Islands
The desert island is the literal setting for much of J. M. Coetzee’s novel Foe, but the idea of islands also symbolizes the difficulty of communication. Despite being more social on the island than…
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Friday’s Tongue
Friday, one of the main characters in J. M. Coetzee’s novel Foe, has lost his tongue under mysterious circumstances. In a story so concerned with storytelling and power, Friday’s tongue—or its absence— represents…
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Terraces
Cruso’s terraces, intended to make the desert island something more like an English garden, represent the connection between labor, legacy, and community. For Susan Barton, island life comes with only two goals: to escape…
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