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Prompt: Please analyze and express your thoughts on the story of Soul of Truong Ba, the Flesh Seller by Luu Quang Vu
Sample essay: Analyzing and expressing thoughts on the play Soul of Truong Ba, the Flesh Seller
Written Work
During the 1980s, Luu Quang Vu's plays shook the Vietnamese theater scene during the period of renovation. Soul of Truong Ba, the Flesh Seller stands out as his most remarkable play, written in 1981 but not premiered until three years later in 1984. The play is adapted from a folk tale of the same name, through which the author addresses a profound social issue: the relationship between the physical body and the soul; humans cannot live off, cannot rely solely on the lives of others.
Excerpts from the play depict dialogues between the soul and the body, between the soul of Truong Ba and family members, between the soul of Truong Ba and the Supreme Deity; ultimately, the 'death' of the soul of Truong Ba.
The dialogue between the soul of Truong Ba and the flesh body is a lively, philosophically meaningful exchange. This layer of the play consists of 25 lines. The flesh body speaks of 'one 'master', two 'masters',' while the soul of Truong Ba, humiliated enough, retorts: the flesh body acknowledges that despite its 'dark and powerful aura, sometimes it even surpasses your pure soul,' why don't you remember 'When you stood next to my wife, trembling limbs, fiery breath, choked throat...'; or 'Surely you must feel some emotion? Ha ha, the blood jelly dish, the neck jar, the tail cut, and all the other interesting things didn't stir your soul?'
It means that the soul of Truong Ba has deteriorated, degraded. When the soul of Truong Ba proudly claims to have a separate life: 'intact, pure, straightforward,' the flesh body scoffs: 'Ridiculous! When you have to exist through me, obeying my demands, yet still claim to be intact, pure, straightforward!'.
The flesh body shows contempt for the soul of Truong Ba, arrogantly asserting its important role and position. Saying 'I have given you strength,' or 'I am the vessel for the soul.' Saying 'Thanks to me, you can work, plow the fields thanks to my eyes, you perceive this world through my senses...' The flesh body whispers: 'I know very well how to indulge the soul'; 'I know I need to stroke your ego'..., 'we may be two but one!'.
The dialogue between the flesh body and the soul of Truong Ba is a struggle between the body and the soul coexisting within one person. The body and the soul have an organic relationship with each other, both intertwined to live, to exist. The body has its relative independence, its own voice, its ability to influence the soul, as it is the dwelling place of the soul. When the body perishes, the soul also disappears. When the soul 'flies away', the body also returns to dust. Thanks to the soul's struggle, dominance over the mundane desires of the body, the personality is perfected, the soul is enlightened. The statement of the flesh body: 'I am the vessel for the soul' demonstrates the organic relationship between the body and the soul, making the allegorical meaning of the dialogue between the soul of Truong Ba and the flesh body more specific, profound.
Since living through the flesh body, the soul of Truong Ba has deteriorated greatly: slapping his son until his mouth and nose bleed (with the hand, with the strength and cruelty of the flesh body). Truong Ba's soul is different from before, in the garden, it is clumsy: it has 'broken the tender shoot' of the orange tree, 'trampled and crushed the precious ginseng plant just sprouting,' 'snapped the bamboo, torn the paper, ruined the beautiful kite' of little Ti.
Since inhabiting the flesh body, Truong Ba's soul has lived in tragedy, enduring much torment and suffering: his wife wants to leave so he can be 'at ease... with his fleshly wife'; the Gái, his granddaughter, scorns and drives him away: 'You're ugly, wicked! Get out! Old devil, get out!'. His sister-in-law, who sympathizes and pities Truong Ba more than anyone, now in the face of the family's 'ruin,' is extremely fearful, pained, 'seeing... every day seeing gradual changes, gradual losses, everything so crooked, so blurred that sometimes even the child doesn't recognize the teacher anymore...'.
