J. M. COETZEE’S W A I T I N G F O R T H E B A RB A RI A N S : A POSTMODERN APPROACH TO THE IMAGES OF THE CONTEMPORARY POSTCOLONIAL REALIT

J. M. COETZEE’S W A I T I N G F O R T H E B A RB A RI A N S : A POSTMODERN APPROACH TO THE IMAGES OF THE CONTEMPORARY POSTCOLONIAL REALIT

NJEGIĆ, Davor

In this paper, I discuss J. M. Coetzee's novel Waiting for the Barbarians within the framework of postcolonial reality, but also try to show that it transcends that very postcolonial reality becoming, in this sense, a universal and general reality, applicable in many contexts. The colonial context of the novel is presented in the contemporary light of world powers. Another important focus of this paper is on the postmodern features of the novel and the second part of this paper dicusses this theme in detail. It will be observed how the human body can serve as a text which can be interpreted in many ways. The main protagonist of Waiting for the Barbarians, the Magistrate, tries to construct narratives from various sources: from the body of the “barbaric” girl, archeological slips, his own torture, etc. History also becomes another riddle to be solved, another narrative to be interpreted and recreated. The allegorical form of the novel featuring many postmodern characteristics makes Waiting for the Barbarians a novel that can transcend continents and that can be placed in various contexts. This paper will try to point some of them in order to defend the thesis on the universality of the reality portrayed in Coetzee’s novel where, among others, history is only one text which can be manipulated and presented in a appropriate narrative according to those who (re)create it.

Conference or Workshop Item
PeerReviewed

2014

3394