Buzz
1. The allure of the xà nu tree in the short story Forest of Xà Nu, model 1:
Years of activity in the Central Highlands have endowed Nguyen Ngoc - Nguyen Trung Thanh with profound understanding of this land. Reading his writings from The Rising Country to Rugged Heights to Forest of Xà Nu, one feels that he is a true son of the Tây Nguyên mountains and forests. In The Rising Country, he chose the hero Núp and the Kông Hoa village as the focal point, while in Forest of Xà Nu, he pinpointed a specific location: the Xô man village - the land of the xà nu trees as the backdrop. The xà nu trees and the Xô man villagers are inseparably connected. People of Xô man are born under the shade of xà nu, grow up, work, and even pass away under the familiar canopy of this tree. The xà nu tree in Nguyen Trung Thanh's short story is indeed the symbol of the Xô man people.
If we were to count thoroughly, the image of Xà Nu and its variations appears no less than twenty times in this story. With such frequency, this imagery has deeply permeated the narrative, intertwining with the lives of the characters. However, merely stopping there does not elevate the xà nu tree to the status of a symbol. To transform an image into a symbol, a writer needs to describe it in an allegorical manner. Nguyen Trung Thanh has accomplished this task perfectly.
Nguyen Trung Thanh extensively employed personification, portraying the xà nu tree as a human-like entity. Here, we see 'the figures of Xà Nu,' 'the resin of Xà Nu like large blood clots,' and 'the Xà Nu forest stretching its chest to protect the village'... Through this technique, the Xà Nu forest emerges as a character in the story. This writing style is not entirely novel, but what stands out is how Nguyen Trung Thanh turned the Xà Nu forest into a system of images, depicted alongside the system of character imagery. The Xà Nu forest appears with three main categories of trees: the old trees, the young trees, and the saplings. They reveal scenes and fates corresponding to human experiences: some trees bear scars on their bodies, some are full of wounds, yet no bomb can make them fall, and there are young trees emerging with sharp tips like daggers. The three tiers of Xà Nu trees, three types of Xà Nu identities, correspond to the three generations of Xô Man people depicted in the story. Firstly, there is the generation of the elderly, represented by Granny Mết. Granny Mết epitomizes the resilience and toughness of the older generation, just like the indomitable spirit of the Central Highlands. Next is the youth generation, exemplified by Tnú, Mai, and Dít. They are robust, carrying the powerful vitality of the village within them. Their youth is being tested, tempered, and strengthened in the struggles and bombings. Yet, they remain steadfast like the xà nu trees, like eagles with fully grown feathers, soaring straight into the sky. Lastly, there is the teenage generation, like the boy Heng. These children are born tough, resilient, molding themselves in the image of their forefathers' generation. The three generations of Xô Man people are depicted naturally, forming a collective image, a cohesive and enduring block from ancient times to the present. Just as in Forest of Xà Nu, where one sees the eternal vitality of Xà Nu, with its resin passed down intact from the ancient trees to the saplings, in the Xô Man people, one also sees the Tây Nguyên bloodline passed down intact from the chests of the older generations to the hearts of the younger generations. It helps Nguyen Trung Thanh affirm a truth: the vitality of the Central Highlands is indestructible. And that truth has become the philosophy of this story. Nguyen Trung Thanh conveyed this through the words of Granny Mết. Yes, only Granny Mết, only that ancient xà nu tree, has the authority to speak for the strength of Xà Nu: 'No tree is as powerful as the xà nu tree in our land. The mother tree falls, and the offspring grows. Challenge it to kill this Xà Nu forest completely.' And when the Xô Man people took up arms to rebel, Nguyen Trung Thanh described it as the anger of the ancient forest, the uprising of the Xà Nu branches: 'Throughout the night, the entire Xô Man forest echoed with tumult. And the fire spread throughout the forest...'.
