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Topic: Analyzing the realistic value of Husband and Wife A Phu.
Sample essay: Analyzing the Realistic Value of the Short Story 'Husband and Wife A Phu'
I. Outline of Realistic Values in the Shortest 'Husband and Wife A Phu'
1. Introduction:
- Introduce the author Tô Hoài and the work 'Husband and Wife A Phu'.
- Present the realistic values in the work:
+ Reflect the reality of oppressed and exploited life of people in the Northwest mountains.
+ Denounce the feudal regime that pushed people into misery and lamentation.
2. Body:
a) Reality of oppressed and exploited life of people in the Northwest mountains:
- Characters like Mị, Mị's father, and A Phủ are heavily exploited:
* Character Mị:
- Leading a happy, peaceful, and free life with her family, then overnight being abducted and forced into marriage to pay off debts to the lord Pá Tra -> Forced marriage, devoid of love.
- Unable to accept the truth, wants to die but cannot due to pity for her old father still owing debts -> Tedious and painful life leading to suicidal thoughts -> Heavy, unreasonable debts tormenting people, pushing them to the brink of death.
- Gradually, Mị's emotions become numb, she loses all feelings, desires, only seen with a sad face.
- Due to lack of love, A Sử also cruelly abuses her.
-> Life in the Pá Tra lord's house is no different from hell on earth. Despite being called a daughter-in-law, Mị has to work tirelessly all year round. She's like a slave in that house, deprived of freedom, deprived of happiness.
* Mị's father:
- Borrowed money from the lord to marry, every year pays a portion of the harvest to the lord.
- Even after his wife's death, his grown-up daughter still hasn't paid off the debt -> Pá Tra's house seizes the daughter to offset the debt.
=> Huge, unreasonable debts -> Exploitation by the rich -> The rich get richer, the poor get poorer.
* A Phủ:
- Gets tied up, beaten, and fined a hundred silver coins for fighting with A Sử.
- Has to make money for the lord to pay off debts, if not, his descendants will have to stay and work to pay off the debts.
- Just for losing a buffalo, he gets tied to a post and left to die.
=> The trickery, cruelty, and brutality of the ruling class in the mountains.
b) Denounce the feudal regime that pushed people into misery and lamentation.
- Debts so heavy that they can never be repaid in a lifetime.
- A court trial where attendees are seen smoking opium, eating, then smoking opium again.
- Forcing people to work all year round without rest but still not forgiving them.
- Depriving people of freedom, of realizing their rights and aspirations: A Sử ties Mị to a post to prevent her from going out.
3. Conclusion:
- Summarize the realistic value of the work 'Husband and Wife A Phu'.
II. Model Essay on the Realistic Value of Husband and Wife A Phu by Tô Hoài in a nutshell:
1. Best Model Essay on the Realistic Value of Husband and Wife A Phu No. 1
For any piece of literature to have its own life, it must carry its own values. Therefore, with each theme, writers have unique ways to explore different aspects of life for readers. 'Husband and Wife A Phu' by Tô Hoài is a short story with profound realism. The work reveals the lives of people in the mountainous regions oppressed by the colonial regime and the feudal customs that strip them of freedom.
The story was written by Tô Hoài during the campaign with the army to liberate the Northwest. Thus, he used the majestic backdrop of the Northwest mountains to praise the people of the mountainous ethnic groups who, despite facing difficult lives, managed to strive for self-liberation and happiness. Characters in the story like Mị, A Phủ, and Mị's father are heavily exploited by the Pá Tra lord's family - representing the epitome of evil, the feudal regime of that time.
Mị is at the most beautiful age of a girl. She leads a happy, peaceful, and free life with loved ones. Although poor, Mị is very diligent. She begged her father to let her work in the fields to pay off the family's debts. However, just overnight, she was abducted and forced into marriage to pay off debts to the Pá Tra lord's family. The ethnic people of the mountainous region have a custom that when someone new enters the house, they must undergo a ritual to appease the spirits, making them permanent members of the family, unable to escape. Therefore, Mị is tightly bound to the lord's family without resistance. Unable to accept the truth, she wants to die. However, out of pity for her old father, Mị no longer commits suicide and is forced to stay with the lord's family. From then on, we see an extremely tedious and painful reality where people even want to commit suicide but cannot. Living in a loveless marriage, Mị is often looked down upon, beaten, and treated cruelly by A Sử. Worse, he denies her basic human rights. A Sử forbids Mị from going out. When he sees Mị preparing to go out, he ties her to a pillar and leaves her outside. Painful and humiliating, Mị can do nothing. Gradually, Mị's emotions become numb, she loses all feelings, desires, and is only seen with a sad face. Not only that, as a daughter-in-law to the lord's family, she is also brutally exploited for labor. Everyone sees Mị working, 'spinning thread, cutting grass, weaving cloth, chopping wood, or carrying water from under the stream.' She works so much that she feels her life is not even worth that of a buffalo or horse. They even get to rest while she has to work day and night. Life in the Pá Tra lord's house is no different from hell on earth. Despite being called a daughter-in-law, Mị has to work all year round without a break. She's like a slave in that house, deprived of freedom, deprived of happiness.
