The Word and the State

Hadley Ajana

Abstract

J.M Coetzee’s Waiting for the Barbarians has been widely interpreted as a political allegory about the use of torture in a security state. This interpretation, though valid, limits the story’s significance. The novel has a broader theme that transcends apartheid and European colonization of Africa in the twentieth century. Coetzee broadcasts a universal message: when words are divorced from truth, the law will not serve justice. This insight applies to contemporary America’s War on Terror.