Probing Petrus:
An examination of the post-apartheid African dog-man
What kind of person would allow outsiders to intrude upon a part of their shared land and put their own neighbor’s life in danger? Would any real man conspire against a person that was once a stranger, but eventually became his co-worker or moreover his employer, to attain success towards his own personal goals? The character of Petrus in J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace represents a symbol of payback emerging from the oppression of the Eastern Cape / country side residents. Petrus’ attitude and demeanor towards the unfortunate events, crimes and tragedies around him heavily display how many Africans in his same region felt toward whites in post-apartheid South Africa. Petrus’ actions …show more content…
Lucy was sure to mention all of her co-proprietor’s duties and responsibilities as well as his good doings to her father David upon his first visit to the smallholding. Their relationship was strictly business and not a friendship at all. Petrus, at the start of this narrative, is a relatively quiet and private man that is noticeably all about his business. “I look after the dogs and I work in the garden. Yes. I am the gardener and the dog-man." He reflects for a moment. "The dog-man," he repeats, savouring the phrase” (Coetzee 64). The way he labels himself as just the gardener and repeats the self proclaimed “dog-man” title could be read as sarcasm. Petrus being a fairly smart man was more than likely picking up David’s analysis of him and thought that he would go ahead and say aloud what the white man in front of him was already thinking of him. Perhaps from the start Petrus felt judged and as if he and his family were never accepted by whites in South Africa, David and Lucy …show more content…
“No more dogs. I am not any more the dog-man” (Coetzee 129). His story alone displayed the sudden growth and advancement of opportunities for non-white residents in the town of Salem and other regions throughout the Eastern Cape. The celebration held on Petrus’ stable was set to show his prosperity as a soon to be wealthy and well-established farm monarch. “Yes, I am giving a party on Saturday. A big party“ (Coetzee 123). Petrus’ party may have also been thrown so that he could enjoy a moment to gloat at the woman, he once played the assistant role to, and her father after his brilliant plan to have them ambushed left them feeling both intimidated and inadequate. Jeffery Meyers suggested, “Petrus knew there was danger but never warned Lucy. He conveniently disappeared at the time of the rape, returned after the crime had been committed, then hid his brother-in-law and defended him”. This role reversal / status shift between Lucy and Petrus clearly illustrates two of the most centralized themes of this novel: power struggles and the tensions between races. The attack that Lucy and David faced from Petrus’ brother in law and the other two men exemplifies the plot twist within this fictional narrative. The two, white, main characters are left helpless and stripped of their “power” by three African
An examination of the post-apartheid African dog-man
What kind of person would allow outsiders to intrude upon a part of their shared land and put their own neighbor’s life in danger? Would any real man conspire against a person that was once a stranger, but eventually became his co-worker or moreover his employer, to attain success towards his own personal goals? The character of Petrus in J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace represents a symbol of payback emerging from the oppression of the Eastern Cape / country side residents. Petrus’ attitude and demeanor towards the unfortunate events, crimes and tragedies around him heavily display how many Africans in his same region felt toward whites in post-apartheid South Africa. Petrus’ actions …show more content…
Lucy was sure to mention all of her co-proprietor’s duties and responsibilities as well as his good doings to her father David upon his first visit to the smallholding. Their relationship was strictly business and not a friendship at all. Petrus, at the start of this narrative, is a relatively quiet and private man that is noticeably all about his business. “I look after the dogs and I work in the garden. Yes. I am the gardener and the dog-man." He reflects for a moment. "The dog-man," he repeats, savouring the phrase” (Coetzee 64). The way he labels himself as just the gardener and repeats the self proclaimed “dog-man” title could be read as sarcasm. Petrus being a fairly smart man was more than likely picking up David’s analysis of him and thought that he would go ahead and say aloud what the white man in front of him was already thinking of him. Perhaps from the start Petrus felt judged and as if he and his family were never accepted by whites in South Africa, David and Lucy …show more content…
“No more dogs. I am not any more the dog-man” (Coetzee 129). His story alone displayed the sudden growth and advancement of opportunities for non-white residents in the town of Salem and other regions throughout the Eastern Cape. The celebration held on Petrus’ stable was set to show his prosperity as a soon to be wealthy and well-established farm monarch. “Yes, I am giving a party on Saturday. A big party“ (Coetzee 123). Petrus’ party may have also been thrown so that he could enjoy a moment to gloat at the woman, he once played the assistant role to, and her father after his brilliant plan to have them ambushed left them feeling both intimidated and inadequate. Jeffery Meyers suggested, “Petrus knew there was danger but never warned Lucy. He conveniently disappeared at the time of the rape, returned after the crime had been committed, then hid his brother-in-law and defended him”. This role reversal / status shift between Lucy and Petrus clearly illustrates two of the most centralized themes of this novel: power struggles and the tensions between races. The attack that Lucy and David faced from Petrus’ brother in law and the other two men exemplifies the plot twist within this fictional narrative. The two, white, main characters are left helpless and stripped of their “power” by three African