Analyzing the Character of Mr. Six in 'The Ivory Comb'

Prompt: Analyzing the Character of Mr. Six in 'The Ivory Comb'

Sample essay analyzing the character Mr. Six in 'The Ivory Comb': concise and comprehensible

I. Outline for Analyzing the Character Mr. Six in 'The Ivory Comb' (Standard)

1. Introduction:
- Introduction of the work, character Mr. Six.

2. Body:

a. Character's Circumstances:
- Engaged in resistance since infancy.
- Separated for 7, 8 years without being able to visit the child. When finally able to visit, the child does not recognize the father.

b. Profound Parental Love and Tragic Rejection:
- Eagerly awaits to meet the child.
- Overwhelmed with emotion and longing for the child, voice trembling with a scarlet scar pulsating with each surge of emotion.
- Child's reaction: 'startled wide-eyed look', 'bewildered, strange', blushes, runs away screaming in fear 'Mom! Mom!'.
→ It causes him constant pain, bitterness, 'his face darkened, his hands dropped as if broken', helpless, disappointed as a father rejected harshly, in agony.

- During leaves, he always tries to be close to the child 'all day long he didn't go far, just stayed by her side comforting her':
+ The child stubbornly refuses to acknowledge Mr. Six as her father, rejecting all of Mr. Six's caring actions.
+ Throws the fish eggs in the bowl when Mr. Six offers them.
- Regret, remorse for hitting the child in a fit of anger.

c. Enduring Tragedy and Lifelong Regret:
- On the day of departure back to base, he only looks silently at the child 'with eyes full of affection and sorrow' and bids farewell 'Okay, listen to your father!'.
- The word 'Dad...d...d...dad!' as if tearing through space, piercing into everyone's heart, the child runs to him and throws herself into Mr. Six's arms, clinging tightly to his neck, crying 'Dad! Don't leave anymore! Stay home with me!'.
=> Happiness smiles upon Mr. Six, wiping away tears and kissing the child's head with utmost reverence and love.
- It turns out, after learning the origin of the scar on Mr. Six's face was from being injured in combat, Thu understood, returned to accept her father.
- On the battlefield, Mr. Six made the ivory comb with all the love, longing for his child.
- Before sacrificing himself, he asked a fellow soldier to give Thu the comb.

3. Conclusion:

Express your feelings about the work and the character Mr. Six.

II. Sample Essay Analyzing the Character Mr. Six in 'The Ivory Comb' (Standard)

Analyzing the character Mr. Six in the short story 'The Ivory Comb' by Nguyễn Quang Sáng

The short story 'The Ivory Comb' by Nguyễn Quang Sáng is an outstanding piece that delves into the family emotions during war. Through the character Mr. Six, the author not only portrays the harshness and sorrows of war but also evokes tender feelings about family in everyone's heart through the touching story of Mr. Six and Thu.

Among the myriad of works addressing war themes, 'The Ivory Comb' by Nguyễn Quang Sáng stands out as one of the most exemplary. It delves into the sufferings and unhappiness that humans endure in war, a topic that many authors, especially young ones post-revolution, are interested in.

Mr. Six joined the resistance when his eldest daughter, Thu, was barely a year old. He was away for 7, 8 years, unable to visit his beloved child, leading to a series of tragedies in his harsh life as a soldier.

When finally able to visit home and see his child after years of separation, everything turned out differently than expected. The strangeness and coldness of Thu were something Mr. Six couldn't have imagined. The moment he eagerly awaited didn't happen. When he leaped ashore and approached the child, calling 'Thu, my child!', it only made the child 'startled wide-eyed look', 'bewildered, strange'. There was no scene of the child rushing into his arms as he had imagined. But overwhelmed with emotion and longing for his child, Mr. Six didn't notice that difference. He continued to approach, calling Thu with a trembling voice and a face with a scarlet scar pulsating with each surge of emotion 'Dad's here, my child!'

Facing that scene, Thu suddenly turned pale, running away while screaming in fear, 'Mom! Mom!' This scene struck a powerful blow to the heart filled with love of Mr. Six, leaving him in endless pain and bitterness. His face darkened, his hands dropped as if broken, a feeling of helplessness, disappointment to the extreme of a father who had devoted all his love to his child but was rudely rejected, causing immense pain. The soldier standing in front of bombs and bullets without ever being discouraged, frightened, but facing the family tragedy, the tragedy of paternal affection, became weak and pitiful, making people feel heartbroken and compassionate.

