Study Guide to Disgrace

Ray Moore’s Study Guides aim to provide readers with insights into important texts, so that readers can develop their own ideas about the novel. Disgrace is a novel by Nobel Prize Winning author J. M. Coetzee. It traces the mid-life crisis of Professor David Lurie following his expulsion from the university for sexual misconduct. Lurie’s search for his own identity takes place in the context of a post-apartheid South Africa trying to come to terms with its racist past. This guide offers the reader insight into Coetzee’s ability to tell multiple stories which intertwine and interact. - An introduction; - A detailed discussion of characters, genre, narrative voice, and themes; - A detailed chapter-by-chapter commentary, with helpful explanatory notes, and guiding questions that suggest topics for further discussion and thought; - A graphic organizer that allows the reader to make notes; - A glossary of relevant literary terms; - A literary terms activity; - Suggestions for group discussion and post-reading activities.