An-Najah Staff

The present study examines the unique treatment of native history in J. M. coetzee’s novel Foe. The novel questions the status of both speech and writing as the only means of telling history in the European tradition. By having two European characters reveal their perception of the truth of the silent Friday as they try to teach him to speak and then to write, Coetzee has succeeded to demonstrate that both phono- and logo-centrism fail to encompass the life and stories of ex-colonial subjects like Friday. If, in the case of Friday, we cannot totally trust written books nor can we solely rely on spoken language, then an alternative means of narration must be found. Signs will speak for the speechless and carry their stories to the world.