Human Condition In Coetzee's Life And Times Of Michael K

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. . . a nest of parasites hanging from the neat sunlit town, eating its substance, giving no nourishment back. Yet to K lying idle in his bed, thinking without passion (What is it to me, after all? he thought), it was no longer obvious which was host and which parasite, camp or town. If the worm devoured the sheep, why did the sheep swallow the worm? What if there were millions, more millions than anyone knew, living in camps, living on alms, living off the land, living by guile, creeping away in corners to escape the times, too canny to put out flags and draw attention to themselves and be counted? What if the hosts were far outnumbered by the parasites, the parasites of idleness and the other secret parasites in the army and the police force…show more content…
The protagonist of the novel is a simple man aged thirty-one with distorted facial features, including a harelip and uneven nostrils. In Life and Times of Michael K, time of the event and the name of the country are not mentioned directly, rather they create a rather slippery ground for the reader. Freeing his novels from a determined historical and political doctrines and surroundings, Coetzee’s Life and Times of Michael K. is mostly situated in a vague geographical setting. Throughout the novel, Michael prefers consciously or unconsciously living outside politics and history to living in nature and in his alleys, farms, mountains, etc. freeing himself from the limits and bondage of the corrupted and confused society. Michael created himself an inner world where he feels freedom, release and exhilaration. While people in his country are trying to prevent their land against the destructive forces of guerillas, Michael K goes on watering and protecting his pumpkins and melons against the attacks of donkeys and

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