...In J.M Coetzee’s Disgrace, it is a very powerful novel that has many unfortunate events all taking place in South Africa. J.M Coetzee wanted to really outline the topic of racial oppression in South Africa and interlink it with very grim themes that are very raw and brutal. There are many themes in the novel ‘Disgrace’’ such as sex, family (relationship between David and his daughter Lucy), violence, men and masculinity, and women and power. In this essay, my main focus is the theme of women and power and the injustice they face in their society. This essay will also briefly explain how the men’s perspective towards women can be viewed as degrading and immoral. It is an intense theme, the text represents a male dominated society and women are followers. It outlines the idea that men do not value women, they have very little respect for them. It also emphasizes the idea that men hold a lot of power compared to women. However, throughout the novel the characters, especially David, they change. He is represented as an arrogant man, feels superior. Throughout the novel, his character tends to change; he becomes powerless in the sense that he loses everything, his job, and reputation and not to mention his dignity. David Lurie is an intriguing character; he is a professor teaching romantic poetry and has so much passion for literature and arts as well as culture but the irony is that his personal life is led by ignorance, this is evident in the way he objectifies both Melanie and...
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...Britanee Windom Scott Inguito English 1B 5/18/2013 Essay #5 The novel Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee is story about having good morals and karma. The main character David Lurie is a middle aged man that is in a sense going through a mid life crisis. Lurie thinks of himself has am accomplished man and typically feels he has control in his life when it comes to finances, professional, and his personal life. However, after having an affair with a student, Lurie begins have a hard time controlling aspects in his life that he was once took for granite. Some concepts that Lurie comes to realize throughout the novel Disgrace are the amount of violence he faces, two sides to justice, and accepting old age. As David Lurie comes upon different trials and tribulations his character changes over the course of the novel and by the end Lurie finds closure in the unknown. David Lurie’s has a real problem with the idea of aging gracefully; he has a wont to feel like he’s still got it, as a result this notion of youth controls him. Lurie is pretty obsessive about aging to the point that it sometimes clouds his judgment and deep down it depresses him. “Overnight he became a ghost. Then one day it all ended. Without warning his power….. If he wanted a woman he had to learn to pursue her; often in one way or another, to buy her. (p.36)” Lurie pursues all the wrong women or resorts to buying women all so that he can feel young again. The wrong choice in women is extremely apparent when goes after one of...
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...Disgrace Essay: Question 2 “Disgrace can be seen as an exploration of the relationship between the powerful and the powerless.” Set in post-apartheid South Africa, amidst a large scale shifting of power in many forms countrywide, Disgrace can very much be seen as an exploration of the relationship between the powerful and the powerless. Disgrace delves into power dynamics in various, contrasting relationships, and explores these dynamics between people of different race, gender, generations, positions of authority, and even those between humans and animals. During the course of the novel, various questions surrounding power in interpersonal relations are raised, and by the conclusion of Disgrace, Coetzee leaves us with profound thoughts and suggestions on which to dwell. In just about every relationship in Disgrace, the themes of dominance and power are present, albeit to varying degrees. There are four main relationships to which the subject of power is central: those between Lucy and Petrus, the rapists, and her father, and that between Melanie and David. Analysing these relationships with reference to Hegel’s view of “history being determined by a cycle of domination and counter-domination in which individuals who strive to fulfil their need for recognition are entrapped” (Marais 2008:35) greatly enhances the understanding of power and its context within the various relationships in Disgrace, especially with regard to Lucy’s decisions after her rape, and to Lucy’s...
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...Coetzee uses animals in his novel Disgrace to become metaphorical images of the characters and in some way the characters become animal-like characters. It also reflects the struggles that they go through in the post-colonial era. Animals are significant in the novel Disgrace become metaphorical to the people in the novel and how their situations that they find themselves in change them to become the animals. A certain situation can make them result into a certain animal, but they also change from one animal to another animal, depending on what curve ball life troughs at them. According to Patton (2009) it is clear that from the beginning of the novel David Lurie has a strong distinction between humans and animals. He believes that “We are from different order of creation from the animals.” (Coetzee: 1999, 74). Humans are not equal to animals in any way, humans have a soul that is not bound to them, before we are born we were already a soul, and when a person dies his soul leaves his body, where as an animal’s “souls are tied to their bodies and die with them.” (Coetzee, 1999, 78).David believes that animals do not have a proper soul, but his seeing changes and by the end of the novel, he finds that humans are equal to animals. He is in the room, the room where he and Bev organize the death of the animals, and David comes to a realisation and he thinks to himself “here the soul is yanked out of the body…” (Coetzee: 1999, 219). According to Meier (2006): David Lurie explains...
