english final repost

Coetzee, Life and Times of Michael K Reading Response

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Coetzee, Life and Times of Michael K Reading Response

The book life and time by Michael has so many lessons that one can draw and apply them in their own life. The book has been narrated in the third person point of view and is a direct exemplification of the current society state and the various problems encountered in the society. The author has made use of things that touch the core of the heart of people in order to make the readers of the book understand how these issues have affected the society. This book is therefore recommendable to be read by everyone as there are multiple lessons that one can draw out of the book.

The protagonist in the book is portrayed to have come from an unfortunate family. He happens to be the only child who survived in his family having lost his siblings and his dad, he is only left with his mum. So many uneventful things take place in the life of this individual that disorients his life completely (Coetzee, 2015). He is born into a family that is not thriving and this denies him the opportunity of having to receive the medical attention he required. This thus ended up affecting him as he could not compete with children of his age when it came to matters of intellect. The teasing he receives from his age mates makes him loathe the school life.

Reading this book tend to raise a lot of questions in my mind. Why would Michael who was black had to go through all the predicaments? Why the author didn’t chose a child who was of a white race to bring out the circumstances that Michael had encountered in his life. By reading the book I’ve got to understand the reason why Michael had to be painted black and unfortunate. Since the book was set in a dystopian South Africa where racism was at its peak and thus the use of a black character would have proved effective. If the author had made use of a character of the white race then the story would not have been fascinating. The use of a back character also helped in the exemplification of the theme of race and inequality in the society. Therefore the choice of a character and the choice of a place are key determinants to the plot of a book being successful.

One of my concerns is the position that Michael is given in the novel when it comes to an end. I feel that the author should have at least elevated the position of Michael beyond that of being a farmer. When Michael was growing up he was dumb and he could not keep up with the pace of children of his age, but when he is fully grown up this changes and the society sees him as a hero and a genius. I feel that the author would have been just if how would have at least used Michael as one of the town officials who would have to be consulted on issues that affected the society in which he lived.

The plot of the novel has been organized chronologically as the events flow smoothly one to the other. The author has expressed his prolific writing skills in the book because the events have had a smooth flow. The organization has been done well in that everything is as it should be. There is no point that there was a case where the information did not flow and the author did not leave the readers is suspense. The book was therefore enthralling for one to read one chapter after the other as one wanted to find out what would happen next. This is one of the books that gives you the zeal to look into the future and see what will happen next and thus the plot of the novel was done well.

The use of the dystopian view and the third person point of view has also proved helpful in the development of the plot. The dystopian view has proved to be imperative as it has exemplified some of the themes in the book. The use of this view has been effective as the author did not have to directly allude to the things that were happening in the society. This is one of the tools that is employed by writers if they do not want to directly touch on the society or the issue that is affecting their society. This view is mostly employed if the issue being talked about in the book is quite sensitive. The book for example talk about the apartheid period in South Africa and this is seen where Michael has to have a travel permit (Coetzee, 2015). The manner in which this issue has been portrayed in the book is not as sensitive as how it happened in the real life.

The character of the protagonist also proves to be important especially in the edification of certain lessons in the society. Through Michael we learn that it is important to care for the people who are important to us especially our parents. This is clearly seen in the life of Michael where he would have opted to have a better life by leaving home and leaving his mother on his own but he chose to stay and take care of his mother. This is one of the major lessons that I have learnt from the novels, mothers are important beings and they ought to be taken care of while they are alive (Coetzee, 2015). The other lesson drawn from the life of Michael is the problem faced by the disabled children in the society and how they are unable to reach their potential in life because of being unable to fit in the society just like the other children. These children get discriminated against yet they are not responsible for the condition they are in and thus the society should look into getting rid of this behavior.

The neutrality of the protagonist is also one of my highlights in the book. Michael went through a lot of things since he was born but he managed to become neutral in a society that treated him with cruelty. He would have chosen to become a rebel or a supporter of the opposition but he opted not to take any sides (Coetzee, 2015). This is something that very few people can do especially when the society has shown no mercy to you. People will always tend to look for ways to pay back evil with evil but from Michael we learn that, that is not the best way to face the society. We get to learn that the virtuous thing that one can do is to in such a case is repay evil with good and prevent taking sides.

In conclusion the book Life and Times by Michael has a lot of lessons that one can draw out of it. The book has helped me to reflect on some of the things that affect the society and easily get overlooked. Michael the one core character has helped us draw some lessons and even emulate his character when faced with the various issues that he encountered in his life. The book therefore has been a well of knowledge and wisdom that one can draw from.

References

Coetzee, J. M. (2015). Life and times of Michael K. Random House.