The plot of the Xa Nu Forest is intricately woven around two intertwined stories: the life of Tnu and the uprising of the Xo Man villagers. Notably, the author successfully crafted a number of character representations for successive generations of Xo Man villagers in the fight against the enemy: from Grandpa Met to Tnu, Mai, Dit, Heng... The majestic nature of the Central Highlands converges in the image of the xa nu forest, the xa nu tree portraying the distinctive beauty and vitality of this land and its people.
Choosing the Xa Nu forest as the backdrop for the story, the author has created a very Central Highlands atmosphere, where the similarities between the trees and the people are strangely fascinating. According to the author, xa nu is a majestic and noble tree, both wild and pure... elegant yet robust... as if it has lived for a thousand generations and will live for a thousand more.
Indeed! The xa nu tree is intimately linked to the material and spiritual life of the Xo Man villagers. As the narrative unfolds, the xa nu tree not only becomes a symbol of their lives but also a symbolic representation of the noble qualities of the Central Highlands people.
At the beginning of the work, readers are drawn into the scene of the Xa Nu forest, relentlessly devastated by the bombs of the enemy but still brimming with life. With meticulous observation, delicate perception, and a talented pen, Nguyen Trung Thanh has penned beautiful and unusual sentences that deeply impress the reader:
The village lies within the artillery range of the enemy outpost. They fire, as routine, twice a day, either in the early morning and late afternoon, or under the shadow of dusk and pitch-black night, or at midnight with the rooster's crow... Most artillery shells land on the xa nu hill near the large river: The entire xa nu forest, tens of thousands of trees, bears the scars of war. Some trees are severed in half, crashing down like a storm. At the wounded spots, resin oozes out, overflowing, fragrant and intoxicating, shimmering in the harsh summer sun, then gradually darkening, turning into large clots of congealed blood.
In the forest, few trees sprout and thrive as vigorously. Next to a fallen xa nu tree, four years have seen new saplings emerge, their tips green and sharp as arrows shooting straight into the sky. There are also few trees so eager for sunlight. They shoot up rapidly to capture the light, the sunlight in the forest streaming down in large, straight beams, sparkling with countless golden dust particles from the tree resin, fragrant and oily. Some young trees, just reaching chest height, are cut in half by artillery. In those trees, the resin is still clear, the oil is still thin, the wounds don't heal, continuously festering, and in ten days or a month, the trees die. But there are also trees that rise above head height, branches and leaves spreading like well-feathered birds. Artillery shells can't kill them; their wounds heal quickly, like scars on a robust body. They grow rapidly, replacing the fallen trees... For the past two or three years, the xa nu forest has extended its broad chest, providing shelter for the village...
Standing on that xa nu hill, looking into the distance, nothing can be seen beyond the successive xa nu hills to the horizon.
These emotionally charged sentences, filled with love and admiration, not only create a fascinating flavor of the Central Highlands but also give readers the feeling of being mesmerized, as if witnessing the beauty of nature firsthand. The author expresses his deep, passionate love for the xa nu tree, the xa nu forest, a symbol of the resilient and tenacious people of the Central Highlands. This sincere love brings a vivid soul to the landscape, and the author's skill in describing the mystical xa nu forest has produced a particularly artistic effect. The xa nu forest stands out as a solid block, with its own color, flavor, and unique light, creating unexpected and interesting associations. This is a part of the life of the Central Highlands, symbolizing the generations of resilient and indomitable Central Highlands people who have existed and thrived on this land for generations.
In the opening sentences of the short story Xa Nu Forest, the author intentionally constructs a stark contrast: Life confronting death, survival standing before the threat of annihilation. Thus, the xa nu forest embodies both Beauty and the symbol of resilience in the face of challenges and pain. The xa nu forest, with its myriad trees, bears the scars of war; each xa nu tree tells a different tale of agony caused by American bombs. The author observes meticulously, vividly describing the scenes with a mix of poignant emotions and pride: Some trees are severed in half, crashing down like a storm. At the wounded spots, resin oozes out, overflowing, fragrant and intoxicating, shimmering in the harsh summer sun, then gradually darkening, turning into large clots of congealed blood... Some young trees, just reaching chest height, are cut in half by artillery. In those trees, the resin is still clear, the oil is still thin, the wounds don't heal, continuously festering, and in ten days or a month, the trees die. But there are also trees that rise above head height, branches and leaves spreading like well-feathered birds. The wounds of these trees heal quickly, like scars on a robust body. Thus, the image of the xa nu forest reflects the pain endured by the ethnic minorities of the Central Highlands in the relentless struggle against invaders.
