To Speak or Not to Speak: An Encounter with J. M. Coetzee's Foe

Abstract

For critics and authors, there has always been a tension between silence and voicing experience. My concern, as both author and critic is: What does it mean to speak or to be, not remain, silent; what are the consequences of voicing experience or choosing, rather than being forced, to be quiet? Through J. M. Coetzee’s Foe (1988), I hope to interrogate the tension between silence and voice and discover why, sometimes, silence is appealing.