2019-

2020–UAO:
LICENCE2ANGLAI
S–AFRI
CANLITERATURE:J. WAI
M.COETZEE, TINGFORTHEBARBARI
ANS/
Pr
ofK.ADOU

J. WAI
M.COETZEE, TINGFORTHEBARBARI
ANS(
1980)

1.ABOUTTHENOVEL

WaitingfortheBarbari
ansisapoli
ti
calal
l
egor
yaboutt hepar
anoi
aatthe
rootsofi mperialnarrati
vesand t
heblood lustofcoloni
alvi
olence.
Wr i
tt
endur ingtheapartheider
ainSouthAfr
ica,thenoveli
saheartof
darknessf abl
e,refl
ectingtheraci
sm andfearofanEmpi rewit
han
i
magi nedenemywi thi
n.

TheEmpi reint henov elisficti

onali
zed,setinanunspeci f
iedhistori
cal
periodandlocation,thoughitresembl esSouthAfri
ca.Attheedgeoft he
unnamedEmpi reliv
eso- cal
ledbarbar i
ans,whovisi
tthebordertownst o
trade.Thenov el’
sf i
rst-
personpr otagonist
,anunnamedmagi strate,is
theheadofoneoft heseout posttowns.Themagi str
atehasbeenl i
vi
ng
i
npeacei nhissleepyout post,contenttoservehi
sEmpi r
e.

Ov erthecourseofthest ory,however,hei
sconf
ront
edbythebrutali
ti
es
thatkeep the Empi re ali
ve.New men f r
om t
he Empir
e arr
ive on a
campai gnagainstthei
rbar barianenemiesandt
hemagistr
ateisforced
tof acethefactt
hateitherthenat ur
eofhisEmpi
rehaschanged,orheis
nowseei ngitsdi
rtyworkupcl ose.

Waiti
ngfort
heBarbar
iansisat ort
urenovel,
aboutthosewhosadist
ical
l
y
i
nfli
ctpai
nonthei
renemi es,displayi
nganappetiteforcr
uel
ty.I
t’
salsoa
parabl
eofpowerandt heef f
ect sofi mperi
alparanoi
a,astheEmpi r
e
becomesthever
y"bar
bar i
ans"t hatseekstodestr
oy.

Onanot herl
ev el
,i
tisanovelofinconv eni
enttr
uthsandt hedi scomfor tof
aliberal i
ndi
vidualwhoprefer
st oli
veindenialofthev i
olencet hatmakes
theirfreedom possibl
e.Themagi stratedoesnotwantt obeassoci ated
withthemet hodsoftheEmpi r
e.Butwhenoneoft hei
rvicti
ms, amai med
andbl indedy oungnomadgi rl
,islefttohim,het akesheri nandt r
iest o
amel i
or at
ehersuf fer
ing.Yetashet endst oherandcl oselyexami nes
himself ,i
tbecomesappar entthatitisnothersuf f
eri
nghei sat t
empt ing

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t
oal
l
evi
ate,
somuchashi
sowngui
l
t.

Asauniver
sali
zedall
egor
yforpowerandvi
olence,t
henov
elwor
ksasa
cl
oseexaminat
ionofthepsy
chologyof“
whi
teguilt
”ort
hepsy
chol
ogi
cal
bur
denofthebenef
ici
ary.

2.SUMMARY

I
nt heopeni ngofWai t
ingf ortheBarbarians,thenov el’
sprotagoni
st,the
magi str
ate,facesCol onelJol l,asinisterofficialandmemberoft he
Empi re’
snewsecr etpoli
ce,the' '
Thi
rdBur eau.'
'Jol landhisThi r
dBur eau
believethatt hebar bari
ansar eplanningacoor dinatedattackont he
fronti
erregions.Fort hisreasonJol lhast raveledal ongdistancefrom
thecapi t
altot hemagi st
rate’soutpost.Themagi stratedoesnotbuyt he
theoryofabar barianthreat.Hehasbeenl i
vi
ngi npeacei nhi soutpost
formostofl if
e, t
radingwitht henomadswhoJol lseesast heenemy .

