You behave as if everything I do is part of your life story. You are the main character; I'm a minor character who only appears halfway through. Well, contrary to what you think, people are not divided into majors and minors. I am not a minor. I have my own life, just as important to me as yours is to you, and in my life I am the one who makes the decisions (Coetzee 174). This is a poignant statement made by Lucy Lurie to her father David, the protagonist. and central consciousness of Disgrace. It is his response to his lack of understanding of his life choices and his lack of deep respect for anyone but himself. It is his handicap, his inability to understand anything outside of his personal reflections, and his attitude is due to a level of arrogance and sense of privilege, as he continues his attempts at self-elevation . Lucy protests his inability to understand his life choices and the root of his deep lack of respect for anyone but himself. When David loses his position at the University because of his own arrogance - a simple reading of the "shame" of the title, whether he feels it as such or not - his partly conscious, partly unconscious search for reconciliation leads him to forces us to listen to the voices of formerly silenced, female and black people represented in the passage just cited by his daughter. In his narration, David directs the scope of his story toward the plight of women, rather than toward “people of color” in a post-apartheid South African landscape. Lucy is for David a convenient representation of those who are truly disgraced in post-apartheid South Africa, while David represents those who appear to be disgraced and who escape the reality of their actions, the unapologetic and remorseless masses who excuse... middle of paper. .....no vipers. No, Professor Lurie, you may be tall and powerful and have all sorts of degrees, but if I were you I would be truly ashamed of myself, so help me, God. If I've grabbed the wrong end of the stick, now's your chance to say so, but I don't think so, I can see it in your face. Lurie murmurs in response, “Excuse me, I have some business to attend to, and leaves (Coetzee 38). David's response to Melanie's father in the passage above only further demonstrates what is found throughout the text. His avoidance, self-righteousness, and inability to apologize become evident. In this scene early in the novel, we see David's ability to evade an obvious transgression on his part when confronted, and therefore gives us insight into the person we will depend on to tell us the story. Works Cited Coetzee, JM (2000) Shame. London: Vintage.