Human Dignity in Undignified World in Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K

Abstract

Life & Times of Michael K exposes the loss of human dignity in undignified world through the lead characters Michael K and his mother Anna K. They represent the black people of the South Africa where they are segregated not only due to their skin but also due to their economy and gender. The novel sees the South African black people through the lance of humanism, and shows their deteriorated condition because of race, economy and gender. Moreover, it even shows segregation politically. The novel shows the condition of black People and loss of human dignity from the beginning. As Michael K goes to meet his mother, he is beaten and looted on the way by a gang. He and his mother face various Problems due to the government which is implementing apartheid, and as a result, they are enclosed within the vicious circle. Finally Michael K realizes his identity when he faces a series of troubles and loses his mother. Moreover, J. M. Coetzee shows how colonizer seizes the fundamental rights of black people, like right to equality, right to freedom, right to property, right against the exploitation and right to privacy. In the novel, the camp stands for the place where white people implement their hegemony. Coetzee shows black people suffering from this hegemony. He even shows compulsion of black people to accept the hegemony of white people because of their economical and racial problems. For Coetzee, it is not the black people who are problem for white people; rather it is white people who are problem for black people because black people get trouble in the novel at the hands of white people. Thus, the novel shows the loss of human dignity of black people in South Africa through the main characters’ enclosement within the vicious circle.