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Issue Details: First known date: 2021... 2021 Amputation in Literature and Film Artificial Limbs, Prosthetic Relations, and the Semiotics of 'Loss'
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Contents

* Contents derived from the New York (City), New York (State),
c
United States of America (USA),
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Americas,
:
Palgrave Macmillan , 2021 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
'Even at This Late Juncture' : Amputation, Old Age, and Paul Rayment’s Prosthetic Family in J.M. Coetzee’s Slow Man, Erik Grayson , single work criticism

'This chapter discusses the gerontological implications of amputation and their influence on self-understanding in J.M. Coetzee’s Slow Man (2005). It considers the ways in which Paul Rayment’s response to the amputation of his leg following a cycling accident highlights the complex entanglements of age, masculinity, and the need for human connection. The chapter argues that Paul’s surgery effectively inaugurates his senescence, thereby casting him suddenly and irrevocably into the margins of Australian society. Emotionally unstrung and keenly aware of his mortality, Paul increasingly associates the loss of his leg with the loss of opportunities to establish a legacy. Ultimately, Coetzee’s novel shows how the acceptance of an altered body can enable the individual to come to terms with broader existential concerns.'

Source: Abstract.

(p. 137-153)
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