What is a main idea that Coetzee’s novel creates about identity? What does the novel Waiting for the Barbarians say about people, groups or societies and history? What does the novel say about power? Who are the “barbarians”? Who are the most barbaric people? How is the narrative called history created? How is knowledge created and remembered? What effects are created by having a written language? How are groups or societies defined and how are “outsiders” defined? How does fear shape the behavior of individuals and of societies? You could consider moral dilemmas. You could include also the concepts of justice and/or redemption.
