J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace, the 1999 Booker Prize winning novel, guides readers through the states of humiliation of the main characters, David Lurie, Lucy, and those dogs in the animal clinic, and shows us how they will react when they are insulted or attacked. David Lurie is a 50 something professor teaching western literature in an university. When he is found sleeping with his student Melanie, he does not defend himself against school board, but chooses to flee the city instead. His reaction towards his own state of disgrace is to escape from the scene of the crime. Similarly, when his daughter Lucy and him encounter the attack and rape, he strongly recommends Lucy to leave the countryside and starts a life somewhere else; however, Lucy determines to stay at the farm and face the humiliation because she feels that she will never return if she decides to go away. Though David attempts to persuade her several times, Lucy does not give in. This would probably result in David’s later visit to Melanie’s home and her theatre play. It is like Lucy shows David the spirit of standing firmly in front of the state of being disgraceful instead of running away from it. This also changes David’s idea towards his favorite dog in the clinic. So at the end, we can see that instead of prolonging the dog’s life for another week, David brings the dog into the clinic for the needle of death.
邊境男子的漂流記事 