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...How does J.M. Coetzee present David Lurie in chapter one and what do we learn about him? Coetzee’s novel Disgrace appears to be centred around an immature, arrogant, self-centred David Lurie. In the novel as a whole but particularly chapter one Coetzee demonstrates, through Lurie, the loss of power due to age and the loss of ‘white rights’ as the novel is set in South Africa after the apartheid. The loss of power links with Tennessee Williams’ play ‘A streetcar named Desire’ as both the protagonists demonstrate the loss of power and their unconventional coping strategies. Coetzee shows the reader the negative impact breaking away from the norms of society can have upon an individual. I think David Lurie is a character with whom the reader should sympathise with as he does not know who he is which may be what causes him to act in an irrational way. Furthermore I believe Coetzee aims to make the reader feel detached and uncomfortable in the first chapter thus reflecting Lurie’s feelings about this ‘new world’. The theme of age and maturity is presented heavily throughout the novel. Growing old appears to be an unfortunate thing in the novel as Coetzee claims ‘for a man of his age’ Lurie has ‘solved the problem of sex rather well’. The beginning of this statement gives a disparaging view of again and could cause the reader to believe that growing old is something we should resist. However this is contradicted by the second part of the sentence as it gives the impression that...
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...and by revising this project I am determined to redo it to the best of my ability and get a better score on it. To achieve a better grade on this paper I am going to respond more critically to the text, identify more evidence and also use quotes throughout my essay. Rebekah McMullan ENG. 100E Project 3A Dr. Malone Fall 2014 Fighting for justice I have chosen to analyze an article written by Brittney Cooper, the article is called “Dark skinned and plus-sized:...
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...I worked very hard on this essay, and did well. I ask you don't plagiarize, as they'll catch you, and it'll disgrace me. Learn from it, and know this was a 100% scored essay. Synthesize something, but don't rip off. Written Assignment 3 has three parts. Each part provides an introduction followed by a series of questions. You are required to answer all of the questions in parts 1, 2 and 3. The answers can be found using the study materials provided in this module. Your answers should be well developed and convey your understanding of the question topics. Do not copy the answers wordforword; they must be in your own words. However, when it will strengthen your answer, you may quote or paraphrase relevant facts, ideas, and theories from your course reading materials; be sure to cite these references in an appropriate manner by using footnotes or endnotes. Part 1: The time to write a business plan is midway through the the stage of the entrepreneurial process titled "Developing Successful Business Ideas". It is a mistake to write a business plan too early. The business plan must be substantive enough and have sufficient details about the merits of the new venture to convince the reader that the new business is exciting and should receive support. Much of the detail is accumulated in the feasibility analysis stage of investigating the merits of a potential new venture. With this mind, please answer the following questions: 1. What are t...
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...Academic essay on Annie Proulx's "Job Story" Choices are something we all make. Not necessarily important choices, but there will always be a time to make them. It's not always good choices, but they have to be made. There will always be consequences, whether it's bad or good. Throughout the story, Leeland Lee has to make a lot of choices. Where to live, where to work and when to work. All the different choices he made, put him in the position he is now. Leeland Lee is an awkward-looking young boy. His face is heavily boned, which he has gotten from his mom, his neck is quite thick and he has red-gold hair. His eyes are as pouchy as a middle-aged alcoholic. His nose is broad and lays close to his face. Lori Bovee is Leeland Lee's wife. She has an undistinguished oval face, and hair of medium length. Leeland Lee is the protagonist of the story, because he is the main character. I would say Leeland is a flat and static character as he is an endless optimist. He doesn't give up when it comes to finding a new job, and despite his wife dying he still gets a job at Unique Eats. The reason he is a static character is because he doesn't change at all. After getting several different jobs he doesn't change anything, after his mom and wife dies he doesn't change one single thing except the fact he isn't listening to the radio anymore, but since that have been an important factor of the story all along, it can also show a lot about how he has changed. The story starts November...