In addition to Mị, Mị's father is also a victim of the half-cruel feudal colonial regime. Because he was poor, he borrowed money from the lord to marry. Every year, the couple works hard to repay the lord with a portion of the harvest. However, Mị's father has paid all his life, even after his wife's death, his grown daughter still hasn't paid off the debt. The interest has haunted his life, and now it torments his daughter. They force Mị to come back as a daughter-in-law to offset the debt. This exploitation makes the rich richer while the poor remain poor and suffering.
In 'The Spouses of A Phu', Tô Hoài immerses himself into the lives of the laborers in Northwest Vietnam to deeply grasp the thoughts and feelings stemming from the genuine hearts of the people there. Through his pen and understanding, Tô Hoài constructs a storyline with characters like Mị, A Phủ, portraying a truthful picture of the tragic life of hardworking people, exposing the vile nature of those in power in society.
The excerpt narrates the unfortunate fate of Mị, a kind and diligent girl burdened with the label of a 'debt-clearing item', married off to the household of the district head Pá Tra due to an inherited debt from her parents. Here, she toils relentlessly, drained of all life and resistance, seemingly with no escape route. Then she meets A Phủ, another victim of the tyranny of Pá Tra's family. Witnessing a fate similar to her own, Mị gains strength to stand against her destiny, fleeing with A Phủ in search of a life where they can live as true human beings.
The real value of 'The Spouses of A Phu' is depicted through the tragic lives of the laborers in Northwest Vietnam, notably through the characters of Mị and A Phủ. Introducing Mị, Tô Hoài refrains from detailing her name, hometown, or even physical description, only hinting: “Anyone returning from afar, coming to the house of the district head Pá Tra, often sees a girl sitting spinning yarn on a rock in front of the door, beside the horse stable. It's always the same, whether she's spinning yarn, threshing grass, weaving fabric, splitting firewood, or fetching water from the stream below, she always keeps her head down, a face full of sadness. They say: the Pá Tra household, as district heads, earns a lot from the people, selling salt back to the village, very wealthy, with many wives, much silver, and the most opium in the village. So why does their daughter have to witness suffering and feel sorrow? But only after asking do people realize she's not the district head's daughter: she's A Sử's wife, the district head's son.” The opening passage leaves the reader haunted by the harshness of life, a relentless and enduring sorrow. Mị's sorrowful countenance is the most truthful accusation of the atrocities committed by the district head Pá Tra and his family, not only evoking the reader's sympathy but also igniting anger, indignation, and empathy towards the character.
The life amidst the earthly hell of Mị is considered exemplary, encapsulating all the hardships and humiliations endured by the laboring people in the Northern mountainous region before the Revolution. Tô Hoài utilizes Mị's image to highlight the stark reality of bitter, degrading lives of the innocent, simple-minded people who suffer. Forced into marriage with the wealthy, Mị's life transitions from a beautiful, industrious girl to a 'turtle raised in a house corner', always with a bowed head, 'a face full of sadness' and silence. They view her as a labor tool to amass wealth, 'every year, every season, every month: after Tet, she goes to the mountains to harvest opium; mid-year she washes hemp; during the harvest season, she husks corn. And even when collecting firewood, threshing corn, she always carries a bundle of hemp in her arms to strip fiber. It's always the same, year after year, throughout life. Horses, buffalo work sometimes, even at night, they get to stand and scratch their legs, chew grass, while the women and daughters of this house bury themselves in work day and night'. Mị's fate is even worse than that of the livestock in the district head's household. Moreover, Mị is spiritually drained to the point of losing the resistance inherent in unfortunate fates. She's bound, beaten to the point of death on New Year's Eve in Hồng Ngài. From a girl brave enough to drink alcohol to forget her sorrows, daring to prepare for springtime escapades, she's now nothing but a soulless body, working year-round, never daring to think of escape or ways to alleviate her miserable fate. Describing Mị's life, Tô Hoài writes: 'Year after year, several years later, Mị's father died. But Mị no longer thinks she can eat hemlock leaves to commit suicide. After staying in suffering for so long, Mị got used to it. Now Mị thinks she's also a buffalo, she's also a horse. Horses only know how to eat grass, know how to work.' People see deep sympathy for a character, clearly a young girl in her prime, yet only revolves around the thought of being a buffalo, a horse, silently enduring, making peace with suffering. Where is Mị's courage to escape Pá Tra's household to see her parents? Where are the glimmers of hope, the desperate attempts to escape fate, and where are the lively spring night escapades, the vibrant, echoing songs seeking companionship 'I have no daughters, no sons, I'm looking for a lover'. Mị's life is confined within four walls, with only a small window the size of a palm. It's as if Mị's youth and her life will forever be outside those four walls, akin to being imprisoned throughout one's lifetime in the earthly dungeon.
