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Analyzing the following poetic passage within the narrative of Homeland (excerpt from the epic poem Street of Aspiration by Nguyễn Khoa Điềm): 'As we grow up, Homeland has always been there... Homeland has existed since then...'
Sample essay Analyzing the following poetic passage within the narrative of Homeland by Nguyễn Khoa Điềm: 'As we grow up, Homeland has always been there... Homeland has existed since then...'
Essay: Analyzing a Poetic Passage in the Extract Homeland
Growing up within the warmth of our family home, amidst the enduring bond of our parents, we come to understand the profound significance of the folk saying, 'hot ginger and salty salt, let’s not part' as a precious admonition, laden with meaning. Poet Nguyễn Khoa Điềm seeks a fresh perspective on the homeland, a subject long explored, an image familiar within the first nine verses of the epic:
As we grow up, Homeland has already existed
Homeland resides in the tales of 'days of yore' our mothers often recount
Homeland began with the betel chewed by grandmothers
Homeland flourished as our people learned to plant bamboo and repel invaders
Mother's hair combed behind her head
Parents show affection with hot ginger and salty salt
The embankment, the pillar bear their names
Rice grains must endure the sun's scorch and the dew's mist, grinding, winnowing, sifting
Homeland has been since then...
To comprehend the Homeland, but 'as we grow up, homeland already exists': the verse asserts the homeland's existence since time immemorial, as we often claim 4000 years of history. The verse also affirms the homeland's endurance through countless ups and downs, numerous battles against foreign invaders, internal strife to safeguard the homeland. Yet, the verse also reflects the poet's perplexity in understanding the homeland when it has existed for so long, when it's distant from us, when it has been 'since days of yore': a phrase so familiar, so endearing because who among us has not been immersed in the fairy tales our mothers often recount? The stories told, the lullabies of mothers bring us back to our beloved homeland.
'Homeland begins with the betel chewed by grandma now', a verse by Nguyễn Khoa Điềm evokes memories of the touching tale 'The Legend of Betel and Areca' told by mother, emphasizing the intimate family bond, harmoniously intertwined like the sacred red blood. This forms the foundation for building a family, or perhaps, it is the initial lesson about the homeland. The ordinary betel chew grandma consumes daily suddenly becomes sacred, vaguely reminiscent of the homeland through the familiar custom of betel chewing.
The image of bamboo in the verse 'Homeland flourished as our people learned to plant bamboo and repel invaders' recalls the story of 'The Legend of Thánh Gióng' where a 3-year-old boy becomes a warrior, uprooting bamboo to fight off enemies, safeguarding the land. The gentle bamboo we see daily in our villages provides us with tools and shade, yet bamboo was once a weapon along the path our ancestors fought to preserve this land for us, their descendants. The indomitable struggle of our forebears, even without equivalent weapons, left us a lesson: for the homeland to thrive, our people must learn to plant bamboo as a preparation for wielding weapons against invaders. This invaluable historical lesson is remembered and applied in the fierce resistance against the American invaders, using 'bamboo sticks, bamboo stakes against enemy steel. Bamboo charges into tanks, artillery. Bamboo protects villages, protects the country, protects makeshift shelters, protects ripe rice fields' (New Steel)
Every nation has its own customs and traditions, and so does our Vietnamese people. The image of 'mother's hair combed behind her head' speaks of a beauty of Vietnamese customs preserved from ancient times till now, despite the years of foreign domination and assimilation. This nation still retains its unique customs.
Growing up within the warmth of our family home, amidst the enduring bond of our parents, we come to understand the profound significance of the folk saying, 'hot ginger and salty salt, let’s not part' as a precious admonition, laden with meaning. For Nguyễn Khoa Điềm, 'parents show affection with hot ginger and salty salt' to ensure their children experience complete happiness, imparting another aspect of our national morality: unwavering loyalty and affection.