Jollsetsoutonanex pedit
ioninsear chofbar bari
ans.Hecomesback
wi t
hagr oupoff isherpeopl eandnomads.Al t
hought hemagi str
ateis
hor r
if
ied,het urnshisbackandbl ockshi searsasJol l’
sprisonersare
tortur
edi nt hebar
racks.Themagi str
at earguesali
tt
lewi t
hJollabouthis
i
nt err
ogat i
onmet hodsandt heideat haty oucangettruthoutofpeopl e
yout orture.Jol
lambi guouslysuggest sthathe’saft
eradi ff
erentkindof
truththanwhatt hemagi st
rateconsi derstrut
h.Itseemsast houghhe
takespl easureini
nf l
i
ctingsuffer
ing.

Themagi str
atei sunset
tl
edbyJol l
’spresence.Hewantstocont
inuehis
peacefull
ifeasi twasbefore,servi
nghi sEmpi r
einthewayheal ways
has.Hedoesn’ twanttoconsi
derJol l
’
sEmpi reasthesameastheonehe
serves.Heav oidsconfr
onti
ngt hefactthatitis.Hespendsday
si nthe
l
ocal i
nnsleepingwithasmall“bir
dli
ke”youngwoman.

Jollgoesbackt othecapit
altosubmi thisreport.Thepr isonersare
rel
eased.Whent hemagistr
ateseesthem heimaginesf i
nishingt hem of
f
andput t
ingthem inamassgr av
e.Theyaresobr okenandbr utali
zedhe
can’timaginehowt heycanpossibl
yret
urntotheirliv
es.Sl owl y,oneby
one, t
heyleave.Al
lbutone:abli
ndedgir
lwhosel egswer ebr okenatt he
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ankles,whobegsf orfoodi nt hest reets.Themagi stratetel l

shershe
can’tbeont hest reet.Het akesheri ntohi sroom.He’ sstrickenbyan
urget ohelpher ,tosoot heher .Hest artsbywashi ngherf eetandher
brokenankl es.Soonhewashesherent ir
ebody ,st
rippingher .Hedoesn’ t
refl
ectont hepowerdy namic.Hecan’ texplainhisdesi r
et ocleanherand
oilher.It’snow asex ualdesi re.Thef actt hathef eelsnopar t
icular
sexualat tr
act i
on t o herbaf fl
eshi m.Hemedi t
atesatl engt h on hi s
sexuali
tyandherl ostbeaut yorhi deousness—hecan’ ttell
.Het ri
est o
seeherf orwhatshewasbef ore.Hecan’ tgetpastt hescar sandt heidea
ofwhathasbeendonet oher.Ni ghtaf t
erni ghtshest aysinhi sr oom.He
begshert ot ell
hi m whathappenedt oher .Shedoesn’ twantt ot alkabout
i
t.Agai n,he doesn’ tr ef
lecton hi sposi tion asan i nterr
ogat or.She
submi t
st ohi mt houghhedoesn’ thavesexwi thher.Shef inallyt ell
shi m
howt het ort
urersbur nedoutherey esanduseat wopr ongedf orkonher
bodyandki l
ledherf atherinfrontofher .Af tershetell
shi m,he’ sr epulsed
byhert houghhedoesn’ tconsiderwhy .Hegoesbackt othei nni nst ead,
tothesmal l,“bi
rdlike”girl
who’ seasyt obewi t
h.

