1234: lily 5 pages

Main theme and thesis:

People has always been trying to seek their inner self. However, can people really obtain what they want?

Kafka – believes the inner self cannot be pursue because people is constrained by the society (the judgement)

the pursuit of truth is even more unobtainable no matter how hard you try, what you have scarified (before the law).

Coetzee – pursuit of inner self cannot be obtained but you can accept the reality and find reconciliation with life. (disgrace)

The judgement (summary read online)

Background of Kafka: he is about to get marry and his work did not get recognition from the majority. He seeks independent life. (search a bit more on google about his family relationship, leads to why he is so pessimism) (both stories’ protagonist is dead)

Russian friend = Russian friend is isolated and alienated from the society in order to pursuit his passion on writing. Symbolizing Kafka’s inner self, seek to escape reality and social constrains, pursuit his own desires

Father=oppression, constrains. Symbolize the social pressure/constrains/limitations on people. People’s action is constrained by the society and under society’s expectation. (power of social convention?)

Before the Law

Law = essence of life/ truth/ pursuits

People always pursuit it but cannot be obtain, and no one can obtain, regardless your endeavor or sacrifices.

Disgrace David: a bad guy who messed up his life by abandoned his daughter and had sex with Melanie, who is his student from his class. After he got kicked out from school, he moves to a farm to live with his daughter Lucy. Lucy and David are not in a good relationship. After spending time with Lucy, (Lucy got raped by a black man and she did not want to report the fact that she has been raped but she only reports assaulted and robbery, which David could not understand and had conflict with Lucy.) David realized his own guilt about what he done on Melanie and he messed-up his relationship with his own daughter, he seeks atonement (his pursuit is atonement now).

Atonement: David wants to recovery the relationship with Lucy and he wants to protect Lucy.

(chance of salvation of his sin?)

David failed to seek the atonement because he’s endeavor was effortless. (they were constantly having conflicts about:)

1. Lucy got pregnant and wanted to keep the child, David could not understand why Lucy wants to keep a “hybrid”, a baby with a black man who raped her. They had conflict.

2. Lucy decided to marry Petrus, giving up her dignity, and live like a dog. Petrus promised Lucy to hide her sex scandal and the secret of the baby so she could keep the baby. Lucy only kept the house and give her lands to Petrus

Lucy did not act in the way David thinks is better for her, and Lucy did not understand David’s kindness as a father.

David accepted Lucy’s choice and give up his dignity too. He went back to the city he taught, apologized and kneeled to Melanie’s family.

*back to scene before, when school found out David’s crime which he “raped” Melanie. School offers David the choice to commit his rape and leave the school few semester and he can come back and teach. However, David did not admit/take responsibility of his action. He stated it was because of love. (he did really like Melanie, and Melanie did not reject David so much either. Melanie took off David’s clothes initiatively, and they had sex several times)

this shows that David wants to preserve his dignity. He did not want to accept the ugly side of him, or he did not want to see himself from Melanie’s perspective.

Contrast between he wants to preserve his diginity but then he lost it and give up on it/ or accept his ugly side/ his inner self reconciliation with the way society wanted him to be.

In the end, David putted a dog symbolizing himself to death. “I give up him” Symbolizing David is giving up on himself.