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...Essay on “Job History” written by Annie Proulx In the short story “Job History” written by Annie Proulx, we follow Leeland Lee from the time of his birth, until he is about fifty years old. In the short story we follow Leeland through his harsh life, with ups and downs, in the form of thoughts, feelings, incidents, etc. Leeland is born in a ranch in Wyoming, and lives there with his wife Lori. Leeland does not look particularly good, in fact he is a very unattractive man; (page 91, line 12)“Leeland’s face shows heavy bones from his mother’s side. His neck is thick and his red-gold hair plastered down in bangs. Even as a child his eyes are as pouchy as those of a middle-age alcoholic, the brows rod-straight above wandering out-of-line eyes. His nose lies broad and close to his face, his mouth seems to have been cut with a single chisel blow into easy flesh” And in the top of that, we see how Leeland through his life, tries to find a successful career, but fails consistently. He moves various times from place to place, too seek occupation and good business. But it is hard when you’re a high school dropout, without a career. Leeland have to changes his job constantly, because of his lack of luck, and since he can’t get along white his bosses. He is never able to stay at one job or place for long, which lead to problems in the family. He has a hard time supporting his wife, and their children financially. Throughout the story the author, Annie Proulx manages...
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...An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal[->0] point of view[->1]. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism[->2], political manifestos[->3], learned arguments[->4], observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition of an essay is vague, overlapping with those of an article[->5] and a short story[->6]. Almost all modern essays are written in prose[->7], but works in verse[->8] have been dubbed essays (e.g. Alexander Pope[->9]'s An Essay on Criticism[->10] and An Essay on Man[->11]). While brevity usually defines an essay, voluminous works like John Locke[->12]'s An Essay Concerning Human Understanding[->13] and Thomas Malthus[->14]'s An Essay on the Principle of Population[->15] are counterexamples. In some countries (e.g., the United States and Canada), essays have become a major part of formal education[->16]. Secondary students are taught structured essay formats to improve their writing skills, and admission essays[->17] are often used by universities[->18] in selecting applicants and, in the humanities and social sciences, as a way of assessing the performance of students during final exams. The concept of an "essay" has been extended to other mediums beyond writing. A film essay is a movie that often incorporates documentary film making styles and which focuses more on the evolution of a theme or an idea. A photographic essay[->19] is an attempt to cover a topic...
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...We all know love. We have all loved in some kind of way. We love our parents, significant others and even our friends. But we can also love other things like animals or material things. But what is the difference between loving and liking? And is it better not to love and feel pain or to love and be hurt in the progress? Jonathan Franzen seeks to answer these questions in his essay “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts”. The essay “Liking Is for Cowards. Go for What Hurts” is, as mentioned, written by Jonathan Franzen and published in The New York Times, May 28, 2011. Jonathan Franzen is born in 1959, and he is an acclaimed American novelist and essayist. The essay is based on the commencement speech he delivered at Kenyon College in Ohio, USA. “Our technology has become extremely adept in creating products that correspond to our fantasy ideal of an erotic relationship, in which the beloved object asks for nothing and gives everything, instantly. (…)” As Franzen claims in his essay, many people can feel like they love their technological object. It gives them a satisfaction, which human interaction maybe wouldn’t. Franzen however thinks, that people in general don’t love material things: they like them. There is a major difference between loving and liking – even though it might appear small. “Liking, in general, is commercial culture’s substitute for loving.” Products are made to be likeable, but if that concept in transferred to a person, you would instantly see...
