Kavafy, Coetzee, the Barbarians: past and present

Waiting for the Barbarians is a title that has resonances from the past: the Barbarians were "the outsiders", those who dod not speak the "civilized" language (Greek at first, Latin later on). To the "civilized" ear, their "foreign" language sounded like "bar bar bar", thus the name Barbarians. Barbarians, who are different from "us", may provoke feelings of fear for the unknown. Of course, this fear of what is different is not "civilized". Writers have tried to express the way "we" feel when confronted with the "Other" (as we saw in Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant"). Two authors who dealt speacifically with the "Barbarians" are Konstantin Kavafy, a Greek poet of the 19th-20th centuries; and J.M.Coetzee, a South African contemporary novelits, who took the title from Kavafy's poem to write a novel.

Please click on the link below to read the poem by Kavafy

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/181780

The post-colonial theory we introduced last week will be very helpful, as well as Border Theory, which we'll talk about in class.

Also, please think deeply about the questions below, and be ready to do assignment 5 in class, in pairs.

1. Style: What does the fact that the text is written in the present tense suggest to you?

2. Characters:

a. The Magistrate (the narrator) vs. Colonel Joll (who sends the prisoners): through a brief description of 3 sentences, compare /contrast these 2 characters.

b. The Magistrate vs. the crowd: How does the Magistrate see the crowd? Which words does he use to refer to them?

c. The prisoners. What do we learn about them? Which words does the magistrate use to refer to them?

How do they react to their imprisonment? Do they look like the “barbarians” the Colonel is looking for?

3. Where in the story does the narrator switch to the 1^st person plural? Why?

4. Tone and atmosphere: How do auditory images contribute to create the atmosphere of the story? How do they affect the Magistrate? What are most of these auditory images related to?

5. What makes the narrator feel ashamed? How does he react to the second batch of prisoners?

Does the story portray any change he is undergoing, or has he always been like this? Support your answer with reference to the text.

6. How does the passing of 5 days affect the magistrate? And the prisoners? How does the story deal with time?

7: THIS QUESTION IS MEANT FOR ORAL DISCUSSION ONLY: Analyze the last paragraph of the story, its implications as regards imperialism / colonialism; differences among people; equality etc.