Subjectivity in J.M. Coetzee's Youth: A Zizekian Study

Subject formation is a controversial topic in literature about which the contemporary versatile Slovenian philosopher, Zizek, theorized so much on the ground of its significance and importance. The other pillar of this study is the African Nobel Prize winner, John Maxwell Coetzee who is one of the most celebrated living English language authors. The purpose of this paper is to trace the elements of Zizekian subject in the main characters of Coetzee's Youth. To pave the way for such an analysis, a short background about the main notions are provided. Quotations and conversations are aptly chosen to analyze the main characters process of subject formation. Before going through the analysis, the three orders, imaginary, symbolic and Real are discussed in details. The researchers try to shed light on the process they are undergoing in the new land and whether they afford to be a Zizekian subject or not. So, they interaction with the Big Other through Symbolic order, their reaction toward language and the effect of Real on them are elaborated one by one. The paper concludes that among all the characters, John passes all the long way to become a Zizekian Subject but in the last pages of the novel, he compromises with the society and does not evolve to be a Zizekian subject