David Lurie’s Trial in J. M. Coetzee’s Disgrace (1999) as an Allegory of South Africa’s ‘Truth & Reconciliation Commission’

The trial of David Lurie portrays the failure of ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ trials in post-apartheid South Africa. This paper contends through David’s character that inability to search for the truth and its acceptance regarding the 300-year long abuse perpetrated upon the native Africans was the reason for the failure of the trial. The absence of finding the actual truth in TRC led to the failures of the trials when the timely justice was served instead of long-term education of the postcolonial environment of New South Africa. David’s disgrace is attached to his ignorance from the truth and the penitentiary period of the transition of his white character through white author displays a gesture of collective responsibility for the 300-year long history of abuse perpetrated upon native Africans. This paper intends to find the reasons behind David’s failure of finding the truth about himself and his racial discrimination, David’s character as the personification of failure of Legislative apartheid regime, his acceptance of truth through the steps of transgression, confession, penitence and absolution which involves self-analysis and self-interrogation of white character through white author in post-colonial South Africa. Textual analysis is employed to carry out comparative study of David’s trial and the trials of TRC. Post-colonial racism and Pratt’s idea of contact zone is applied and discussed to further the contention of this paper. Gayatri Spivak’s subaltern and Max Horkheimer’s political theory of racial discrimination is also discussed to specify the character of David in postcolonial scenarios.