Divya vaghela's blog: Thinking activity on Waiting for Barbarians.

Hello , Viewers!!!!!!

Most welcome to my Academic work of thinking activity. This task is given by our HOD Dilipsir. On the 8th & 9th January there are guest lecture on "Waiting for Barbarians" by Prof. R.B. Zala from Saurashtra University. We got kind of new experience of guest and their lecture. We learn many new things and knowledge from them. This unit was a part of our African Literature paper.So, before the lecture there are some glimpse of novel given by Heenaba Zala,so it is easy to understand better particular novel.

• Waiting for Barbarians by John Maxwell Coetzee :-

• About Author :-

- He is a South African author.
- He is novelist, essayist, linguist and translator.
- He is rewarded by Nobel prize in 2003 for literature.
- He won the Booker prize for twice.
- He is considered one of the most acclaimed and decorated authors in English language.
- Coetzee is known to be reclusive and avoids publicity to such an extent that he did not collect either of his two Booker Prizes in person.As a result of his reclusive nature, signed copies of Coetzee's fiction are highly sought after.

• About Novel :-

• "Waiting for Barbarians" is novel written by South African author coetzess in 1980.The novel is written in 6 chapters.The Empire in the novel is fictionalized, set in an unspecified historical period and location, though it resembles South Africa. At the edge of the unnamed Empire live so-called barbarians, who visit the border towns to trade. The novel’s first-person protagonist, an unnamed magistrate, is the head of one of these outpost towns. The magistrate has been living in peace in his sleepy outpost, content to serve his Empire.it is a political allegory about the paranoia at the roots of imperial narratives and the blood lust of colonial violence. Written during the apartheid era in South Africa, the novel is a heart of darkness fable, reflecting the racism and fear of an Empire with an imagined enemy within.

• Novel's plot summary :-

- The book opens with colonel joll and he comes with instructions that the Barbarians are coming. There is Magistrate who is leading character of the novel.The novel written between Irish movement and it is a post colonial text.Joll who want to control the Barbarians and he fights with magistrate many time.The magistrate does not buy the theory of a barbarian threat. He has been living in peace in his outpost for most of life, trading with the nomads who Joll sees as the enemy.The magistrate raise his voice and helps to poor people from colonel joll . At the end he had to pay and given punishment for his mistake.In between he has sexual relations with unnamed black girl.The ending of the novel is open. We can interpret it our own.

• Character Study :-

1] The magistrate:-If we talk about The magistrate then we can see he is good and kind by heart and portrayed as a humble character. He goes against Empire and helps to tribal people yet he get punishment for it.Moroever we have a question that why he helps these people? Why he goes against Empire? Was there behind any selfish motive of him? Why he accepts a black girl. Was there only temptation of sexual desire or anything else? In a way, it is a open ended novel so we can put out many perspective.

2] Colonel joll:- So ,the Colonel joll is a officer of "Third Bureau" and The Empire. His character drawn as very cruel and without heart.He want to control Barbarians and want some kind of power for that he does many things , he torturers many people . Whether we have to judge this character as a good or bas because maybe he is doing by his duty or he doing by his own motive we can't say. So, he proved as a very strong and villian character.

3] A black girl:- A blind girl , whose father has been killed in front of her. She given space or place in a room where she cured. If we do feministic reading then it is normal that in all case if women is in trouble,there should be one hero who cures her and they have relation between them . Is it here also? The sympathy which he get she he to pay for it in form of sexual relations or what ? Was magistrate accept her by his heart.In real society this kind of magic never happened.

# Central theme :- There are central themes like : imperialism, Colonialism,power rape, Allegorical theme. I think power has played vital role. Because if somebody is having power then everything is in his control. He can do whatever he want. Because of power he tortures Barbarians and Magistrate. In destroy of anything there was a reason of power.

• In novel there are some Postcolonial theory we can find : which are following like ;
- It could be Fiction
- Cultural Autonomy
- Repussesion and problematization
-Focus on loss and exile ,as Postcolonial condition
- use of anti- realistic techniques, use of intertextuality
- Center staging of magic realism / parody.

# Marginal theme:- For, Marginal theme we can say power . Where power works it means there should be damages.The power can lead to a man on his damage. There are some gender and class issue also within this also they have to suffer.

∆ Comparison with other texts :- If we want to compare this novel with other text than we can recommend " Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe, "A Grain of Wheat" by Ngugi Wa Thiongo.

✓ Learning outcome from the novel :- I learn that in whatever condition if u are True, u have not done any wrong, than we have to fight for our rights, whether there was anyone infront of us. We can't depend on anyone.

• At the end, I would like to conclude that we enjoyed alot this two days session. Zala sir taught very good way with reading of original text and with that they given very good example or experience which are relevant to the text. So, Thank you Zala sir for coming and provided your precious knowledge on text.