Disgrace
QTPC #12
Quotation- “Theirs was the closeness of saliva to the tongue.” (page 63) This statement made about the father and son’s relationship is an odd way to compare people. I’ve never thought of two being such companions that they were close like saliva and a tongue.
Talking Point- ”But the crony was adamant that the white colleague was merely laughing because it was a game. To him the flames were a joke. When the man screamed and ran around in pain, he thought he was dancing. ” (page 65)
I can’t believe that someone would throw a lit match at a colleague who was dosed in petrol and laugh at him burning. If the person really did think of it as a game and think the man was dancing, then he really has issues. Burning alive is not a laughing matter and definitely not a game. It’s so sad that people would do this to one another.
Connection- The way people are discriminated against in the story is similar to what happened in South Africa. The people were shot, stabbed, burned just for being them. It’s horrible that racial issues get so bad that others feel the need to punish people of a different ethnicity. The fact that the government leds it go on without punishment is even worse. Both in South Africa and the story, it seemed like times were starting to change because of unions or of government involvement.
QTPC #11
Quotation- “You behave as if everything I do is part of the story of your life. You are the main character, I am a minor character who doesn’t make an appearance until halfway through.” (page 198)
Lucy said this to David which is somewhat ironic because it’s the truth. She really is a minor character in the book compared to him since the story is based on his life.
Talking Point- David is writing the opera about Teresa, which seems to reflect himself. Teresa acts the way David did after his affair with Melanie ended. She can’t stop thinking and wishing for Byron to be there like David does with Melanie. Also, David falls apart/lets himself go when it ended as reflected in Teresa.
Connection- People in the book stay with their own kind of people or race like the South Africans do even after the Apartheid. Petrus refers to the boy as “my people” along with David refering to him and Lucy as “we Westerners” (page 201-202). This connects to the way people refered to their ethnicity in the video we watched during class.
QTPC #10
Quotation- “That is what he is becoming: stupid, daft, wrongheaded.” (page 146) It’s strange that David thinks his changing is for the worse when it’s making him a better person. He is becoming more caring towards animals and his daughter. Also, he is looking past beauty in people because of his looks and he is not caring about his sexualy desires anymore.
Talking Point- At first David was the one being forced into talking about a point he didn’t want to so he could be punished. He was set in his ways. Now the table has turned and he’s pressuring others to confess. He wants Petrus to tell him the boy’s name and location and for Lucy to tell him and the police that she was raped. She is following his example and he is not happy about it.
Connection- David seems to dislike animals or so he says. He ends up bonding with them like the dogs and the sheep. He reminds me of my dad. He told us he hates cats and doesn’t want us to have any. We have three and we used to find him sleeping with the cat napping on his belly or at his feet. When asked about it, my dad denies liking the cats. He says he likes the warmth on his stomach.
QTPC #9
Quotation- “Everyone is so cheerful and well-intentioned after a while you itch to go off and do some raping and pillaging. Or to kick a cat.” (page 73) I can totally relate to this sentence. There are just some people that are always upbeat and never seem to be having a bad day. Those people can drive me nuts at times, especially when I’m having a bad day.
Talking Point- It seems like the old bulldog is going to be important to David. I think the dog is making him think about his ways, making him more remorseful. It makes me curious to see if he really will change into a better person because of the dog and from his daughter’s ways.
Connection- David gets bored being out in the country with nothing to do. I felt the same when I had to stay at my cousins’ house to babysit one weekend. They live in the middle of nowhere with no cable, no food delivery, and no high speed internet. Even the cell phone reception is bad along with the phone switching time zones every 2 seconds. They had rented 4 movies which I watched with the kids about five times each. The rest of the weekend I was bored out of my mind.
Leave a Reply
Trackback this post | Subscribe to comments via RSS Feed