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...Reaction – “Salvation” The nonfiction short essay “Salvation” written by Langston Hughes in 1940, presents a theme on the literal and often manipulated perception of children. Hughes narrates the essay as he recounts his disappointing attempt at salvation. Hughes aunt told him that when she was saved by Jesus she saw a light, and felt something happen within herself. As children will do, Hughes took her story literally and was heartbroken as he sat in front of the church and watched other children “saved” while he was not. He believed that Jesus must not want him because he did not see or feel anything. In the end, Hughes is forced to lie about accepting Jesus and in turn rejects the Christian faith all together. I related to Hughes story on many accounts. I am a mother of three young children who perceive everything in life literally, and as a young girl I was raised in a very religious environment. I could visualize and almost feel Hughes devastation as he sat at the front of the church crushed by the thoughts of God not wanting him. “Still I kept waiting to see Jesus” (Barnet, Cain, & Burto, 2011, pp. 351). One of the churches that my family attended for a short time during my childhood practiced speaking in tongs. I specifically remember feeling just like Hughes during a service when other children were speaking in unnatural languages perceived to be sent from God himself. I could not understand why I was not chosen to talk for God and intern was hurt and...
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...write an essay on drugs for this topic. Drugs are very harmful and keep the capability of dragging an individual towards death and destruction. People all over the world want to eradicate the adverse situation of drug addiction from this world and this is the reason why they are busy in writing essays on drugs. Essays on drugs are of many types such as war on drugs essay, essay on performance enhancing drugs in sports, essay on drug abuse, essay on illegal drugs, essay on drug addiction, essay on drug use, essay on drugs and alcohol and essay on drug testing, etc. The essays on drugs should be initiated by bringing in the information related to the topic of the essay on drug. You should know what drugs are. In an essay on drugs, you will have to write about drugs, their affects and the reasons due to which people use them, you have to include the information about why the drugs are so famous and how harmful are they. A persuasive essay on drugs will be one, which will be according to the topic of the essay on drugs. It should have a full-fledged introduction, which should introduce the topic completely. The introduction should also have a thesis statement that should be the main idea of the essay on drugs. A thesis statement should be based on the essay question to which your essay on drugs is an answer. A thesis statement of an essay on drugs can be one sentence or more than one sentence but it is suggested that it should be only one sentence. Essays on drug abuse or essays on drug...
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...Dog Food Fried, Flipped and Devoured Eating dog food may not be seen as the easiest thing to stomach because the smell, texture and by-products found within the mixture are thought of as awful and revolting. In Ann Hodgman’s “No Wonder They Call Me a Bitch”, although the title may suggest otherwise, different types of dog food are discussed. In this essay, Hodgman aims to inform her readers about the inequality in different types of dog food, as well as to entertain and amuse. Hodgman is writing to a broad audience, one of dog lovers and owners, as well as those that may be curious as to what is really in dog food, or more generally the packaging and processing of mass-produced food of any kind. Language, description and humor are techniques Hodgman skillfully uses to create a strong, convincing essay. Within this essay, Hodgman continually uses diction and syntax that a diverse audience can understand and relate to. In the beginning, the reader feels repulsed by what is written. However, through a light tone of voice and sentence structure, the levity of the experiences and feelings occurring throughout the experiment is conveyed. The personal anecdotes and thoughts make the tone feel less formal and much more story-like. In this way, Hodgman produces a piece that connects the information and readers Shortly after capturing interest through stating questions, Hodgman begins using large amounts of description. Each type of dog food is explained and illustrated so well that...
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...Business Essay Format and its Structure What Makes Business Essay Format? Those students, who study different business courses, for example management, marketing, have to write many different business essays. This type of essay as well as the others (argumentative essay, classification essay, cause and effect essay, persuasive essay, comparative essay, etc) has peculiar features that should be observed carefully in order to produce an essay in conformity with all instructions of research paper writing. One of these features to be observed at writing is business essay format as there is no doubt that format of the essay plays the same important role as the content of business essay. When student has made comprehensive research of the object and has found interesting ideas and sources to support hisher position, it does not mean that heshe has coped with a writing task. The writer should make the next step that is to organize hisher research paper writing in a proper way. It means that attention should be paid to the business essay format. In general, there are different formats of research paper – ChicagoTurabian, Harvard, APA, AMA, MLA format paper; which of them suits you the most depends on the business essay topic, subject, requirements set by the professor. When the student has chosen the format of the business essay it is very important to follow it and not use any elements of the other essay format. In case when you do not get any instruction as for the business...
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