A Study Of War-writing In Coetzee’s South African Period Novels

John Maxwell Coetzee(1940-)wrote extensively and profoundly about war in his novels of the South African period.War is an important aspect neglected in the study of Coetzee’s novels.This dissertation takes four important works of Coetzee’s South African period,"Duskland","Waiting for the Barbarians","Life and Times of Michael K" and "Age of Iron" as the research objects to explore the uniqueness of Coetzee’s War-writing.This dissertation is divided into six parts:The introduction mainly summarizes the introduction of Coetzee and his works,the current research situation at home and abroad,the value of the topic,research methods and innovation points.The first chapter discusses the origin of Coetzee’s war view.Mainly from the context of The Times and marginalized identity,the analysis of the Vietnam War and the war in South Africa to this sensitive writer how profound impact.The second chapter starts with several kinds of wars in Coetzee’s novels.One is the colonial war in The Dark Land where history and modernity blend together.Coetzee creatively parodies the family history of the Dutch colonists colonizing South Africa and the modern American colonial war against Vietnam,and then criticizes and negates the colonists.One is the civil war in The Life and Times of Michael K and The Iron Age,in which the author focuses on the plight and sacrifice of others.Another is the allegorical war of virtual time and space in Waiting for the Barbarians,which deconstructs the definition of "civilization" and "barbarism".The third chapter analyzes the uniqueness of war writing.This dissertation focuses on the absurdity driven by war,the consequences caused by war and the modern characteristics of War-writing,and points out the reasons for the existence and persistence of war,that is,the inclusion and definition of the public by state rationality in the field of ideology.The fourth chapter explores Coetzee’s reflection on the war.This chapter reveals Coetzee’s understanding of the violence of war,his reflection on the war and his pursuit of the road to reconciliation through the resistance of different individuals,and reveals Coetzee’s concern about the "visible people" under the "invisible war".This,in turn,reflects the state of South African society as a whole and points to the thorny path to reconciliation.The conclusion concludes the whole text,pointing out Coetzee’s negation and reflection on the war,and pointing out that in the face of war,it seems that we can find a peaceful way to deal with the war,and make up for the post-war trauma and estrangement with morality and love,so as to achieve the resolution of the binary opposition based on the premise of differentiation.