Before the tearful plea of his daughter-in-law, Truong Ba's soul is numb, 'face cold as stone.' Sitting alone, as if awakening, as if stunned: 'You've won, the body is not mine anymore, you've found enough ways to dominate me.' Unable to live dependent on the flesh body forever, unable to be dependent on the flesh body and lose himself, Truong Ba's soul consoles, awakens, encourages himself: 'But why should I submit to you, surrender to you and lose myself? ... Is there really no other way? No need for the life you bring! No need!'. Hesitation is pushed back, dispelled. Truong Ba's awakening may be late but it holds much significance. The path to self-liberation, the soul has seen the light.
The meeting and dialogue between the soul of Truong Ba and the Supreme Deity pushed the dramatic conflict to its climax, its peak. It is necessary to immediately meet the Supreme Deity, Truong Ba's soul 'stands up, resolute but determined, goes to the house pillar, lights incense'. Meeting again with the chess-playing friend in heaven, Truong Ba's soul confesses many restless grievances: 'Mr. Supreme Deity, I cannot continue to inhabit this fleshly body, I cannot!... I cannot be split, outside and inside. I want to be whole.'.
Although informed by the Supreme Deity that the natural order, the way of life is from the Jade Emperor to mortal eyes, who is truly 'whole,' who must 'mold themselves'... Furthermore, he has been 'erased from the roster' by the Southern Deity, his body 'turned to mud' already. But Truong Ba's soul explains, pleads, speaks of his lowly status, living dependent on others' bodies: 'Living off others' belongings, of another's person, is already something not to be done, now here I am also living off this fleshly body. He only thinks simply of giving me life, but how I live, he doesn't care!'. Truong Ba's soul doesn't want to live in the fleshly body anymore, nor does he want to be 'absorbed into little Ti' because of the countless troubles, the irony that will occur, even deeper 'loneliness,' 'despicableness like the greedy ones.' Truly illogical, extremely illogical, because 'a supposed dead man should have died long ago but still lives, still healthy, still shamelessly enjoying all the fortunes of heaven!'. As we have known, those who greedily cling to life, those who covet power and position are all despised and laughed at by their kind!
Although Truong Ba's soul has sometimes deteriorated, it now appears alert, dignified. It only wants the Supreme Deity to perform magic to make the flesh body 'come back to life' with him; it only wants the celestial chess player to perform magic to bring little Ti back to life with her mother, to play with her friends: 'Mr. Supreme Deity, for the sake of the children, please help me one last time'... That desire is very compassionate and noble. The more Truong Ba's soul speaks, the more urgently it pleads: 'I'm already dead, let me die completely!... What needs to be done now is to make Ti come back to life. As for me, just let me die'.
The price of life and death is 'too high, cannot be paid.' Even though death means the end, 'when participating in any joy or sorrow,' living dependent on others is 'more painful than death.' Truong Ba's soul feels bitterly sorry: 'And I'm not the only one suffering! My loved ones will suffer because of me!'. Even if granted life, to enjoy freely, to play chess with the Supreme Deity, but Truong Ba's soul has denied it: 'Even if I continue to live, I don't want to play chess with you anymore!... Nothing is more boring than playing chess with a deity!'
Truong Ba's soul broke the incense given by the Supreme Deity, Truong Ba's soul is determined to jump into the river to commit suicide or stab himself in the neck to die, to let his soul return to peace, as pure as before... Truong Ba's idea is truly noble. His actions reflect a righteous, positive philosophy: one cannot live in another's body, cannot live degraded, cannot live clinging, persisting in life when life has lost all meaning. One cannot live falsely to benefit the 'wretched.' Truong Ba's soul denies his own life, accepts death so that little Ti can live, following the natural order like falling leaves nourishing young shoots, fresh and green. The nobility of Truong Ba's character is immeasurable, so dignified! The lesson about the meaning of life and death, the lesson about morality and character is profoundly and deeply portrayed by the author!
The conclusion of the play Soul of Truong Ba, the Flesh Seller evokes much contemplation for readers, audiences. Truong Ba's soul doesn't follow the Supreme Deity to heaven to play chess, but instead transforms into the green of the garden, the delicious scent of the sugar-apple, still clinging to loved ones, close to the doorstep, in the firelight, by the pond, in the betel garden, the kitchen., of his beloved wife and children. Even though the body returns to dust, Truong Ba's pure soul remains immortal in the world. Such a poetic ending has enriched the moral and cultural values of the work.
