Expectations of Ficiton

Although Coetzee's, "Disgrace" does have undeniable undertones of post-colonialism and post-apartheid themes, we also have to remember as readers, that it is a work of fiction. The small difference in Coetzee writing a non-fiction novel, which he easily could have done while living in South Africa and having experiences first hand, he chose fiction and so allows the novel to be interpreted in many different ways depending on the reader. The historic background of a non-fiction novel and the purpose it holds to educate, does not allow for the abstraction of opinion and a concept such as racism would clearly be illustrated as opposed to subliminal. Therefore, although they not be seeing the book for what it is, (a chance every writer/novelist has to take) it would not be wrong to interpret the book as a racist novel.

As an author, there really is no clearly defined responsibility, especially when writing fiction. The only thing they can do is hope the story and ideas they create help people to think perhaps in a different way. Coetzee in particular seems to know that his responsibility as a white man writing in South Africa is to present the situation in a way where people can see it many different ways. He presents post-colonialism and racism (if that is what he is intending) in a way that makes the reader think of what the world has come to and presents new ideas that may not have necessarily arose when thinking about things like this. As author, perhaps their only responsibility is to open new ideas, such as guilt and identity and try to make things better than they may have been through literature. Even though there may be all these themes embedded within it, the purpose may not be to create a profile of the author himself. "Beyond that, some interpreted a subplot in “Disgrace” about an animal shelter where Lurie ministers to wounded dogs as a sign that the novelist cared more about animal rights than human rights." Although it may be there, it is not a responsibility of the author nor of Coetzee.

As the article "Out of Africa" points out, not every literary critic agrees with Coetzee's work and go as far as to say the book is a work of hatred and Coetzee is "accused of representing 'as brutally as he can the white people’s perception of the post-apartheid black man,' and of implying that in the new regime whites would 'lose their cards, their weapons, their property, their rights, their dignity,' while “the white women will have to sleep with the barbaric black men.” However, not every person will agree with saying that his work of a purely racist mind set. Perhaps by moving to Australia, it only meant that Coetzee could grow as a writer and begin to see his surroundings in a way as many authors attempt to instill in their readers. As the saying goes, "write what you know". Maybe South Africa acted as a lens for many of his novels and the change of location helped change that lens and expand his literary perspectives.

Authors can only hope that what they are writing and what is distributed to the public is making a difference. Of course there will be interpretations and those who do not agree, whether it is on the grounds of racism, feminist theory, queer theory or pure hatred. Art is open to this and as long as art has been created, it is subjective. As an author or a creator of any kind, there should be beauty within the work and not leave things worse than they were before they were introduced to the work.