Analyzing the character Red Hair Spring in the excerpt Happiness of a Funeral

Prompt: Analyzing the character Red Hair Spring in the excerpt Happiness of a Funeral

Analyzing the character Red Hair Spring in the excerpt Happiness of a Funeral
 

I. Outline: Analyzing the character Red Hair Spring in the excerpt Happiness of a Funeral (Standard)

- Vu Trong Phung is Vietnam's realist writer, standing amidst the streets to explore the hidden corners of the urban, thereby creating realistic novels, works of great value, deeply criticizing the corrupt, decadent colonial society.
- One of the representatives of the upper class, deceitful and duplicitous, emblematic of the crystallization, the product of the society at that time is the character Red Hair Spring in the novel Red Numbers, briefly appearing in the excerpt Happiness of a Funeral.

2. Body of the Essay

* Author, Work:
- Vu Trong Phung (1912-1939), orphaned at a young age, struggled with various jobs to make a living before embarking on the path of writing. His literature is a scathing critique of a convoluted society with those bearing noble titles, the upper class, yet fundamentally individuals with corrupt lifestyles and souls.
- Works: Red Numbers, Storm, Broken Levee, Teacher's Rice, Western-Style Technique,...
- The excerpt Happiness of a Funeral is found in Chapter XV of the novel Red Numbers, depicting the 'upper class' funeral of the late patriarch, inadvertently incited to anger by Xuân...(Continued)

>> See detailed Outline: Analyzing the character Red Hair Spring in the excerpt Happiness of a Funeral here

II. Sample Essay: Analyzing the character Red Hair Spring in the excerpt Happiness of a Funeral (Standard)

Within the realm of realistic literature from 1930 to 1945, realistic writers always had a mindset that 'for them, novels should just be novels, but for us and those who share our views, novels must be life itself.' One of the proponents of this view is the writer Vu Trong Phung. While Nam Cao delved into the Vietnamese countryside, delving deep into the plight of the people to explore reality and embrace the echoes of life, Vu Trong Phung stood amidst the urban landscape, uncovering its hidden corners, thereby creating realistic novels, works of great value, deeply criticizing the corrupt, decadent colonial society. Red Numbers stands as one of the most famous works of Vu Trong Phung, with its pinnacle of extravagance and madness perhaps encapsulated in the excerpt Happiness of a Funeral. In this excerpt, the main character of the novel, Red-Haired Spring, only briefly appears, yet one can still perceive and feel his deceitful and duplicitous nature.

Vu Trong Phung (1912-1939), orphaned at a young age, struggled with various jobs to make a living before venturing into the path of writing. His literature serves as a scathing critique of a convoluted society with those bearing noble titles, the upper class, yet fundamentally individuals with corrupt lifestyles and souls. Notable works include the novels Red Numbers, Storm, Broken Levee,... alongside journalistic pieces like Teacher's Rice, Western-Style Technique. 'Red Numbers' was first published in the Hanoi newspaper from issue 40 and printed as a book in 1938, detailing the life of Xuân, also known as Red-Haired Spring, in his 'struggles' within the upper class society. The excerpt Happiness of a Funeral is found in Chapter XV, depicting the 'upper class' funeral of the late patriarch, inadvertently incited to anger by Xuân.

Xuân also led a life full of twists and turns. He was orphaned at a young age, lived with relatives, but was soon ostracized due to his deceitful nature, disliked by those who didn't appreciate a child with cunning, only interested in theft. Thus, Xuân had to fend for himself, engaging in various jobs amidst the bustling streets of Hanoi, half Westernized, half Vietnamese. For survival, Xuân, with his red hair, resorted to stealing fruits like mangoes and sapodillas along the streets of Hanoi, something that even the police, supposedly the guardians of order, despised. Reading Tô Hoài's Old Stories of Hanoi reveals the hardship and misfortune of children like Xuân. Xuân was fortunate enough to survive, transitioning from stealing fruits to selling drugs, with persuasive advertisements that seemed to promise resurrection to the dead. He lived a vagabond life, wandering across Hanoi, encountering all sorts of filth and corruption, gradually becoming morally degraded, a bona fide rogue. Unlike Chí Phèo, who was originally honest but became a rogue due to societal rejection and injustice, Xuân's rogue behavior stemmed from his inherently cunning nature combined with the hardships of life, leading him down a path of roguery. Xuân's roguery wasn't characterized by violence or bloodshed but rather originated from his soul, from his words and actions. He was quick to tease, flirt with the juice vendor, the dressmaker. Profanity flowed from his mouth as if it were a habit, a means of emotional release. It can be said that the darkness, the depravity in the feudal society - half colonial, half native, seemed to be crystallized in a person like Red-Haired Xuân, uneducated, cunning, deceitful, sly, accustomed to deception and fond of vanity. Like Chí Phèo, Xuân's tragedy also lies in his transformation into a rogue. However, this character knew how to capitalize on his roguery as a stepping stone, paving his way to 'enlightenment.' Perhaps Red-Haired Xuân lived a luckier life in the city, and perhaps Red-Haired Xuân was luckier.

In addition to the character Xuân with red hair, to fully grasp the essence of deceit and moral decline depicted in the excerpt 'The Happiness of a Funeral', you may also refer to: Analysis of the astute satire art of Vũ Trọng Phụng through the excerpt The Happiness of a Funeral, The mocking laughter in The Happiness of a Funeral, Analysis of the real value and the accusatory value of The Happiness of a Funeral, Reflections on the cries of the horned Judge in The Happiness of a Funeral.