, thewhole story structure reveals a U-shaped narrative style with both tragedy andcomedy.This thesis has five parts.The first chapter is introduction. In this chapter, the thesis will introduce theinformation of J.M.Coetzee and his book Disgrace, the literature review aboard andoverseas on this book, some relative theories of archetypal criticism. It goes further toillustrate the significance of this thesis.The second chapter is about the analysis of the characterization in Disgrace. Inthe first part of this chapter, there are analysis of the archetypes revealed in Lurie,such as Eva, Satan, Resurrection as well as persona and shadow reflected in Lurie, ashe is the protagonist of this novel. The second part mainly dwells on the archetype ofscapegoat revealed in Lucy.The third chapter explores the archetypal motifs in this novel. The first part isabout the motif of “maturity”, by using the theory of Jung’s relative theory of "Anima" and "Animus", the paper analyzes the love between Lurie and several women, thus toreveal the journey of his spirit maturity. The second part goes to the motif of "Cronus":the price Lurie pays for his immoral deeds and the price the white descendants have topay for their ancestors’ colonialization in the post-apartheid South Africa.The forth chapter elaborates on the archetypal narrative pattern of this novel: theU-shaped narrative pattern. The story begins in a seemingly harmonious environment,the protagonist Lurie enjoys the passionate life in Cape Town; when the scandal isexposed, Lurie resigns and finds shuttle in his daughter Lucy’s farm. It is not longbefore the rob happens on the farm when Lucy is gang raped and Lurie is badly hurt.This is the bottom of the “U” shape. After this incident, Lurie starts reflecting andtires to be a “good” person. As to Lucy, in order to carry on the life on the farm andgive birth to the baby left by the rape, she agrees to be a concubine of her blackfarm-helper and even shares the farm with him. Meanwhile, the once distantrelationship between Lurie and Lucy also becomes ease. A new life restarts.The fifth chapter brings the conclusion. This chapter summarizes the mainviewpoints of this thesis. On the post-colonialism South African continent, if peoplealways bear “disgrace” and hostility in minds, there will not be a promising future.Only the black and the white let the past go, both face bravely and forgive each othercan there be a hope of reconciliation and a new establishment of an equal, safe andharmonious society.This thesis aims to analyze the book by the theory of archetypal criticism andenrich the research of Disgrace. The perfect combination of theories and text showsthe charm of literature research, and enables us to have a more profound andcomprehensive reading of this book.