Apartheid as Cultural Determinant in J. M. Coetzee's Life and Times of Michael K

Abstract

J.M. Coetzee's highly acclaimed novel Life and Times of Michael K , is concerned with the imposition of unwanted restrictions and confinements experienced by the central character Michael K, in the background of civil war due to apartheid in South Africa. Through the representation of personal, political and social crisis, Coetzee highlights the apartheid policy in South Africa that perpetuates the racist cultural values. He also focuses the strength of culture where Michael K is deeply rooted in order to resist the encroachment of all the opposing forces. The text revolves around the pain and suffering of a victimized character named Michael K. Here, Coetzee also satirizes colonial hegemony, imposed ideology, culture and so called civilization that germinates the intra-racial conflict in South African Society.