Essay

In Disgrace, David Lurie wonders if English has become inadequate, “an unfit medium” to express complicated social interactions and cultural conflict. Yet, as we have seen, both Hamid in The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Coetzee in Disgrace seem to push English to its limits to create their characters’ stories and communicate sometimes opposing truths.  Choose ONE of the two texts we have read, and write a well-organized 5 paragraph essay in which you discuss how the author uses  three specific words, names or images to communicate complex meanings and help the reader understand the theme of the novel.  

You may select from any of the words, names and images listed below, or select others.  Remember  images are pictures of words, and like words themselves, they may convey more than their literal meanings. 

The Reluctant Fundamentalist         OR                                  Disgrace 

Fundamentals                                                                              Disgrace 

Changez                                                                                         Desire 

Bats                                                                                                 Lucy 

Jim’s Watch                                                                                   Petrus 

Underwood Samson                                                                    David Lurie 

Firefly                                                                                              Pollux 

Waiter                                                                                             Scapegoat    

Oyster and pearl                                                                            Dogs 

Food                                                                                                 Wordsworth, Byron or Blake 

Intimacy                                                                                           tax collector