Ethical Dilemma in Coetzee’s Disgrace and Gordmier’s The House Gun

Abstract

This study examines the ethical and humanistic aspects in the two post-apartheid novels of South Africa Disgrace by J.M. Coetzee and The House Gun by Nadine Gordimer. Each text presents the traumatic experience of African black and white under the racism along with their struggle towards the redemption. The rapist Lurie and murderer Duncan are male protagonists of these novels, is built on embodied acts of sexual and racial violence stranded on the legacy of ethics and humanistic concern raising the ethical dilemma. Lucy in Digrace and Karl Jespersen in The House Gun represent the South Africa’s atrocities of white and black. The promotion of revengeful action raises the question in human rights. In terms of the lens of human rights and ethics Lucy forgives the black and Motsamai who advocates on white guilt-Duncan murder case shows failing to promotion human rights arouses ethical concern. The spotlight in these ethical dilemma testimonies is on the collective memory of the victims maintaining relationship between and among narration, subjectivity of the black and white violence. The research draws on Emanuel Levinas concept of social moralist of contemporary thought and Lynn Hunt theory of truly equal in rights. This study aims at exploring on the humanistic and ethical engagement for balancing both victims and sufferer without condemning them and their ethics being inflicted with the humanistic perspective. The finding of this study is that transitional society gives rise to ethical dilemma and subsequently cripples the promotion of human rights.