One of the most unique and deeply realistic details in the work is the scene where Mị is bound all night to a post when A Sử sees Mị getting ready to go out. In a realistic context, Mị is a young, vibrant girl full of life. The desire to seek friends, to go out on a spring night, is natural, but all of Mị's hopes are immediately crushed when she is cruelly bound to a post by her own husband using rope. The pain reaches its peak, even the smallest and simplest desires of Mị cannot be fulfilled. 'Mị didn't speak. A Sử didn't ask anymore. A Sử stepped forward, grabbed Mị, tied Mị's hands with a belt. He took a bundle of rope to tie Mị to the post. Mị's hair hung down. A Sử wrapped her hair around the post, Mị couldn't bow, couldn't tilt her head anymore. After tying, A Sử loosened the green belt outside his shirt and waved his hand to turn off the light, then went out and closed the door of the room.' 'Mị had to stand bound like that all night. Sometimes the rope tightened all over her body, causing pain,' 'Her wrists, head, calves were tightly bound, painfully tearing every piece of flesh.' The physical pain can be described, but the mental anguish is like each lash etched on Mị's soul. The pitiful girl, just wanting to go out like everyone else, is brutally tortured, bound standing alone in the lonely night. Readers suddenly question how many more unfortunate lives like this are still existing, how many daughters are stepping into the households of officials hoping for happiness, only to become miserable, humiliated beasts of burden. Tô Hoài doesn't directly condemn the backward, unjust society, treating people like trash, but through Mị's image, every aspect of reality is depicted truthfully, clearly. The reality of the painful laboring life, the reality of the worn-out fate, the reality of existing evil, all are explored and exposed in the light.
Creating the character image of A Phủ, the author wants to reflect the reality of the lives of laboring people, although born lowly, lives filled with hardships yet bearable, robust health, but unfortunately, fate falls into the hands of the cruel district head's family. A Phủ's suffering is expressed through the obstacles in life, 'A Phủ was born in Hắng Bìa. In the past, Hắng Bìa village suffered from an epidemic, many children, even adults died, some entire families. Only A Phủ survived. Some starving villagers caught A Phủ to sell to the Thái people under the field. A Phủ was only eleven years old, but he was bold, refused to stay in the low fields. A Phủ escaped to the mountains, wandered to Hồng Ngài. Working for others, this season to the next.' when he was bound and brought to Pá Tra's house, brutally beaten by the village boys. They brought him back home as if catching an animal, beating him brutally until 'his lips and eyes were bleeding.' The climax is when he lost a cow, Pá Tra tied him to a post, waiting until someone brought a tiger before releasing him. Bound for days, without eating, without drinking, enduring the cold, A Phủ thought he was going to die. From the image of a healthy, optimistic young man, loving life, A Phủ becomes a plowing buffalo for the district head's house. Living in such a rotten, empty society, humans no longer have the right to live as human beings, everything depends on those with power, with money. The truth about the fate of laboring people in the Northwestern region before the August Revolution is a chain of painful days, where people are exhausted from labor, where life is like livestock raised in the house.
Mị and A Phủ embody the life of slavery under the feudal regime, constructed by Tô Hoài from the most familiar and straightforward materials. Through these two characters, the author indirectly portrays the life and fate of laboring people before the Revolution, a voice of accusation, condemning those who exploit power to oppress people, standing on the side of the people, protecting laboring people, accusing the crimes of the enemy and the unjust.
