Thinking activity on the novel Waiting for Barbarians
About Author
Waiting for Barbarians is a novel written by south African writer John Maxwell Coetzee. John Maxwell Coetzee is a novelist , essayist, translator, linguist and recipient of the Nobel prize in literature 2003. Penguin Books named Waiting for the Barbarians for its series "Great Books of the 20th Century". The Nobel Prize committee called Waiting for the Barbarians "a political thriller in the tradition of Joseph Conrad, in which the idealist’s naiveté opens the gates to horror".
About the Novel :
The Waiting for Barbarians Frist published in 1980.J. M Coetzee took the tittle from the poem “ Waiting for the Barbarians”. This poem written by Greek poet Constantine P. Covafy. This novel is deeply influenced by Italian writer Dino Buzzati's novel The Tartar Steppe.
Waiting for Barbarians is Allegorical novel. This novels story about imagery of Empire. Also about morality and deals with human cruelty.
Major characters :
Magistrate
The magistrate is the first-person narrator and protagonist of the novel. Everything in this allegory is filtered through his point of view. He wants to live in peace in his outpost, serving his Empire without questioning the purpose or effects of its colonial project. He's forced to confront its violent crimes when it attempts to push into nomad territory around his outpost. The magistrate goes on a journey of self-discovery in the novel, confronting not only the hypocrisies of his Empire.
Colonel Joll
Colonel Joll is antagonist of the novel. His black sunglasses played negative vibes, it played the role of classical vilain. He was an official in the mysterious third bureau and an arm of civil guard. He was created to protect the empire. Which is threatened by barbarians.
Barbarian girl
She is a important character of the novel. She is important to read feminism in the novel. Her body is objectified in the novel. She is a symbol of magistrate sympathy. Her lags were broken at the ankle . She gave never set. Her eyes were burned with molten rods. She is a joll's torture victims.
Minor characters:
Officer Mandel
The boy
Mai
Comparison with other text:
Robinson Crusoe
The Tempest
Theme :
Imperialism
Racism
Colonialism
Feminism
Power
We and others
Interrogation
Fear of the other
Reference :
https://www.gradesaver.com/waiting-for-the-barbarians/study-guide/character-list
No comments:
Post a Comment