Thenomadgi rlaskshi m whyher ejectsherbuthehasnoanswer .She

gesturest hatshewant stobewi thhi m.Inst eadheput sheroutofhi s
room.Hedoesn’ tref
lectont henewphaseoft ort
urethathe’ sputtingher
through.Af tert his,fi
lled wit
h conf used f eeli
ngs aboutt he girl
,t he
magi stratedeci destot akeherbackt oherpeopl e.Heandt hegi rlgowi th
twosol diersandagui deonhor sesonat reacherousj ourneyi ntot he
deser tregi onst owardt hemount ains.Theyencount erdi f
fi
culti
es.They
l
osehor ses.Theyr unoutofwat erforat ime.Dur ingt hej ourneya
comr adel yf eelingr i
sesbet weenhi m andt hegi r
l.She’smor er esil
ient
thant hemen, andhecomest orespecther .Theymakel ove.Hisf eeli
ngs
troublehi m mor e.Itseemsast houghhemi ghtbef all
inginl ovewi thher.
Theyf inallyspotsomenomads.Theyt rackt hem down.Whent heyr each
them hepr oposest ot hegirlt
ocomebackwi thhimt otheout post .He
want shert or eturnofherownchoi ce.Shesay sshedoesn’ twantt ogo
backt ot hatpl ace.Theysaygoodby eandsher i
desof fwi t
ht henomads
toherpeopl e.

Whenhegetsbackt
otheoutpostamanfrom theThi
rdBureauisthere,
andhei
nfor
mst hemagi
str
atethathei
sbeingchar
gedwithtreason.He
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i
si mpri
sonedint hesamebar racksroom wherethebarbar
ianswer e
i
nterr
ogated.Atfir
sthefeelsgiddyabouthisimpri
sonmentforhow it
putshim onthesideofthegir
l.Heconjuresthespi
ri
tofthegir
linthat
pl
aceandi maginesherbeingtortur
edindist
urbi
ngdetai
l
.Hef eel
st he
angui
shofsol i
tar
yconfi
nement .Hestinksandhisbodyisbroken.He
fi
ndsawayoutofhi scel
l
.

TheThi rdBur eausendsoutt roopst ofindtheenemy .Thet r

oopsr eturn
wi t
hpr i
soner satni ght.Thet owngat hersatni ghtt owat chast hey
tortur
et hepr isonersi npubli
c.Theygetchi ldr
ent oj oi
ni n,beat ingt he
menwhohav et heirhandsfastenedt otheircheekswi t
hwi re.Jol lleads
thepubl icscapegoat i
ng.Heheckl est hebar barians.Themagi strate,
freedfrom hi scell,demandst hattheyst op.Theybeatt hemagi stratein
frontoft hecr owdandr et
urnhimt ot hecell.Fi
nall
yJol linterrogatest he
magi st
rat e.Themagi st
rat
etell
sJol l
whathet hi
nksofhi m.Hei stortured,
thought hepr ocessi snotdescribed.

Jol
lheadsoutagai nwithmor esoldi
ers,leavi
ngthewar rantof
ficer
,
Mandel,i
nchargeofthemagist
rat
e.Thewar r
antoff
icermakesagame
oftor
turi
ngthemagistr
atenakedinf r
ontoft ownspeople.Onedayhe
put
sthemagi st
ratei
nawoman’ sdress,ti
eshishandsbehi ndhisback
andhangshi mf r
om atreebythewr ist
s.Themagi st
rate’
sshoulders
spl
i
nter.He’
slef
ttohang.

Hef indshiswayoutoft het r

eeandbegi nst obegi nthet own.Atf ir
st
peopl edismisshi m, butl
itt
lebyl i
tt
lehedi scover
st hatsomest il
lrespect
hi
m.Womenf eedhi m.Helear nsthatthebar bar
ianshav efloodedal lthe
fi
elds.Peopl ebegi ntopackupandl eav etheout postont helongt rek
backt othecapi t
al.Mandel andhissol dierscondemnt hosewhol eaveas
tr
aitors.Butmor eandmor epeopl epackup.Theyl eaveatni ght.Mandel
i
snott obeseenashi ssoldiersterrorizet hetown.Themagi strateis
getti
ngheal thier.Onedayasol di
erar r
ives, deadandbl oated,crucifi
edon
apostont hebackofahor se.Att hi
spoi ntMandelt akesal lbutt hree
sol
di ersandl eaves.

Themagist
rat
er etur
nstohisol
droom.Wint
erisonitsway.Hetakes
char
ge,
encouragingpeopl
etogr
owrootv
egetabl
eswi
thint
hecit
ywalls.
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I
tseemsast hought
hebarbar
iansarewatchi
ngthetown.Everyonei
s
wai
tingfort
hem.Theydigupcr ust
aceansfr
om aroundthelakeand
gat
herasmuchfoodast
heycanf ort
hewint
er.

