A JOURNAL ON J.M COETZEE’S THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MICHAEL K

Literature they does not exist in a vacuum. Every literary piece reflects a slice of reality. Literature has mostly been defined as an art that tries through the employment of it elements/genres to represent the real life happenings of man. It is in the light of this assertion that I choose to discuss J.M Coetzee’s The Life and Times of Michael K-a social and political novel about a deformed character who exudes a high sense of human resilience to the point that I couldn’t help but identify with him. The rendering of the novel is so graphic that it actually opened a portal in my memory in which I am reminded of a certain incidence that happened to me a long time ago. What actually triggered this memory in the novel is the peculiar character of the protagonist-Michael k, who despite being at a disadvantage (his deformity), resolutely scales all hurdles until he achieves his ultimate goal. It so happened that while I was still in secondary school, there came a time when I suffered a serious setback and had to miss school for a very long while. I was absent from school for weeks which actually put me at a disadvantage in academic works. Just like Michael K it was like all the odds were against me and there wasn’t any possibility of excelling in my forthcoming exams. Despite all these insurmountable odds, I made a resolution of not repeating the same class twice; come what may. Eventually I was able to resume classes again and it was already close to the examination period. Even at this I remained unfazed and concentrated assiduously on my academic work. Even when I was offered the chance of rewriting the examination during the school break; I refused. I wrote the examination with the rest of the class and prayed to God for a worthy result. Examination results were released and alas! I passed! I did not only pass but actually I did well more than some of those who had all the advantages and had been around all through the session. One might wonder that of what bearing this experience has got to do with the character of Michael K in the novel. The link is actually found in the resilience with which Michael K accomplished series of tasks in the novel. He despite being deformed and being at a societal disadvantage ingeniously devise a means of transporting his mother away from the chaos of urban life. Although he is deformed he actually knows what he wants. He refuses to stay at Jakkalsdrif and returns to the Visagie farmland. Michael K – a deformed character succeeds where able bodied men seemed to have failed. Despite being at disadvantage and seen as a social misfit, he successfully survives the social and political insurgency in the country. In short, he magnificently scales the same hurdles that able bodied men have perished from. Thus, just like the personal experience I have related above, the story of Michael K is replete with human resilience and determination. Previously, I never fully understood the significance of what I did back then in secondary school until I started my reading of the novel The Life and Times of Michael K. Reading the book, I understood then that what actually helped me was both God and my resilience in achieving my set goal of excelling in my exams. Just like it was with Michael K, resilience was and is still the secret to success. Finally, the assertion that no literature is written in a vacuum has fully been justified in my encounter with the novel The Life and Times of Michael K. I have been able to relate and identify with the protagonist. It made me realize that which used to be opaque- that other than the God factor; resilience is the secret to success. The author through the character of Michael K thematizes the theme of human resilience.