LANGUAGE BEYOND MEANING: NARRATIVE SIMPLICITY AND PHILOSOPHICAL OPACITY IN COETZEE’S JESUS TRILOGY

Abstract

This article examines narrative simplicity and philosophical opacity in the Jesus trilogy of J.
M. Coetzee—The Childhood of Jesus, The Schooldays of Jesus, and The Death of Jesus.
While the trilogy has often been interpreted allegorically or theologically, this study
foregrounds its linguistic design, arguing that simplicity operates as a deliberate rhetorical
strategy rather than stylistic reduction. Through close stylistic analysis of syntactic plainness,
limited lexical elaboration, dialogic minimalism, and controlled focalization, the paper
demonstrates how Coetzee constructs a narrative surface that appears transparent yet
generates profound philosophical uncertainty.