Surname 1

Student's name

Instructor's name

Course

Date

Disgrace

David's Emulate Byronic Hero

In contemporary society, scholars have established Byronic hero as the archetype in their various

works including movies and novels. For instance, in the novel Disgrace, J.M Coetzee illustrates

David Lurie's life as a Byronic hero to present the difficulties characters face. Byronic hero

denotes a complex individual who performs actions against the basis of societal norms. David

wanted to emulate Byronic hero following a number of factors, including professionalism and

ideology.

Zhao attributes Byronic hero to romantic poems in the early centuries (29). David was a

Communication professor who taught romantic poetry in a higher institution (Coetzee 1).

Following the insight as mentioned earlier, it is proper to argue that David was lured by the

similarity in the profession as romantic poets; hence he emulated Byronic hero. Also, David was

influenced by Byronic hero's writings, particularly thoughts and judgment. According to Jones,

Byronic hero perceived women as inferior to men, when Byron, in his book, states that a woman

is nothing without him. This insight influences David's thought and judgment of women as

objects.

David's Ability in Archetyping

David is good at archetyping Byronic hero as presented by Coetzee in his novel Disgrace. His

success in the archetypical aspect is evident through his personality. Byronic hero possess a
 Surname 2

variety of undesirable traits including strong sensual desires. David successfully emulates a

Byronic hero when he sexually lusts for Mr. Isaac's wife and daughter despite already raping

Melanie Isaac (Coetzee 25). Lust is an example of strong sensual desire often presented in

Byronic heroes. Also, David is good at portraying the male chauvinism character of Byron.

According to Coetzee, David considers women as objects for sexual satisfaction, when he haves

sex with Melanie against her wish (25). Following the above insights, is it proper to argue that

David successfully matched the Byronic hero's personality.

How Archetyping Harms David

In the course of archetyping Byronic hero, David faces a number of challenges in life, leading to

his downfall. For instance, David loses his job as a poetry teacher. According to Coetzee, David

faces a disciplinary following Melanie's rape case, where he is asked to apologize to the public

(38). David wanted to be a hero, and instead of apologizing, he resigned as a poetry teacher at

the higher learning institution. Following his resignation, David became desperate and was

forced to go and live with his daughter in South Africa during the apartheid error. Also,

according to Coetzee, David hurts unknowingly regarding the killing of the dogs until he stops

by the road to crack down (85). Based on the insight above, the emulation of Byronic hero harms

David both economically and emotionally.

Lucy Lurie's relationship

In J.M Coetzee's novel, Lucy Lurie is the protagonist's only child. She lives in the Eastern Cape

of South Africa during the apartheid period. The author has used Lucy's daily life to present

various themes, including suffering, responsibility, redemption, and healing, among others.

Suffering
 Surname 3

Suffering denotes the condition at which an individual experiences pain either emotionally or

physically. Lucy embraces the natural world, unlike his father, who lives a lavish lifestyle.

Embracing the natural world entitles her to live in the remote areas of the country. Lucy

undergoes a variety of pains caused by the environment where she lives. According to Coetzee,

Lucy suffers emotionally after being raped by three men (85). Generally, sexual harassment can

be stressful and disheartening. According to Coetzee, at the time of the incident, the justice

system was poor compelling Lucy to let go of the rape case, and she does not seek legal actions

(86).

Lucy perceived the justice department to be irrational as they preferred male gender

hence reporting the incident would bear no fruits in her favor. Following the rape incident, Lucy

suffers both emotional and physical pains. Further, Coetzee states following the reluctance to

report the rape case, Lucy's relationship with her father deteriorated, leading to her depressed

state (Coetzee 86). Besides, Lucy's relationship with animals presents suffering. According to

Coetzee, the three men killed all except one of Lucy's dogs in the kennel (85). Based on the

above insights, it is proper to argue that Lucy's depression could be attributed to the killings

since she valued the dogs and took good care of them.

Responsibility

Responsibility denotes the situation of controlling something or someone aiming at a given

outcome. Lucy's relationship with the animals presents a sense of responsibility in the novel.

According to Coetzee, Lucy provides food and sheltered her dogs in a kennel (77). The above

mentioned act presents Lucy as a responsible woman. Also, Lucy relates responsibly with

natural world following the rape incident that results into pregnancy. Lucy decides to keep the

pregnancy, which is against her father's will. Generally, the natural world laws are against
 Surname 4

pregnancies resulting from rape cases. Despite the nature norms, Lucy was responsible enough to

keep the pregnancy.

Redemption

The second chance in life following a sinful living has been coined to the word 'redemption.'

Redemption denotes the action of being saved or saving an individual from sinful living.

According to Anjum, Lucy is a lesbian and lived with a woman called Helen at her house before

the formers' father arrived (31). However, after the rape incident, Lucy moved in with a man who

could offer her protection. In the natural world, sexual activities are perceived to be between

opposite-sex, unlike what Lucy and Helen practiced. Following the above insight, the union

between Lucy and the new man in her life presents a redemption from a sinful life, which

involved lesbianism.

Other Characters

Melanie Isaac

In the novel Disgrace, Melanie Isaac is a 20-year-old schoolgirl who takes romantic poetry

course in a higher learning institution, where Professor David Lurie taught. The author of the

novel, as mentioned above, presents a theme of women's objectification and suffering. According

to Coetzee, Melanie is raped by David Lurie in her apartment (25). Usually, rape cases are

disheartening and painful moments. Melanie is no exception, and she hurts following the

incident. Also, since Melanie had a boyfriend and did not want to cheat on him, she hurts when

David forces her into sex. Besides suffering, Melanie's rape incident portrays a lack of power

among women. The author states that Melanie did not resist being raped by David (Coetzee, 25).

This is proof that in the early centuries, women were sex objects with no power to uphold their

rights.
 Surname 5

Bev Shaw

J.M Coetzee presents Bev Shaw as an older woman who operates an Animal Welfare Clinic.

Bev's relationship with animals shows a sense of responsibility within society. Coetzee states

that Bev carry out dental surgery on a dog suffering from abscess (52). Further, Bev and David

ensure that dogs go to sleep. Based on the above insights, it is possible to conclude that Bev was

a responsible woman and cared for animals. Besides responsibility, Bev portrays a broad sense

of knowledge. According to Adepu, performing a dental surgery on dogs requires adequate

skills. Bev had enough experience to operate the dogs with dental complications. Also, she had

medical knowledge when she nursed David's burns following the attack at Lucy's house. The

illustrations above are proof enough that Bev portrayed both responsibility and expertise in the

novel Disgrace.
 Surname 6

Works Cited

Adepu, Rakesh, K. B. P. Raghavender, and Girish Kumar. "Carnassial tooth abscess (Dental

Fistula) and its surgical management in five dogs." (2018).

Anjum, Sheeba. "Sequestered Lives: Locating Female Isolation In Jm Coetzee's 'Disgrace.'"2019

p 31

Coetzee, John M. Disgrace. New York (N.Y Penguin Books) 2000. Print 1-95

Jones, D. Michael. The Byronic Hero and the Rhetoric of Masculinity in the 19th Century British

Novel. McFarland, (2017). 17

Zhao, Wei. "Byronic Hero and the Comparison With Other Heroes." Studies in Literature and

Language 10.6 (2015): 29-32.