However, Mr. Six's tragedy didn't stop there; it continued throughout the short, fleeting three-day leave, tormenting the poor soldier's heart. Despite Thu's refusal to acknowledge him as her father, out of deep love for his child, he always tried everything to get close to his little child, 'all day long, he didn't go far, just stayed beside and cared for the child.' But the more he cared, the more he tried to approach, the more Thu pushed him away. He only hoped for a single 'dad' from Thu, but she never uttered it once, always trying to resist. To avoid calling Mr. Six 'dad', when forced by her mother to call him for dinner, Thu even blurted out, 'Don't want to eat!' Mr. Six pretended not to hear, waiting for Thu to call 'dad', but instead, Thu changed her way of calling to 'Dinner is ready'.

Faced with the stubbornness and somewhat unruliness of his child, Mr. Six didn't get angry but only 'looked at his child and gently shook his head and smiled.' He smiled, but his heart was in extreme pain, a feeling of choking, unable to cry, so he had to laugh, laugh at the strange tragedy of his life, the tragedy of a child not recognizing his father, laugh at the pitiful longing for the word 'dad'. But that didn't make Mr. Six angry; that didn't make him stop trying to get close to his child. He still patiently hoped for Thu to change and respond to his affection during the short, fleeting three-day leave.

In the rare meal with the whole family present after years of separation, Mr. Six tried to show concern for Thu by serving her fish eggs. But the child used chopsticks to push them away, spilling rice all over the table. Perhaps the child's inadvertence and obstinacy made Mr. Six unable to control himself and hit her on the buttocks, 'Why are you so stubborn?' But who knows, behind that action is the pain, the resentment of a father, a man struggling in the tragedy of his life. Thu feels one pain, but perhaps Mr. Six feels ten; that pain doesn't lie in the flesh but twists into the heart already wounded by many injuries.

Thus, even a warm family dinner was beyond Mr. Six's reach. His leave days came to an end, and he had to immerse himself in the war without knowing when he could return, or if he would ever return. The more he thought, the more he pitied the fate of a soldier.

As he prepared to return to base, having bid farewell to all his loved ones, Mr. Six looked back at his child. Despite recalling the child's distance and rejection, he suppressed the desire to embrace her before leaving. Instead, he silently looked at her 'with eyes full of affection and sadness,' bidding farewell, 'I'm leaving now, my child!' Perhaps he didn't expect any response from her. He thought the child would remain aloof, as she did when he returned. But suddenly, a heartbreaking cry of 'Dad...d...dad!' pierced through the air, into everyone's hearts, sounding truly pitiful. The child ran to Mr. Six, throwing herself into his arms, tightly holding onto him, crying, 'Dad! Don't leave, Dad! Stay home with me!' What greater happiness than this moment, with sacred paternal love enveloping the small house. Mr. Six was overjoyed, tears of emotion streaming down, wiping them away, then kissing the child's head with great respect and affection. It turned out that Thu didn't recognize her father because of the hideous scar on his face, far from the picture her mother showed her. When she found out the origin of the scar from fighting, she returned to acknowledge her father.

But once again tragedy struck, short-lived happiness fading away. At the moment of reunion, Mr. Six had to depart, and this departure was permanent, the last time Thu saw her father. Mr. Six left with the promise of making Thu an ivory comb, and a heart-wrenching torment forever in his heart. He regretted deeply why he had hit his child that day. Both longing and regret made him craft the comb with even more meticulousness and caution, as if every tooth, every cut was soaked in his love for his child. But sadly, he could never return as he promised, 'Dad's gone, dad's coming back to you,' nor could he personally hand the cherished comb to his beloved daughter.

It can be said that Mr. Six's entire life was destroyed by the war, bringing him a family tragedy with deep wounds. It not only left horrifying scars on his body, took his life, but also robbed him of moments of warmth with his family, severed parent-child, husband-wife relationships, leaving him with extreme agony. Compared to what he lost, what Mr. Six received back was only a few fleeting moments with his wife and child, along with the relentless longing, remorse until the moment of sacrifice.