The stark realities are sharply exploited by the author to expose those who abuse power, the dark forces in the northern mountains before the Revolution, aiming to suppress, trample on human beings. The image of the district head Pá Tra, his cronies, the ruling class is the embodiment of oppressive, exploitative evil, treating human destinies as cheap as livestock, freely plundering, tormenting. Placed in the distinctive context of remote, desolate mountainous areas, with low intellectual levels, backward thinking, and age-old customs, the French colonialists used officials as henchmen to oppress laboring people under their rule, exploiting them. They aided in harming each other for food, for power, those in power freely extorted, amassed silver and gold, even received salt, opium to sell for personal gain. This created increasingly clear class conflicts in our society, resentment towards the corrupt officials grew. One of the most truthful passages of the work must mention the scene where A Phủ is bound, punished. Beaten by village boys, he can only stand still, dare not move or resist because he is guilty of hitting the district head's son. The cruelty is shown when A Sử causes trouble, but when he is retaliated against, he is defended, his father seeks out those who beat his son to torment, while A Phủ, because he has no parents, because of his humble status, has to bear the beatings, the punishment. 'A Phủ kneels to admit guilt at the corner of the house, not allowed to attend that party.' 'A Phủ kneels in the middle of the house. Immediately, the village boys come forward, first, they fold their hands and bow to the district head, then turn back to beat A Phủ. A Phủ kneels to endure the blows, silent as a stone statue... Every time the officials finish smoking opium, A Phủ has to kneel in the middle of the house again, then be beaten by the people. A Phủ's face swells up, his lips and eyes bleed. The beaters, the kneelers, tell stories, curse. After one round of beating, storytelling, cursing, they smoke again. The opium smoke pours through the windows. Then Pá Tra raises his head, strokes his hair, calls A Phủ... Like that, all afternoon, all night, the more they smoke, the more sober, the more they beat, the more they curse, the more they smoke.' 'A Phủ's two swollen knees rise like a tiger's face. A Phủ bends to touch the silver on the tray, while Pá Tra burns incense, loudly prays to call the spirit to accept the debtor's face. After Pá Tra finishes praying, A Phủ also picks up the silver, but only picks it up to perform the ritual before immediately putting it back on the tray. Then Pá Tra pours all the silver back into the tray.' All these details show the brutality, the officials' contempt for people, ruthlessly beating them while they leisurely smoke, curse, revel. It's unimaginable that such a rotten society exists, where human dignity is less than that of an animal, where criminals are judges, the innocent become debtors, brutally beaten. Perhaps, this is the hidden corner that the dark forces have allowed corrupt officials to rampage, oppress, exploit the people, collaborate with the West for profit.
The crimes of the district head Pá Tra and his son are beyond count, they have no mercy for anyone, sparing not even the weak, incapable of resistance. Mị's debt servitude also stems from the debt between Pá Tra's father and Mị's father 'In the past, Mị's father married Mị's mother without enough money, had to borrow from the district head's father, now Pá Tra's father. Every year, they pay interest to the creditor, a bushel of corn. Until the old couple is old and still not done with the debt. The wife died, still not paying off the debt.' The lifelong debt from parent to child shows the exploitation of those in power, no pity for the elderly, children, or even impoverished families. The only thing they care about is profit, money. It seems that compassion does not exist with the district head Pá Tra. Mị's life from being deceived into becoming a daughter-in-law, living quietly 'like a turtle raised in a corner', working hard 'After Tet, go to the mountain to pick opium, in the middle of the year, collect bamboo, weave bamboo, when the season comes, go to the field to harvest corn...', until being brutally tortured, bound, beaten,... like a sentence imposed by the cruel officials, inhumane, is the most truthful indictment of the crimes of the district head Pá Tra that weighed heavily on a lifetime, not only making readers feel distressed, but also evoking anger, indignation, empathy with the characters.
Tô Hoài does not directly criticize, but from the actions of district head Pá Tra towards A Phủ and Mị, pushed into the abyss of fate, readers have recognized the exploitative, vehement condemnation of the regime officials in the semi-feudal society of the Northwestern mountainous region that turned many healthy, hardworking people into minions for the ruthless exploitation regime. The reality value of the work lies in exposing the ugly face of the outdated feudal regime, toppling, where the wicked hold all the power of life and death, where human life is cheap, not even as valuable as cattle, horses.
Tô Hoài has brilliantly captured the harsh reality of the fate of impoverished individuals in the highlands, while also condemning and exposing the dark forces that oppress and trample upon humanity. Through vivid descriptive artistry, nuanced character portrayal through actions, gestures, and progressive thoughts, the author not only enables readers to vividly imagine the hidden corners of the past society but also demonstrates compassion and empathy for innocent laborers. Ultimately, literature reflects reality in a refined manner, and its purpose is to evoke empathy in readers. In this regard, Tô Hoài has fully fulfilled the role of an observer, a conveyer, acting as a connecting thread between readers and the people they have never met.
The realistic value of 'The Couple of A Phủ' lies in depicting the real life of the people of the Northwest, diligent, hardworking, straightforward yet unfortunate and miserable. Through two typical character figures, the author has encapsulated the entire social space of the semi-feudal colonial area in the highlands, while strongly condemning and exposing the cruel face and dark forces that have existed and oppressed people to the brink. Through the work, Tô Hoài also conveys nurturing and appreciation to her characters, or rather to the people of the northern mountainous region, seeking to stir emotions in readers when witnessing the difficulties and hardships that the characters have to endure.
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