However, when depicting the heavily devastated xa nu forest, the author's inspiration is not one of pain. The enemy's artillery shells may ravage the xa nu forest, but they cannot destroy life. Life always prevails over death: Few trees sprout and thrive as vigorously. Next to a fallen xa nu tree, four years have seen new saplings emerge, their tips green and sharp as arrows shooting straight into the sky. There are also few trees so eager for sunlight. They shoot up rapidly to capture the light... Thus, the generations of xa nu trees are like evergreen melodies, resonating boundlessly in the reader's soul. Nguyen Trung Thanh's pen earnestly praises the beauty of nature and the indomitable spirit of life. This is the essence that deeply permeates this short story.
The author thoroughly exploits the power of personification to describe the xa nu forest. The xa nu tree is portrayed like a human being. The image of the xa nu forest extending its broad chest, providing shelter for the village, conveys an allegory of the Central Highlands' nature as a gentle mother protecting brave and resilient fighters defending their homeland and country.
The Xa Nu forest is not only a symbol of the unwavering spirit of the Xo Man villagers but also carries a much broader significance. As in the past, the author, from the struggles of the Kong Hoa village against the French, generalizes the nation's uprising. Therefore, the xa nu forest is a symbol not only of the resilient and heroic qualities of the Central Highlands people and the people of the South but also represents the entire Vietnamese nation. It symbolizes the heroic struggle against imperialist and colonial invaders.
To transform the xa nu forest into an artistic symbol, Nguyen Trung Thanh twice mentions the image of the xa nu tree. The story begins and ends with the image of the xa nu forest: Standing on the xa nu hill near the large river, looking as far as the eye can see, nothing else is visible beyond the successive xa nu hills running to the horizon. The structural closure and openness give readers the impression that the short story Xa Nu Forest is a chapter in an endless epic about the land of the Central Highlands. The indomitable strength of the people is not only expressed in the Xo Man village but also extends to the ethnic minorities of the Central Highlands and the Vietnamese people as a whole.
Notably, author Nguyen Trung Thanh has constructed the xa nu forest as an artistic symbol parallel to the typical character images.
The familiar xa nu forest has become a symbol of a life full of pain yet resilient and indomitable. From a symbol of nature, the xa nu forest expands into a symbol of human life. The xa nu tree is present in the daily life of the Xo Man villagers for generations: The xa nu flame blazes in every household's kitchen, in the large fire in the community house, the gathering place for the villagers; xa nu resin brightly burns on the torch in the middle of the night, xa nu smoke darkens the board for Mr. Quyet to teach Tnu and Mai to read... The xa nu tree also participates in the significant events of the village: xa nu torches shining in the hands of Grandpa Met and the villagers at night, heading into the forest with spears preparing for the uprising. Night after night, the villagers sharpen their weapons under the xa nu torchlight. The enemy burns Tnu's ten fingers with xa nu oil-soaked straw. The xa nu fire clearly illuminates the bodies of dead soldiers around the large fire in the village...
Reading Xa Nu Forest, the reader thinks of the strong bond between the generations of xa nu trees and the Xo Man villagers. Like the xa nu forest, a fallen tree has new saplings rising to take its place. Anh Quyet sacrificed, and Tnu took his place. Sister Mai fell, and Dit continued her sister's work. When Tnu was captured and brutally tortured by the enemy, Grandpa Met called on all the young men in the village, each with a shining machete, to attack the enemy... After Tnu joined the Liberation Army for a few years, young Heng grew up quickly to replace him as the liaison for the revolutionary cadres. The Xo Man villagers, like the xa nu forest, continue to live under the enemy's bombardment... nothing is stronger, a mother tree falls, and a sapling rises, challenging the destruction of this xa nu forest.
