Thinking Activities: Foe by J.M .Coetzee

 

About Author 

Foe is a 1986 novel by South African-born Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee. Woven around the existing plot of Robinson Crusoe, Foe is written from the perspective of Susan Barton, a castaway who landed on the same island inhabited by "Cruso" and Friday as their adventures were already underway. Like Robinson Crusoe, it is a frame story, unfolded as Barton's narrative while in England attempting to convince the writer Daniel Foe to help transform her tale into popular fiction. Focused primarily on themes of language and power, the novel was the subject of criticism in South Africa, where it was regarded as politically irrelevant on its release. Coetzee revisited the composition of Robinson Crusoe in 2003 in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

1. How would you differentiate the character of  Cruso and Crusoe?

👉Crusoe is no flashy hero or grand epic adventurer, Robinson Crusoe displays character traits that have won him the approval of generations of readers. His perseverance in spending months making a canoe, and in practicing pottery making until he gets it right, is praiseworthy. Additionally, his resourcefulness in building a home, dairy, grape arbor, country house, and goat stable from practically nothing is clearly remarkable. The Swiss philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau applauded Crusoe’s do-it-yourself independence, and in his book on education, Emile, he recommends that children be taught to imitate Crusoe’s hands-on approach to life. Crusoe’s business instincts are just as considerable as his survival instincts: he manages to make a fortune in Brazil despite a twenty-eight-year absence and even leaves his island with a nice collection of gold. Moreover, Crusoe is never interested in portraying himself as a hero in his own narration. He does not boast of his courage in quelling the mutiny, and he is always ready to admit unheroic feelings of fear or panic, as when he finds the footprint on the beach. Crusoe prefers to depict himself as an ordinary sensible man, never as an exceptional hero. In For Cruso’s character is described as weak and now he is not a hero anymore. So, in one novel he is a hero, in another he is not a hero.

2. Is Susan reflecting the white mentality of Crusoe  (Robinson Crusoe) ?

👉Susan, the protagonist of the story, is a British woman who went searching for her lost daughter. After searching for two years, she gives up and tries to return to England, only to be caught in the middle of a mutiny and marooned by the crew of the ship she riding home. The novel begins with her account of becoming a castaway and arriving on Cruso's island. Throughout the novel, Susan is obsessed with the idea of telling her story and the power of words. Although she lacks the talent to write, she is convinced that her story will find her fame. Despite her aging and impoverishment throughout the novel, she relentlessly pushes Foe to write an account of her time on the island. The nature of her character is ambiguous as although she appears good in some parts, other aspects of her character (e.g., her anger that Friday won't do as she says, or her possible attempt of harm on the girl claiming to be "Susan," her daughter), suggest a less well-natured character. She can be seen throughout the novel attempting to control the narrative, in particular in the third section when she becomes Foe's lover (or as she sees it, his "Muse") in an attempt to inspire him to write the story in the way she wishes. In the last few sections, she appears to lose her mind as her speeches become longer and more erratic and she convinces herself that Foe and the others in the room are not real.

3. who Protagonist?

👉As we see in the novel, we have different protagonists throughout the novel. First we see Denial Defoe is the first narrator. Because it's a prequel to that novel. So it is very important to study them first. Second narrator is Susan Barton. She tells us the story through the use of letters. Third narrator is Mr Foe, because he tells the story. Also he wrote a story on the voyages of Susan, Cruso and Friday. So he is the third narrator of the novel Fourth narrator is an unnamed person. Who observes everything and tells us what is happening. So the name is not given here of that narrator. The final and fifth narrator of the novel is J. M. Coetzee. Because he wrote everything. He described all the situations. So these are several points that we can see in both novels. And we can also see the similarities and differences in them.