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Topic: Analyzing Nguyễn Ái Quốc's Short Story Vi hành
Exemplary essay analyzing Nguyễn Ái Quốc's short story Vi hành, carefully selected
Assignment
Nguyễn Aí Quốc, also known as Hồ Chí Minh, the beloved leader of the nation, who enlightened the revolutionary cause of the people, gave birth to the democratic republic of Vietnam. Besides his great revolutionary career, Hồ Chí Minh was also an outstanding poet and writer of Vietnamese literature, with a large number of valuable works. Vi hành is a typical short story showcasing Nguyễn Aí Quốc's modern prose style and satirical artistry in the early 20th century, when he was still active in France.
Vi hành is a scathing short story about the humiliating journey of King Khải Định when he traveled to France to watch a circus performance, under the guidance of his 'motherland' figure, while Khải Định himself was arrogant and presumptuous, thinking it was a glorious and honorable journey when in fact, nobody in France could even remember his face. The title Vi hành was given when it was published in Vietnam, while the original title given by Nguyễn Aí Quốc in French means 'secret, unknown,' which is a deep sarcasm aimed at the blind and ridiculous king.
In 1923, when Khải Định's journey became a threat to activists in France, Uncle Ho quickly completed the work Vi hành to confront the traitorous Khải Định and his followers who considered themselves 'enlightened.' The work had a powerful impact, like a fatal blow to Khải Định and the colonialists who were trying to turn our country into their colony.
The story unfolds with the bizarre conversation of two French guests in the subway, mistakenly mistaking me for someone else (the character 'I'). It seems in the eyes of white and yellow people, everyone looks alike, unable to distinguish between royalty and commoners. Although speculating this may be the king of Annam, these guests boldly express their opinions in English without considering the feelings of the main character, probably looking down on Khải Định without even understanding a word of English. Indeed, if it were Khải Định, he probably wouldn't even realize he's being discussed like a monkey in a zoo, but unfortunately for him, the guest 'I' understands English very well, sitting and listening to their comments about Khải Định, while also understanding a lot. In the scrutinizing gaze of those curious and sinister eyes, Khải Định appears with a rather unimpressive appearance: yellowish skin like a lemon, flat nose, squinting eyes, head resembling a lampshade, hands adorned with rings, resembling the style of newly rich showing off their wealth, yet also timid, sneaky like a street thief. And truly, if one were to believe the comments of this French couple, Khải Định hardly looks like a king on a journey, appearing more as a weak and feeble character who enjoys revelry. From the seemingly negative yet objective remarks of the French couple, the true nature of a king like Khải Định emerges vividly: pretentious, ridiculous, and humorous; in reality, he is merely a puppet of no value, supposed to be a king but lacking any dignity, even looked down upon. However, Khải Định is not aware of this. How can such a king manage an entire country with such feeble demeanor?
From the ludicrous 'journey' of King Khải Định, the author cleverly compares it with the travels of some famous kings in foreign history. There was King Thuấn of China disguised as a peasant to hear the opinions of the people, and King Pi-e of Russia working as a laborer in English construction sites to understand more about the lives of his people. But in Khải Định's case, what do we see? A king who uses the excuse of a 'journey' to satisfy his pleasure-seeking desires; if one is on a journey, one must be discreet and as normal as possible, but not Khải Định, who does the exact opposite, flaunting and ridiculous. Particularly, Khải Định's 'journey' brings no significant benefit to the people of Annam, merely satisfying his own desires. So one must ask, does Khải Định deserve the role of a venerable king?
Even more humorously, the scene where the French people receive Khải Định (actually the character 'I') is portrayed. He receives no respect from the place he considers his 'motherland'; what he receives are only scrutinizing gazes and gestures like 'There he is,' 'Look at him there.' One can imagine thousands of eyes looking at Khải Định as if he were a monkey or a clown performing in France. And what's even more amusing (according to the character 'I'), even the French government cannot recognize who their 'distinguished' guest is, and the character 'I' continues to impersonate Khải Định for a while longer. They send a retinue to serve, which according to the character 'I', is no different from a kind mother looking after her naive child. But that's not the case, in reality, the French colonialists see Khải Định as a semi-imprisoned prisoner, thinking they are very grand and respected, but in reality, they are just a laughable puppet, manipulated by the 'motherland' without even realizing it.
With a tone of biting sarcasm, yet equally humorous, Nguyễn Aí Quốc evokes many interesting thoughts about the blind king Khải Định. The creatively fabricated situations full of charm and surprise, along with the character 'I''s sometimes clumsy yet natural language, bring unique highlights to the work. The work is a heavy criticism of King Khải Định, while also exposing the hypocritical nature of the French colonialists and their schemes of invasion.
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Thus, we have collectively explored the sample analysis of Vi Hành by Nguyễn Ái Quốc. Next, to delve deeper into the content and distinctive artistic features of the work, you can refer to the analysis of the artistic features demonstrated in the short story Vi Hành by Nguyễn Ái Quốc, or even the sections on composing Vi Hành, Nguyễn Ái Quốc, to apply to your literature learning and writing process in class.
