Discourse within literature is the framework for how the main speaker or protagonist is able to communicate and what they are able to communicate. The standard definition of discourse is: written or spoken communication or debate; although it is more suitable to understand is as a framework which shapes social life and is centred on events. Discourse, which comes in various forms, is heavily reliant on what is desired, which is usually political and sexual in nature, and this shapes what the main speaker of protagonist is allowed to play. Using J.M. Coetzee’s, Dusklands, an exploration into how discourse shapes what a protagonist I sable to say will be conducted.
Could you offer some references here for your definitions of "discourse"? Foucault's reflections on the term are distinct from earlier accepted definitions ... it is worth researching this closely.
It is required that an understanding of discourse is achieved and then an analysis of the discourse within, Dusklands, can be done. The novel consists of two novellas, with each novella having its own “protagonist”: Eugene Dawn in, “The Vietnam Project” (novella one), and Jacobus Coetzee in, “The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee” (novella two). Both characters are in two different time periods, with Eugene present in 20th century American imperialism and Jacobus present in 18th century Dutch colonialism with each having their own political agenda. With novel containing two protagonists and two stories, exploring the discourse within the book can be done through three fundamental questions:
Here I feel that your comments are a little undeveloped. How would you desribe the "desires" of each protagonist/ narrator? Which "discourses" are at play here? (the obvious ones are American imperialism, and Dutch colonialist at the Cape. There are more!).
I would like to know much more here about the content of the two narratives. The notion of parody, which you raise in the summary of Atwell's article, is clearly key ... Why would Coetzee play with historical records in this "metafictional" mode? What is the point?
1. While the discourse is within the realm of desire, is it the same for both characters?
2. How does the discourse shape what
each character is able to say and not say?
3. Is using two characters able to somehow to transcend these limitations? And if so, how is this achieved?
In order to answer these questions, reading and exploring the discourse within, Dusklands, will not be enough. In order to properly explore these questions, I will consult David Attwell’s, The labyrinth of my history, as well as Derek Attridge’s, Ethical Modernism: Servants as Others in J.M. Coetzee’s Early Fiction.
David Attwell’s: The labyrinth of my history
Dusklands deals with the violence of colonialism and the legacy it leaves behind with its heirs and does so by critiquing colonialism and imperialism through the use of parody. Attwell argues that the novel is a break from the framework of colonialism and its intended discourse, and he is able to do this by giving the two protagonists a reflective consciousness: an ontological-metaphysical approach. The ontological-metaphysical aspects of his characters allow for the questioning of being and make the characters transparent, drawing the reader in. With both Eugene Dawn in “The Vietnam Project” (novella one) and Jacobus Coetzee in “The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee” (novella 2) committing horrible acts against humanity, their character allow for the reader to be drawn into the events of their actions. With events being so crucial to understanding discourse, it is apparent that bringing the reader into the literature is important in determining what the characters are able and unable to say. This drawing in of the reader is further explored by Derek Attridge in, Ethical Modernism: Servants as Others in J.M. Coetzee’s Early Fiction.
Derek Attridge: Ethical Modernism: Servants as Others in J.M. Coetzee’s Early Fiction
Duslkands focuses on inviting the reader ethically. There is an emphasis on the ‘event’, where discourse shapes social life. Coetzee uses an event, being the parody of events, to draw the reader in ethically. Coetzee has given the protagonists of the novel the ability to communicate to the reader through their actions within events and their reflections regarding events. By juxtaposing American imperialism and Dutch colonialism, and essentially juxtaposing the actions of the protagonist and those characters who are estranged, seen as the “other”, he is able to draw in the reader ethically and communicate with the reader beyond conventional discourse.
Through the use of these questions regarding discourse and the works of Atwell and Attridge, exploration into the discourse used within Coetzee’s, Dusklands, and how it shapes what the protagonists or main speaker says, can be done.
Works I intend on using:
These are useful readings as a starting point for your project, but there are many more. I think it would be useful to select particular passages from each narrative for close reading.
Coetzee, J. M. Dusklands. Reprint, ed. Michigan: Penguin Books, 1996.
Attridge, Derek. “Ethical Modernism: Servants as Others in J. M. Coetzee’s Early Fiction.” Poetics Today, 25:4 (2004): 553-671.
Attwell, David. “’The labyrinth of my history’: J. M. Coetzee’s Dusklands.” Novel: A Forum on Fiction, 1 (1991): 7-32.
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