Narrative Techniques Used to Portray Torments in Coetzee’s Disgrace, Slow Man, and Waiting for Barbarians
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Date
2025-10
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Publisher
East African Journal of Arts and Social Sciences
Abstract
This study aimed to demonstrate how selected literary texts by John Maxwell
Coetzee dramatise the idea of torments surrounding the narration of social life
and cultural order to embody and evoke characters’ cultural intricacies and
anxieties. The study sou
ght to explore the hidden tensions of the characters
fighting within the self because there is a detachment between the individual
and the sociocultural context, resulting to torments. The texts, namely,
Disgrace (1999), Slow Man (2005), and Waiting for Ba
rbarians (1980), were
purposefully chosen because of their suitability in data that exposes the
characters' torments. The most appropriate theoretical framework that allowed
the selected texts to be read, interrogated, analysed, and interpreted is located
within the lenses of Psychoanalytic Literary Theory and Concepts related to
trauma by Sigmund Freud and Pallavi Sugoy. The theories aided in
foregrounding the concepts in the three selected texts, the exploration of the
unconscious conflict and its complex
ities on individuals. The qualitative
research method was employed to explore how the characters negotiate
torments in Coetzee’s selected texts. The study employed purposive sampling
to select primary texts that vividly depict the specific torments of inte
rest.
Consequently, Coetzee’s works
-
Disgrace, Waiting for the Barbarians, and
Slow Man
-
were chosen for their depth in illustrating these themes. An
analytical research design was utilised to examine these literary texts, along
with any supplementary se
condary data that would facilitate a qualitative
analysis of the material. The data identified from close reading was coded and
decoded appropriately for literary analysis. These works explored profound
themes such as the effects of empire and colonialism,
the human condition in
the face of societal and personal upheaval, and the quest for personal
redemption. The study aimed to offer insights that would enrich the discourse
in the literary realm, particularly concerning the interplay of power dynamics,
cul
tural conflict and personal conflict. It is hoped that the study’s conclusion
will make a significant contribution to the ongoing dialectics surrounding
motivations behind human behaviour and relationships.
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Citation
Chebet, C., Mugo, W., Mutie, S. & Rutere, A. M. (2025). Narrative Techniques Used to Portray Torments in Coetzee’s Disgrace, Slow Man, and Waiting for Barbarians. East African Journal of Arts and Social Sciences, 8(4), 63-79. https://doi.org/10.37284/eajass.8.4.3829