WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS

AUTHOR OF THE POEM

• Written by John Michael Coetzee in 1980.
• Born in Cape Town, South Africa on February 9, 1940.
• The first novelist to win the prestigious Booker Prize x2 and awarded a Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003

WHAT IS THE POEM ABOUT?

• It's about the rulers claiming that their empire is threatened by barbarians.
• In reality, the "barbarians" are actually South African natives who were arrested and abused for their language.
• The magistrate watched in horror as the prisoners were being beaten and humiliated.

THE THIRD BUREAU

• They are a group of soldiers, led by Colonel Joll, who are also a police force of the empire.
• They arrested and tortured the natives for their "barbaric" language.

CIVILIZATION VS BARBARISM

• Civilization: the stage of human social development and organization that is considered the most advanced
• Barbarism: absence of culture and civilization

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE END?

• The natives were no longer heard from the people living in the empire.
• The snow began to fall for the first time.
• The magistrate knew how shameful it is to be mistreated based on their culture being different

REVIEW

• What is the poem about?
• Where was J. M. Coetzee born and what year?
• What is the difference between civilization and barbarianism?
• Who is the leader of The Third Bureau?
• Why are the natives being punished? What happened to them in the end when the snow began to fall for the first time?