Background of the Study
Jonathan Culler in the book of Literary Theory A very Short Introduction says, “literature is the vehicle of ideology” 1997:36. It can be said that literature
is a tool to impose the need and desire of a person or powerful groups to others. Literature can be a device to question the arrangement of domination in a
particular society. Postcolonial literature can be observed as literature that carries the
ideology of a person or certain groups. It questions the Eurocentric views, which takes for granted the superiority of European or Western, and the inferiority of
others Barry, 2002: 193. It focuses on the unequal relation of power between the coloniser and the colonised, the reactions of the colonised people that will always
be resistant, and the effects of colonisation on culture and societies Ashcroft et all, 1998: 186-189. It means that postcolonial literature is a way to attack the
colonialism and its practice. It fights against the oppression, discrimination, and subordination that the coloniser has done. It also questions the domination of the
coloniser towards the colonised people in economic, social, political and other aspects of life.
Disgrace that is written by J. M. Coetzee is a postcolonial literary work. It embodies a protest against colonialism and its practice. It reflects the new models
of colonialism, which is not concerned on colonising the physical things but more on colonising the stage of mind and culture of the colonised. In this case, the
efforts of the coloniser to convince the colonised about their Eurocentric views are not in the form of military force, but through economy, technology, education and
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the media so that Eurocentric views can be accepted as common views. By defining what is meant by coloniser and colonised, colonialism itself wants to
strengthen the power and the domination of the ruling group. Moreover, the act of accepting and imitating Eurocentric views, attitudes, and opinions shows the way
in which colonialism works in a certain society. The influence of Eurocentric views can be found in this literary work.
Set in South Africa, Disgrace is the story about a white man, namely David Lurie, who works in Cape Town University as a lecturer. This man teaches
communication and the Romantic poets to his students. He tries to make his students like the subjects that he taught. His great interest in literary canon enables
him to produce three books, namely Baito and the Faust Legend: The Genesis of Mefistofele, The Vision of Richard of St Victor, and Wordsworth and the Burden
of The Past. The values of life that David Lurie believes in are mostly influenced by Eurocentric views. The situation and the condition of the society do not
discourage his spirit to spread his ways of thinking about life by creating literary works. He does not really care about where he lives and what kind of society he
deals with. Although the era of physical colonialism is over, he wants everyone to have the same opinion as his says that the inferiority belongs to the local people
and the superiority belongs to the European people. From the situation he deals with throughout the story, it is indicated that David Lurie really wants to highlight
his position in the society. However, the way David Lurie sees life is the result of the ideology that binds him.
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By knowing these facts, it is interesting to explore the general qualities of David Lurie as the main character. The way David Lurie’s qualities represents the
qualities of the coloniser and the way western hegemony is depicted through the representation of David Lurie’s qualities, as the main character here are the
challenged topics that are articulated in the story.