Disgrace - Morality of David Lurie
Write an essay in which you explore Lurie’s view of morality. Use examples from the text to support your observations:
Morality according to Wikipedia: “Derived from the Latin word Moralitas which means manner, character, and proper behavior. Moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code. Morality can be synonymous with “goodness” or “rightness”.”
David Lurie has a mixed sense of morality. On one hand, he sleeps with prostitutes in order to fulfill his sexual needs as they are in his view, something that needs to be fulfilled like any other basic human need and it doesn’t matter how or by whom this need is fulfilled. On the other hand, he is a romanticist and turns everything in his life into a novel or a play. He sees women as an object of sexual satisfaction but then he also loves them and sees them in a romantic way. He first used Soraya, then felt like he fell in love with her and started stalking her, by having turned their rendezvous into a romance which never really existed.
He then meets Melanie Isaacs and immediately feels young and energetic and in love. His sexual desire towards her does not seem to be returned and she even tries to avoid him. They do interact sexually but he seems only set on pleasing himself. This is against the university rules and therefore causes him to lose his job. In the eyes of society as well as the University, this is morally wrong and also against the rules of conduct. He does not seem to understand why this relationship is such a taboo. This questions his view of morality. He does not see why there is something wrong with a teacher-student relationship even though everyone including the student council is outraged.
David then also starts stalking Melanie Isaacs. While stalking is not against the law, in a sense this is also a way of forcing himself on the women. He forces himself into their privacy against their will; therefore, it is morally
Morality according to Wikipedia: “Derived from the Latin word Moralitas which means manner, character, and proper behavior. Moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code. Morality can be synonymous with “goodness” or “rightness”.”
David Lurie has a mixed sense of morality. On one hand, he sleeps with prostitutes in order to fulfill his sexual needs as they are in his view, something that needs to be fulfilled like any other basic human need and it doesn’t matter how or by whom this need is fulfilled. On the other hand, he is a romanticist and turns everything in his life into a novel or a play. He sees women as an object of sexual satisfaction but then he also loves them and sees them in a romantic way. He first used Soraya, then felt like he fell in love with her and started stalking her, by having turned their rendezvous into a romance which never really existed.
He then meets Melanie Isaacs and immediately feels young and energetic and in love. His sexual desire towards her does not seem to be returned and she even tries to avoid him. They do interact sexually but he seems only set on pleasing himself. This is against the university rules and therefore causes him to lose his job. In the eyes of society as well as the University, this is morally wrong and also against the rules of conduct. He does not seem to understand why this relationship is such a taboo. This questions his view of morality. He does not see why there is something wrong with a teacher-student relationship even though everyone including the student council is outraged.
David then also starts stalking Melanie Isaacs. While stalking is not against the law, in a sense this is also a way of forcing himself on the women. He forces himself into their privacy against their will; therefore, it is morally