Late one ni ghtJollr eturns in his black carriage wi th a couple of

ter
rorizedsol di
ers.They ’
rei napani c.Theydi scov ert hatMandelhas
gone.Themagi str
atef acesJol landt ellshim he’ sdel i
veredev ilupon
himsel f
.Thent hemagi stratedemandsoneoft hesol dierstellhim what
happened.Thesol diertell
shi mt hattheywer el ureddeeperanddeeper
i
ntot hedeser tandmount ainsbyt hebar bar
ianswhower etooelusiveto
catch.Themenst arvedi nt hedesert.Theywer epi ckedof f.Theyf led.
Theynev erconfr
ontedt hebar bari
ansinabat t
le.Theywer eterr
if
ied.Joll
andt hesol di
ersfl
eeatni ght.

Themagistrat
eremainswithafewt ownspeopleandonlythreesoldi
ers.
Theyhunkerdownandwai tforwinter.Theywai
tforthebar bar
iansto
att
ack.Thef i
rstsnow beginstof all
.Themagi st
rat
er efl
ectsont he
possi
bil
i
tythathelosthi
swayal ongtimeago.

3.CHARACTERLI
ST

a)Themagi st
rate
Themagi stratei sthef i
rst
-personnarr atorandf l
awedpr otagonistoft he
nov el.Everythingint hisal
legor yi
sf i
l
t eredthroughhispointofv iew.He
want st olivei n peace in hi s out
post ,ser v
ing his Empi re wi thout
quest ioni
ngt hepur poseoref fect
sofi t
scol oni
alproject
.He' sfor cedt o
conf rontit
sv iolentcrimeswheni tattempt stopushi ntonomadt er rit
ory
aroundhi sout post .Themagi strategoesonaj ourneyofsel f
-discov eryin
thenov el
,conf ronti
ngnotonl yt hehypocr i
siesofhisEmpi re,buthi sown
deni alaswel l.

b)Col onelJoll
ColonelJol li
st henovel
'
sant agoni
st.Indeed,wi t
hhisblacksunglasses
andbl ackcar r
iage,hepl
ayst herol
eofacl assicalv
il
lai
n.Jollarr
ivesat
theout postasanagentoft heEmpi r
e'sambi guoussecretpoli
ce,under
thepr etextofseekingout" barbar
ian"enemi es,butinf actheisona
missiont oex tendhisoffi
ce'scampai gnoft errort
hrought or
ture.Jol
l
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bri
ngstortur
et otheouterr
eachesoftheEmpire,andt
ransfor
mst he
magist
rate'
soutpostf
rom apl
aceofl
iber
alt
oler
ancetoabarr
icadedf
ort
of an Empi r
e at war wit
hi t
s enemy:the nomadic nati
ves,the
"bar
bar
ians."

c)Thenomadgi rl
Thenomadgi rlisoneofJol l
'
st orturev i
cti
ms,whoget sl ef
tbehindafter
herf atheriskil
ledi nJoll
'
storturechamber .Herl egswer ebrokenatthe
ankleandt heyhav eneverset.Shei scr i
ppl edandmustwal kwithtwo
sti
cks.Herey eswer eburnedwi thmol tenr ods.Shei smost lybli
nd
thoughshecanseeoutofherper ipheri
es.Themagi str
atefindsher
beggi ngandt akesheri n.Herbodyi scov eredi nscarsandhebecomes
obsessedwi thlearningaboutwhathappenedt oher .Hedev el
opsar i
tual
ofwashi ngandoi l
inghernightly.Hisobsessi onwi t
hhergoesbey ond
herscar s,andhef i
nal
lyseemst of al
linl ovewi thheri ndur i
ngthe
j
our neywhenhet akesherbackt oherdeser tpeopl e.

