Reaction to Disgrace

I enjoyed reading the first few chapters of Disgrace, as they were captivating and intriguing, but I soon lost interest after Lurie broke up with Melanie and had to move in with Lucy, maybe because the juicy part of the book was over and the dry, philosophical part began, with Lurie trying to figure out what to with the rest of his life. I don’t really like Coetzee’s writing style, especially with all the allusions he makes, and the Latin/German phrases he uses. Chapter twenty was particularly difficult to get through because it is the part of the novel when Lurie is working on his Byron opera and he keeps paralleling it to his own life and he makes frequent references to one of Byron’s lovers, Teresa. I think that aspect of his writing limits his audience to literary scholars or connoisseurs. Also, he doesn’t go into detail about anything, and Lurie ponders over things briefly, which is reflected in the use of short sentences. The only thing I found smart was Coeztee’s use of the commas are in the first sentence of the book in that they slow down the pace of reading and introduce the basic information about David Lurie;

“For a man of his age, fifty-two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problems of sex rather well.”

If Coetzee was trying to reflect on the situation of South Africa post-apartheid, I don’t think he went about it in the most effective way, except maybe for portraying the white guilt Lucy has as a result of the apartheid. Because it is written in the third person limited point of view, we are only privy to the emotions (even though his emotions are also limited) and thoughts of David Lurie. This makes it difficult for us, at first, to understand the reasons behind why Lucy adamantly refuses to report the rape.

Overall, I do not think it is a novel worthy of distinguished merit or a Booker Prize. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, unless perhaps they are ardent fans of Byron and would read any work in which he mentioned. It’s almost like an advertisement of other books, plays and poems and I think it would only interest poetry professors from South Africa. I appreciate that there must be something important I missed while reading and hope that after class discussions I can understand it more fully. Perhaps J.M Coetzee is a good writer- after all, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature (so there has to be something to him), but it’s safe to say, in my opinion, even though I haven’t read anything else by him, Disgrace is certainly not his best work.

Is Shakeapear overrated?...that is the question

Shakespeare is the most popular and famous English writers of all time, but is all the praise he receives justified?

Lets examine the reasons behind his success:
Shakespeare is first and foremost a playwright, and the most themes found in his plays are universal. For example, the consuming, demoralizing effect of greed in Macbeth, the theme of revenge in Hamlet, and what is considered to be the greatest, most tragic love story of all time, Romeo and Juliette which displays the theme of forbidden love. The latter's success is due mainly to the fact that most cultures can identify with its message. Naturally, other authors have tackled these themes, but Shakespeare's style is unparalleled, it's the way he writes his plays that makes them so compelling, the predicaments he introduces, the irony, and figurative language he incorporates. One important trait in Shakespeare's writing that distinguishes him from other play writes is that he introduced psychology and the idea of a subconscious that can greatly effect us humans and thus his characters, which results in in some memorable monologues, such as those in Macbeth and hamlet.

However, Shakespeare's career has been very controversial, and many have even questioned the originality of his work, claiming that he borrowed ideas heavily from other writers of the time. In that sense, if Shakespeare hadn't written it, somebody else would have, so perhaps his work is blown a little out of proportion.

That said, he is the most famous English author for a reason. Since Shakespeare's death, no other author has reached his caliber of success, and been a widely studied in schools and universities, which goes to show; there will never be another Shakespeare.

This is so lame but here it goes...

A Land I Wish To Call My Own

There is a land I wish to call my own
It is a place I frequent and know well
In sentiments I am not alone
Seduced by its splendor, one comes out of his shell

At times I feel like an uninvited guest
I thought imitation was the best form of flattery
Yet I was looked upon like a pest
And was subjected to perpetual battery

With a jolt, things became as clear as day
I loved you but my pains were unrequited
Blind to your flaws, I now have to pay
I stand exposed but am not slighted

I have felt this way for so long
I no longer know where I belong

How do you feel about sonnets as a poetic form? Do you like their structure or do you find them too limiting? Use one of the sonnets we have discussed in class or one that you have read on your own as an example of what you mean.

I like sonnets, they get to the point and they're interesting. Generally however, I prefer free verse poems that have no limited structure or any specific requirements, they're more 'stream of consciousness" like; a style of writing I always enjoy. Sonnets aren't too binding however and rules can always be broken. Because of their structure, sonnets can seem repetitive after a while, with the rhyme scheme. and precise quatrains and ending with a rhyming couplet. Although it's limiting, it's challenging to get an idea across in a certain number of lines, so when one can accomplish that, it's admirable.I like how sonnets start off by saying one thing but at the volta (turning point - ninth line) the ideas change and in the conclusion, something different is stated, contradicting the introduction.

For example, I enjoyed reading Sonnet 29, by Shakespeare. The speaker of the poem starts off by comparing himself with other men, and finding that he comes out mediocre " (I) look upon myself and curse my fate...desiring this man's art and that man's scope". Then the mood changes into a more optimistic one, where the speaker counts his blessings so to speak, and values his friendship or love with the person to whom he is speaking, above the virtues he seeks superficially. When the speaker realizes this, he says that he wouldn't trade place with kings. This sonnet is one of my favorites from the 5 we've read so far.

Answer:

1. The first line of the novel begins with "For a man of his age, fifty-two, divorced, he has, to his mind, solved the problem of sex rather well." What is the "problem" that he has solved? Has he really solved it?

>>The "problem" of sex is simply whether he's having sex, and since he's dealing with the "problem" by sleeping with a prostitute 90 minutes a week, he has, in his view, solved his problem. However he hasn't really, and that is indicated when the narrator says that he's solved the problem "in his mind", therefore, that is not the case. He's frequent and meaningless affairs only lead him to trouble, especially when he starts to get attached to people he shouldn't cling to, like the prostitute, Soraya, and his student, Melanie. Clearly, he's attempting to fill some kind of spiritual void with these affairs, and it seems to that he goes through the motions, is mechanical rather than passionate in his lovemaking, because he is insecure about something or other. Lurie can be compared to Mersault, the protagonist in The Outsider by Albert Camus, a man who is not passionate about his job or his relationships or his life, his whole attitude is quite non-challant. The only thing that differs here, is that David Lurie is able to feel some kind of emotional connection with some women ( no matter how unhealthy his relationship is). As I haven't read on and so don't know how or if he solves his problem, I think that David needs to work on himself before engaging in any kind of affair. Hopefully he finds someone who he can find a non-superficial connection with.

Intro...

This blog was made primarily with English class in mind ( actually, we had to do this for hw). Thankfully, making it was easier than I initially thought. Because it was so easy, it got me to thinking how many useless blogs their must be out there. Anyway, we're reading Disgrace in English, and our first assignment is to answer one of the questions Mr. Webster posted for us.
Here it is: