Research Article

DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE

Number: 38 February 28, 2025
TR EN

DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE

Abstract

This paper explores the use of disability as an allegory for colonialism and its consequences in J.M. Coetzee's novel Foe. By referring to colonial and postcolonial literary criticism, the study claims that disability is used allegorically to represent the broader silencing and marginalization of colonized peoples. It also investigates how Coetzee underscores the erasure of the colonized voice and identity through physical and psychological violence which results in disability. The analysis also delves into the relationship between the metaphorical colonizer and the disabled colonized, the former of which perpetuates the suppression of latter’s autonomy and cultural expression by making use of the colonized’s disability to justify the colonizer’s violent acts. Besides, by framing disability within postcolonial criticism, the study reveals the intricate power dynamics and dehumanization inherent in colonial contexts. Thus, the paper ultimately attempts to show how Coetzee's Foe uses disability to critique colonialism, illustrating the profound and lasting impact of colonial oppression on individual and collective identities.

Keywords

References

  1. Ashcroft, B. (2011). Silence as heterotopia in Coetzee’s fiction. In Chris Dante, Sue Kossew & Julian Murphet (Eds.). Strong opinions: J.M. Coetzee and the authority of contemporary fiction, (141-157). Continuum.
  2. Barker, C. (2015). The Cambridge companion to the postcolonial novel. Cambridge University Press.
  3. Coetzee, J. M. (2010). Foe. Penguin Books.
  4. Fanon, F. (1963). The wretched of the earth. Grove Press, New York.
  5. Head, D. (1997). J. M. Coetzee. Cambridge University Press.
  6. Jin, M. (2022). Cathleen ni houlihan: A dual perspective of disability studies and postcolonial studies. Theory and practice in language studies, 12 (9), pp. 1939-1944.
  7. Kirmayer, Laurence. (1992). From the witches' hammer to the Oedipus complex: Castration anxiety in western society 1. Transcultural Psychiatry (29). pp. 133-158. 10.1177/136346159202900205.
  8. Loomba, A. (2005). Colonialism/postcolonialism. Routledge.

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

British and Irish Language, Literature and Culture

Journal Section

Research Article

Early Pub Date

February 27, 2025

Publication Date

February 28, 2025

Submission Date

August 1, 2024

Acceptance Date

February 5, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2025 Number: 38

APA
Gümüş, E. (2025). DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE. Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 38, 90-102. https://doi.org/10.15182/diclesosbed.1526154
AMA
1.Gümüş E. DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE. Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi. 2025;(38):90-102. doi:10.15182/diclesosbed.1526154
Chicago
Gümüş, Ersoy. 2025. “DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE”. Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, nos. 38: 90-102. https://doi.org/10.15182/diclesosbed.1526154.
EndNote
Gümüş E (February 1, 2025) DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE. Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 38 90–102.
IEEE
[1]E. Gümüş, “DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE”, Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, no. 38, pp. 90–102, Feb. 2025, doi: 10.15182/diclesosbed.1526154.
ISNAD
Gümüş, Ersoy. “DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE”. Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi. 38 (February 1, 2025): 90-102. https://doi.org/10.15182/diclesosbed.1526154.
JAMA
1.Gümüş E. DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE. Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi. 2025;:90–102.
MLA
Gümüş, Ersoy. “DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE”. Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, no. 38, Feb. 2025, pp. 90-102, doi:10.15182/diclesosbed.1526154.
Vancouver
1.Ersoy Gümüş. DISABILITY AS AN ALLEGORY OF COLONIALISM IN J.M. COETZEE’S FOE. Dicle Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi. 2025 Feb. 1;(38):90-102. doi:10.15182/diclesosbed.1526154

Dicle University
Journal of Social Sciences Institute (DUSBED)