d)War r
antofficerMandel
Mandeli sColonelJoll'
shenchman.He'
sablue-ey
ed,blonde,muscular,
attr
activ
emanwhodoesmuchofJol l'
sdirt
ywor k.Heopenlyt akes
pleasureininfli
cting pai
n.Heist hesadi
sti
cof f
icerwho personall
y
tortur
esthemagi strat
e.

e)Thebir
dli
kegi r
l
Ther
eisasmal l
,prett
yprosti
tut
ewhot hemagistr
atehasbeenseei ngat
theinnforyears.Throughouthisobsessionwi t
ht henomadgirl,he
comparest
hetwowomen.Thebi r
dli
kegir
lisareferenceforbeaut
yt hat
heusesashet ri
est omakesenseofhi sattractiontothemai med,
scar
rednomadgi r
l.

4.THEMES

a)Imper i
ali
sm
Oneoft hemostpr omi
nentthemesin Waiti
ngf ortheBarbar
ians is
i
mperiali
sm.I nthe nov
elwe see var
ious dimensi
ons ofimperial
ist
mentali
tyandact i
onsunvei
l
ed.Theparanoi
aoft heEmpir
er ef
lectsa
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mor egener alex i

stentialcondit
ionofonegr oupi ntendingtoimposeits
cultur
eandpol i
ti
calmandat eonot her
s.Thecr eationofanenemy ,or
"other"
—thenomad" barbari
an"—reflectsbroaderper cepti
onsofat hr
eat
thatservet oj usti
fyi mperial
istvi
ol ence.TheEmpi re'sanxi
ousneedt o
constantlygl ori
fyi tselfsheds lighton mor e univ er
salnarr
ati
ves of
i
mper ial
ist magni ficence and r ighteousness t hat again ser
ve as
j
ust i
fi
cationofamandat eofpower .

b)Col onialism
Dist i
nctf r
om i mperiali
sm,t he t heme ofcol oniali
sm as a phy si
cal,
territ
or i
alpr ojectwi thf ar-r
eachi ngi mplicati
onspl aysoutinWai ti
ngf or
theBar barians.Thecol onialprocess,asi ll
ustratedi nthenov el,i
smor e
than j ustacul t
uralori deologi cal'imperial
ist'pr oj
ect;itisav i
olent
phy sicalonet hatpl aysouton t heear th and on t hebodi esoft he
col onized.As i tisr epresent ed i n Wai t
ing f ort he Barbar i
ans,t he
exper ienceofcol onizati
oni mpact sthemanyl ives.Weseet hedamage
donet ot het ribalnomads,bot hi ntermsoft het ortur
e,traumaand
violencei nflictedont hem aswel lasont heintrusionupont hei rmigrant
l
ifest yl
e.Weal soseet heimpactofcol oniali
sm ont heear th,ast he
ri
v erbanksbur n,deser ti
ficati
onset sin,thef i
sherpeopl eareupr oot ed
andt hef i
eldsar eflooded.Col oni ali
sm,asi tisshowni nWai tingfort he
Bar barians, entailsprofoundv i
ol enceanddi srupt i
on.

c)Mal esexual ity

Oneoft hecent ralt hemesi nWai tingf ort heBarbariansi smal esexual i
ty.
Alongwi t
hbei ngast oryofcol oni alpowerandi mper iali
sm,t henov elis
anex tendedex ami nati
onoft hemagi strate'
ssexual i
tyandoft henat ure
ofmal esexual ityi ngener al.Inthecaseoft hemagi strate,sexual
ityisa
social
izedcondi ti
on,cl oselyl i
nkedt osel f-
percepti
on.I nt heti
meswhen
hehaspower ,hissex ualit
yt hri
ves.Ashi spowerwanes,sot oodoeshi s
l
ibido.Asexi stent ialquest i
onsbegi nt ohaunthi m,hi sdesi reissi
mi larl
y
troubl
ed.Whenhegoesoutonal ongt rek,steppingoutofhi ssociet
y ,he
i
st heleastinhi bited.Thebar bariangi rl
'ssexual i
tyremai nsamy st
eryf or
themostpar t.I tist he( di
stinctl
ymal e)sexual it
yoft hemagi str
atet hat
thenov elmostcl osel yexami nes.

d)Power
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Wai t
ingf ort heBarbarianspr esent sacompl exandi ntimat eanal
y sisof
power ,bot hintermsofwhati tconsi stsofandt henat ureofi t
sef fect s.
Poweri sclearlyshownt ober elational,ther esul tofcl oseencount er s
betweeni ndivi
dualbodi es.Thest oryconv eyst hephy si
cali mpli
cat i
ons
ofpower ,how itder i
vesf rom thet hreatandf earofphy si
calpain.The
Empi re'sul ti
mateexpr essi onofpoweri st
hr ought hei nfl
icti
onofpai non
i
ndi v
idualbodi es.JollandMandelper formt ortur ei npubl i
cspaces,not
onlyt odi splaytheirpowerov ert heirenemy ,butt oi nstil
lfearofsuf fering
onal lar oundt hem.I nt hisway ,theyext endt hei rpower .A compl ex
powerdy namic plays outbet ween t he magi strat e and t he gir
l.Her
disability makes herdependenton hi m f orhel p and i nthis way
i
mmedi atelyputshi mi naposi t
ionofpower .Whi lehedoesn' tphysical ly
harm her ,hest i
lltakesadv ant ageofhi spower ,byst ri
ppingherand
putti
nghert hroughar itualofst r
angei nt
imacy .Thatshedoesn' tr esist
him,doesn' tmeant hathi sr ol
ei nr elati
ont oheri sn'toneofpower .
Anot herdi mensionofpowerpl ay souti nt heEmpi re'swaragai nstt he
barbar ians.TheEmpi redoesnothav epowerov ert henomadsasagr oup,
onlyi ndiv i
dualbodi est hati tcapt uresandt ortur es.Poweri sshowni n
thiswaynott ohav eanyr esonantf orce.Inst eadi treli
esont hecl ose
physical forceofonebodyov eranot her.

e)Inter
rogation
Theel usiv
enat ureoft r
ut handt hedif
ficult
iesofpi nni
ngitdownisan
i
mpor t
anttopicinWai ti
ngf ortheBarbar i
ans.Int err
ogati
oniscentr
alt o
thenov elandi nter
rogat
ionst akediff
erentf orms.Mostnot ablywesee
twocompet i
ngf ormsofi nter
rogati
on:Joll'
sv i
olentmet hod,i
nwhichthe
i
nt err
ogati
vequestf ortruthisapr et
extf orcruelty;andthemagistr
ate's
sof tmethod,inwhi chhi sinter
rogati
oni sper sistentandhisquestf or
truthseemssi ncere.

f
)Rape
TheLatinori
ginofthewor drapei stosei ze,
tosteal .Theconceptseems
simple,r
elat
ingt
ot hevi
olati
onoft heft,theaffr
ontandsenseofl ossthat
happenswhenaper sonorgr oupsei zessomet hingf r
om another—the
taki
ngofpr oper
ty.Thi
sor igi
nalsenseofr apef rameswomen' ssexual
viol
ati
onasamat t
erofpr operty.Butifini t
sorigin,theconceptofr ape
deri
vesf r
om aconceptoft heft,itneedst obeasked,whathasbeen
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stol
enf rom thewoman?Thi squestioni si mpor tant,andi t
'sonet hatt he
magi strat ecirclesar oundi nWai ti
ngf ort heBar bari
ans.Hi sfixat i
onon
thenomadgi rlisinmanyway saf i
xat i
onwi thherdef il
ementr at hert han
herv iolat i
on.Thef actt hatshehasbeenmai medanddef acedandt hat
her beaut yi s r uined obsesses t he magi str
ate mor e t han her
viol
ation—t hef actthatshehasbeenper sonal l
yhur tandt r
aumat ized.He
i
sobsessedwi thtryingt oimaginewhatshewasl i
kebef ore,andt riesto
pict
ur eheri nadi gni fi
edst ate.I
nt hisway ,heconcei vesofr apeasa
form oft heftr athert hanast hephy sicalt r
aumaofv i
olence.Thebook
present sasubt lebutt horoughmedi tationonr ape,culmi nat
ingi nt he
magi strat e'
sthoughtt hatthenomadgi rl
'speopl ewi llnevertakeherback
i
nasawhol ewoman.Abov eandbey ondherscar s,hemuses,her
defi
lementwi l
lal way sbeknownt ot hem.Shewi llalway shav ehad
somet hingst olenf r
om her .Ofcour sei tist hisv iewofr apeast hef t,and
thusofwomenaspr operty
, t
hatcontribut est othepr evalenceofr ape.By
seeingt hegi rlasl ackingbecauseofher" defil
ement ,
"themagi str
ate
himsel ft akesorst eal sthegirl
'sdi
gnit y.

g)Fearoft heother
Thenov elisacl oseex aminat
ionoft hef earoftheother,theforei
gner,
theout sider.Mor especi fi
call
yi tisapar ableaboutthecr eati
onofan
enemyt hatcomesf rom thatfear .Thebar bari
anisader ogatoryter
m
thatident i
fi
es a gr oup as out si
ders and v i
l
ifi
es t
hem.The t er
m is
deployed ef fectiv
ely by t he Empi ret o designatet he nomads as
diff
erent—lower ,sav age—andt hust odef i
net hem ast heenemyand
j
ust i
fytheirper secut i
on.Thehat redthatgrowsf rom fearjust
ifi
esthe
viol
encet hatper petuatesthefear —specif
ical
lyoftheother.

5.SYMBOLS,
ALLEGORYANDMOTI
FS

a)Thenomadwoman' sblindness( moti

f)
Bli
ndnessisamot ifthatr
eflectsthemagi st
rate'
sst at
eofdeni al
.The
magistr
ateisfasci
natedby,andbl i
ndedby ,t
henomadgi r
l'
sblindness.
Herbli
ndnessofcourseisthef aul
toft hemagistrat
e'sEmpi
re.Bybei ng
unabl
et oseethegir
lassheisnow, he’
sunablet oseethemaimi ngthat
theEmpireiscausi
ng.Thegirlhasal waysheldthatshecaninf actsee;
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ANS/
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ofK.ADOU

she can see when she doesn’tlookatsomet hing st

rai
ghton.The
magistrat
e’sbli
ndnesshowev ercomeswhenhel ooksstrai
ghtonat
her—thatis,whenhet ri
estoseeherasshei s.Thisbli
ndnessisthe
essence of his own ex perience of denial. His obsessi
on with
remember i
ngherasshewasbef ore,f
eelsl
ikeanef f
orttoerasethe
damaget hat’
sbeendonet oher .I
t’simpossi
ble.Hewi l
lremainbli
ndto
thati
magei nthepast.

b)Themagi str
ate'sri
tualofwashi ng(motif)
Themagi strate'
sritualofwashi ngt hescarrednomadgi r
lisamot i
fthat
works to show hi s eff
ortto wash awayhi s guil
tand expunge hi s
associati
onwi t
hthegi rl'
storturers.Ther epeti
ti
onoft heactampl if
ies
andrefractsthemanydi mensionsoft hemagi st
rate'
sconscience.Ast he
washinggoesont hroughoutthenov el,
hisconditionofguil
tevolvesand
i
sshownt obei ncreasingl
ycompl ex.

c)Col onelJoll
'sbl
ackgl asses(symbol )
ColonelJol l
'
sbl ackglassesar eamul ti
facetedsy mbol,r
epresent
inghis
andt heEmpi re'
shiddeni dent
ityandintenti
ons.Poweri sl
inkedtothi
sas
thegl assesbecomeat oolofsur v
eil
lance:Jollcanseeout ,butothers
cannotseehi m.Per hapsmostst ronglythebl acknessoft heglasses
representhisev il
,asthosewhol ookathi m areunabletoseehi sey es,
andi nthiswaycannotr ecognizehishumani ty.

