The Ecological Thought of J.M. Coetzee: Disgrace

Abstract

The recent global interest in environmental topics has made”eco” themes essential to the interpretation of modern literature. Ecology is broadly the study of the interaction between the environment and its organisms. Ecocriticism is the application of ecological themes to the study of literature. Coetzee’s Disgrace in 1999 the theme of animals become strong critical thread in post - apartheid fictions. Coetzee allows him to work at the “intersection between sociopolitical and ecological concerns, to celebrate an ecologically oriented ethics that dominate and exploit fellow beings both human and non - human”. Coetzee generally represents animals as creatures that suffer humanly inflicted captivity, pain, or death, sometimes resentfully but more than objectively. Ecology presented in this article as one of the overriding concern. I argue that the novel demonstrates a triangular relationship between Lucy, dogs, and plants. We understood that the relevant context of South African history, politics yields rich political insights. The relationship between history, politics and ecology makes the novel a critique of the domination of species and the earth and a piece of committed ecocriticism.