Recently, my ASTU class has been discussing J.M. Coetzee’s Disgrace– a novel about David Lurie, a professor, who is expelled from Cape Town to live in rural South Africa with his daughter, Lucy, after raping one of his students. Throughout the book, Coetzee grapples with the idea of morality, especially when it comes to non-human animals.
When David first meets Bev Shaw, a women passionate about Animal Welfare, he deems her work as undesirable. He does not understand animal welfarists because he believes humans are “of a different order of creation than animals”(74). However later in the novel, David becomes obsessed with the fate of two sheep that are to be killed for an upcoming party. He remarks, “Sheep do not own themselves, do not own their lives. They exist to be used, every last ounce of them, their flesh to be eaten…” (123) David is toying with the idea that humans use other species. He seems upset by this yet, hypocritically, eats the mutton chops on the day of the party (131).
I think what Coetzee is discussing in scenes like these is extremely powerful. It is something I often wonder about. Is it morally right for humans to domesticate and use other animals?
I don’t have an answer to that question. However, I do have some interesting ideas to bring up:
First, I’d like to talk about Speciesism. Dictionary.com defines Speciesism as “discrimination in favor of one species, usually the human species, over another, especially in the exploitation or mistreatment of animals by humans.” Speciesism is prevalent throughout the novel and throughout our daily lives. We often think that humans are superior to other animals because we have evolved to be more intelligent and we dominate all around the world. I want to challenge this. While Speciesism is hard to avoid because of the way we’ve been raised to think about our own and other species, it is entirely possible to challenge it.
This novel is challenging Speciesism. Lucy provides an interesting remark while talking to David:
‘ “This is the only life there is. Which we share with animals […] I don’t want to come back in another existence as a dog or a pig and have to live as dogs live under us.” ’(74)
Coetzee forces us to rethink the way we treat and think about animals. Would you like to come back in another life as a cow humans are raising for beef?
This makes me wonder about humanity. What does it mean to be human? Are humans actually superior to other animals? Is this what makes our humanity? Or is humanity more virtuous? Is it our co-existence and interactions with other animals that make us human?
The novel ends with David deciding to put down a dog and Coetzee depicts David as “giving him up” (220). This suggests that the fate of this dog is in the hands of a human. Broadly, this is a metaphor for all animals being under humans’ control and domination. All animals are being influenced by human activities. Is this okay? Is it fair? Is it just?
I don’t have answers to these questions. I think it’s up to all of us individual humans to decide for ourselves whether our own actions are ethical. However, there is animal suffering on this planet that can be decreased- both human and non-human suffering- by us changing our daily habits- switching to a vegan lifestyle is one example.
To end, I think Coetzee wants us to examine and reflect on our own lives. What role do non-human animals play in your life? What role do you play in theirs?
