Justice..

Indeed once again in life we encounter the fact that " what goes around must come around" this example could be found in the novel Disgrace by J.M.Coetzee. Towards the end of the chapter, we learn that Lucy who is David’s daughter is raped by two African men. Not only that, she also hide it and dose not report the rape to the police even though David himself tried convincing her many times. The fact that David himself is trying to convince his daughter to report is an hypocritic act ? I strongly think so !. What happed to Lucy has also happened to Melanie and Saroya. However the only difference is that they both have moved on in life. One settled down in a different county and the other Melanie filed a case against him( David) thus obtaining a mental satisfaction. I feel that to live with the fact that being a white women in Africa who is raped by two black man is indeed extremely shameful. In the previous few novels, we have constantly learnt that it is the Europeans or the white men who dominated countries like Java, Indian, Philippines, Africa or in other words most of the world. In this context it is none other then a white women who is being raped. Where is the status then ? Hence I feel this is the reason as to why Lucy didn’t report the rape. She also mentions that " the act was violent and filled with hate". Moreover she also says " .....will taste the defeat for the rest of my life"(161). She is clearly shaken by the incident and refuses to share it. In the last few chapter David’s alienation from the society becomes pronounced. Neither the father nor the daughter has any hope for the future. I then ask myself...who is the dominating figure in this context? It is none other then David and Lucy who are broken, hurt and a disgrace to themselves and the nation. Justice is the standard by which one measures guilt and innocence. However in this novel, J.M. Coetzee explores the moral foundation on which justice depends. Is justice in this case then fair ? I feel that it is indeed nothing more then a show, an act !