Journal Writing

The novella "The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee" is written as if Jacobus himself were taking notes and reflecting on events that have happened to him in the recent past. It is as if he were keeping a journal, recording his thoughts as the actions unfold. This gives the story a strong presence as if the reader had come across a private journal of a settler and was reading the thoughts of a man who had no intention of anyone else ever seeing what he had written. This adds authenticity to the piece, as if Jacobus's story comes unfiltered by any self-conscious feelings or inhibitions. Although his reflections on his actions and those of the people around him are, on the one hand, very haughty, and extremely prejudiced on the other, Jacobus never holds back on sharing them with his journal. He not only exposes his most inner...