AustLit

'The identity of Nobel laureate J. M. Coetzee as a vegetarian is closely tied to his literary writing. Vegetarianism is not only Coetzee’s lifestyle, but also his major creative idea. Coetzee presents his values and ethics of vegetarianism in his work by means of personalized artistic techniques, expressing his ethical beliefs, and playing out his role as an ethical guide. His vegetarian ethics demonstrates both the care for animals and the concern for the victims of gender bias and racism. What he does in his work is to expose the bloody violence and atrocity inflicted on animals in carnivorous culture in defense of their basic and ethical right for survival on the one hand and, on the other hand, debunk the gender-based and political discourse hidden in the carnivore diet in patriarchal culture as a fierce resistance to and relentless denunciation of the gender oppression and racial violence conspired with carnivorism. Coetzee hopes that the vegetarian ethics represented in his work will inspire his readers to reflect on their relationships with animals and with other people, probe into the true nature of human being, and thereby benefit from the ethical instructions and moral admonitions. However, there seems to be some inevitable ethical paradoxes in his moral criticism on carnivore behavior and his vegetarian attitude, which we need to consider in earnest.' (Publication abstract)