Connections? Maybe!

There are some connections between the first six chapters of J.M. Coetzee's "Disgrace." While they may seem hidden under a plot that would normally call in feminists to over analyze every single comment the main character, Professor Lurie, makes, the connections are there. The main idea behind post colonialism is exploitation. The British would take over and control the colonies for their own desires. Those that lived there, the "savages" were nothing more than tools, things, not people. This interpretation of how a European sees an African was the basis for Achebe's complaintment piece. Achebe argues that the author Conrad (Heart of Darkness) was a racist and based the story "Heart of Darkness" on his racist ideals. Whether Conrad was a racist or not is a discussion that could go on for days, luckily for me, all I have to write about is the notion of exploitation. Professor Lurie was old white-man who was a professor at a university. Old, White, educated, in a position of power, that’s him, lets also toss in the fact that he fancies prostitutes, he almost sounds like a villain.

On the subject of prostitutes, we have Soroya, his one and only (in terms of prostitutes). It is interesting to note that she is Muslim, a dark skinned Muslim. These two facts are gently mentioned early in the story. "He strokes her honey-brown body, unmarked by the sun (1)" and "She may work for the agency only one or two afternoons a week, and for the rest live a respectable life in the suburbs, in Rylands or Anthlone. That would be unusual for a Muslim, but all things are possible these days.(3)" The powerful white man uses Soroya for sex because he finds it better than being in a relationship, he ignores her feelings and even goes as far as trying to contact her when she takes a leave of absence to tend to her sick mother. Before that, he spots her in town and actually follows her. These actions show his complete disregard for Soroya as a person. He felt that she exists for his pleasure; he felt that he owned her.