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Waiting for the Barbarians Summary. The main protagonist of the novel is a nameless civil servant, who serves as magistrate to a frontier settlement owned by a nameless empire. The Empire, a vague colonialist regime, sets itself in opposition to the “barbarians,” mysterious nomadic peoples who live in the wild lands bordering the Empire ...
for only $0.70/week. Subscribe. By J. M. Coetzee. Thanks for exploring this SuperSummary Study Guide of “Waiting for the Barbarians” by J. M. Coetzee. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Waiting for the Barbarians Summary. In the opening of Waiting for the Barbarians, the novel’s protagonist, the magistrate, faces Colonel Joll, a sinister official and member of the Empire’s new secret police, the ''Third Bureau.''. Joll and his Third Bureau believe that the barbarians are planning a coordinated attack on the frontier regions.
Summary. Waiting for the Barbarians tells the story of an unnamed magistrate, or judge, living in a remote outpost of the Empire. The magistrate lives a relatively quiet, uneventful life until being visited by Colonel Joll. Joll represents the Empire as he travels from town to town searching for news of the barbarians who live outside the ...
Historical Context of Waiting for the Barbarians. In 1976, five years before Waiting for the Barbarians was published, the Soweto Uprising occurred, marking a turning point in the history of South Africa and the anti-apartheid movement. During the Soweto Uprising, approximately fifteen-to-twenty thousand school children in the South-West ...
Summary. PDF Cite. Waiting for the Barbarians is narrated by a man known only as the Magistrate, who administers an outpost of an unnamed empire. The time and place of the novel’s plot are also ...
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Conclusion. "Waiting for the Barbarians" is a powerful novel that explores themes of power, identity, and the consequences of colonization. Set in an unnamed empire, the story follows the magistrate as he witnesses the brutal tactics employed by the empire to curb the barbarians. Through the magistrate's moral awakening and defiance, the novel ...