d)Bar bar
ism (moti
f)
Theconceptofbar bari
sm worksasamot i
fi nthenov el
,ast hose
accusi
ngt henomadsofbar bari
sm ar ethemsel vest hebarbar i
c.The
conceptevol
v esthr
oughthenovelasweseear epet
it
ionandescal ati
on
ofbarbari
cbehav i
orsandpatt
ernsper pet
ratedbyt heEmpi re,ulti
mat el
y
devol
vingint
oast ateofgener
alter
rorandt otalbarbar
ism.Ci vi
lrel
at i
ons
betweenEmpi reandthenomadscollapsebyt heendoft henovel.

e)Thenomadwoman' sscars(symbol)
Thenomadwoman' sscars,aswel lasherbrokenankl
esandbl i
nded
eyes,refl
ectt
hedamagedonebyt heEmpi retothenomadpeoplemore
broadl
y .Themagist
rat
er ecogni
zest hi
s,andt r
iestoat
onef oritby
washingt hewomanandat t
emptingt oreadintothemeani
ngofher
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ANS/
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ofK.ADOU

scar
s.

6.PAI
RWORK:ESSAYQUESTI
ONSFORTERM PAPERS

1.How woul
dy oudescr i
beCol onelJol
l'
sposit
ioninrel
ati
ont othe
ambi
guousThirdBureau?Isheamant aki
ngorder
sfrom hi
gherup?
Ori
sheani ndependentagentofevi
l?Anal
yzeandcri
ti
queJoll
'sr
ole
i
ntheEmpir
e.

2.Duringtheweekl ongperi
odwhenJol landhismenar et
ortur
ingtheir
fi
rstgroupofprisoners,
themagistr
atestaysawayf r
om thebarracks.
Hev i
sit
st heinnandsl eepswi t
ht hey oung,pret
typrosti
tut
e.He
dri
nkswi thhi
sf r
iends.Hesleepsli
kethedead.Whatdoy oumakeof
hi
sr eacti
ontothet or
tur
ehappeninginthebarracks?

3.When t he magistr
at eisf i
rstar
rest
ed by Jolland Mandel,he
expressesagi ddyf eel
ing.Exami
nethispassageanddi scusshi
s
reacti
ontogoingt ojail
.How doyouaccountforhi
sfeel
ingsduri
ng
hisini
ti
ali
ncar
cer at
ion?

4.Examinet hemagist
rat
e'semot i
onsovert
hecourseofhisti
mewi t
h
the nomad woman,par ti
cular
lyhischange ofmood duri
ng t
heir
j
ourneytogether
.Analy
zet henatur
eofhisaf
fecti
onf
orher.Doeshe
fal
li
nl ov
e?

5.Whent
hemagi
str
atef
ir
stseesMandelbehi
ndhi
sdesk,hei
magi
nes
Mandelinbedwi thawoman.I si tthemagistrat
e'spri
nci
plesof
j
usti
cethatar
ethreat
enedbyMandelandtheThirdBureau,
orisithi
s
mascul
ini
ty?Discusstheconnect
ion bet
ween mal esexual
it
yand
powerasiti
sportr
ayedi Wai
n  ti
ngfortheBarbar
ians.

PRESENTATI
ONOFTHEASSI
GNMENT

- ACov
erpagewi
tht
hel
ogooft
heuni
ver
sit
y,t
het
opi
c,y
ournamesand

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ANS/
Pr
ofK.ADOU

y
ourf
ir
stnamesandy
ourI
D.Thecov
erpagei
snotnumber
ed.
- Ti
mesNewRoman:
12
- Li
nespaci
ng:
1,5
- Numberofpages:
3-4f
ull
pages.
 ani
ntr
oduct
ion
 abodydi
vi
dedi
nto2or3par
ts(
wit
hti
tl
es)
 aconcl
usi
on
 ashor
tbi
bli
ogr
aphy
.

Deadl
ine:
27/
07/
2020
NB:1.Thedeadl
inewi
llnotbeext
ended 2.Anypl
agi
ari
sm wi
llbepuni
shed
sev
erely
.

12