Prompt: Reflections on Chị Dậu through the excerpt 'When the Dam Breaks'
Reflecting on Chị Dậu through the excerpt 'When the Dam Breaks,' I discern her character's depth and complexity.
Article Contents:
1. Reflections on Chị Dậu, Sample 1 (Detailed)
2. Reflections on Chị Dậu, Sample 2
3. Reflections on Chị Dậu, Sample 3
1. Reflections on Chị Dậu, Sample 1:
The excerpt 'When the Dam Breaks' (from 'Extinguished Lights' by Ngô Tất Tố) revolves around the dire, bleak circumstances of Chị Dậu, a poor peasant pushed to the brink by taxation and oppression.
Sample Answer:
Ngô Tất Tố stands as a prominent figure in the realism literature movement of 1930-1945, focusing on critiquing the fate of farmers during the Revolution. His works, notably 'Extinguished Lights,' depict the harsh lives exemplified by characters like Chị Dậu. Despite her hardships, she embodies a resilience and fierce resistance against an unjust society. The excerpt 'When the Dam Breaks' serves as a prime example of Chị Dậu's and Vietnamese women's resilience.
Chị Dậu's beauty primarily lies in her devotion to her husband and children. The excerpt begins with her caring for her frail husband, recently released after suffering wounds from battle and imprisonment due to inability to pay taxes. Welcoming him home, she tends to him despite lacking adequate resources, thankfully aided by compassionate neighbors who lend rice to cook nourishing porridge.
View detailed sample HERE.
2. Reflections on Chị Dậu, Sample 2:
Chị Dậu, a poor peasant, resides in the lower echelons of her village's social hierarchy. The taxing ordeal imposed by the oppressive forces has unveiled many admirable qualities within her.
Sample Response:
Ngô Tất Tố, a writer hailing from the farming community, stands as a prominent figure in the realistic literature movement critiquing the pre-August Revolution era. Mention 'Extinguished Lights,' and one recalls the character Chị Dậu. She embodies the essence of a hardworking, impoverished peasant woman, rich in familial love, and courageous in resisting oppression.
Through the excerpt 'When the Dam Breaks,' the author reflects on the taxation practices of the old society, condemning the unjust and inhumane semi-feudal colonial regime. This scene leaves a profound impression on readers regarding the character of Chị Dậu - a quintessential emblem of Vietnamese womanhood.
Chị Dậu's circumstances evoke profound sympathy. She resorts to selling her dog, potatoes, and even sacrifices her seven-year-old child to meet her husband's tax obligations. Just when she thinks it's over and her husband can return home, they demand more taxes for her deceased brother-in-law.
View detailed sample HERE.
3. Reflections on Chị Dậu, Sample 3:
Against the ruthless inhumanity of the ruling class, Chị Dậu fiercely resisted to protect her impoverished husband.
Sample Answer:
The realistic literature movement of 1930-1945 made significant contributions to our national literature. We cannot forget prominent figures such as Nguyên Hồng, Nguyễn Công Hoan, Vũ Trọng Phụng, Nam Cao... and especially Ngô Tất Tố - the author of the renowned novel 'Extinguished Lights.' For the first time, he introduced the image of a Vietnamese peasant woman with all her noble qualities into literature. The excerpt 'When the Dam Breaks' vividly portrays the beauty of Chị Dậu, a woman devoted to her husband, loving her children, rich in sacrifice, and possessing a fierce spirit of resistance.
The passage begins with Chị Dậu caring for her weak husband, beaten to near death by the oppressors for failing to pay taxes. She desperately strives to free him from being tied up and brutally tortured. She rushes around, borrowing rice to cook thin porridge. Touchingly, she ladles the porridge into a few old, cracked bowls, fanning it to cool quickly, then tenderly urges: 'Brother, try to get up and have some porridge to ease your pain.' In the eyes of this impoverished wife, a deep love for her husband radiates.
View detailed sample HERE.
4. Reflections on Chị Dậu, Sample 4:
The portrayal of Chị Dậu in 'When the Dam Breaks' is also a portrayal of peasants under the feudal regime: Compassionate, hardworking, sacrificial, yet possessing a strong spirit of resistance against the irrationality and cruelty of tyranny.
Sample Answer:
During the 1930 - 1945 period, the realistic literature movement emerged as a significant critique. Nam Cao, a representative writer of that time, was no exception to the trend. His work 'Extinguished Lights' seems to convey the 'true face' of society at that time. The story revolves around Chị Dậu - a woman oppressed and exploited excessively. However, behind the fragile endurance of this woman lies an extremely strong spirit of resistance. One of the excerpts that vividly demonstrates this spirit is 'When the Dam Breaks.'
Welcoming her husband back home after days of being beaten and tortured by officials, Chị Dậu didn't even have a grain of rice to cook him porridge. Borrowing some rice from neighbors, she hurriedly cooked it, let it cool, then gently helped her husband sit up to eat. Amidst hardship and hunger, surrounded by a myriad of difficulties, this suffering woman still loves and cares for her husband tirelessly.
View detailed sample HERE.
5. Reflections on Chị Dậu, Sample 5:
Not only does Chị Dậu love her husband and children, possess rich sacrificial understanding, but she also harbors a strong resistance against evil and tyranny.
Sample Answer:
In Ngô Tất Tố's novel 'Extinguished Lights,' Chị Dậu is depicted as a remarkably gentle woman. Despite enduring oppression and exploitation, often in silence, she is not one to be underestimated or merely pitied.
Sharp-witted and courageous, Chị Dậu also harbors a potential for resistance. Right in the village courtyard, facing the oppressive authorities, she dares to speak out against the injustice of the colonial tax regime: 'Woe is me! Oh Heavens! My sister has died, yet we still have to pay taxes!' After being thrown out of the village and rescued, her husband weeps for their child, but Chị Dậu remains indifferent. She calmly advises her husband: 'The tax money may be hot, but if it's not collected, it'll spoil. Human flesh, no one will eat it. You can rest assured, my dear, and relax.'
View detailed sample HERE.
https://Mytour.vn/reflections-on-character-chi-dau-through-excerpt-when-the-dam-breaks-25426n.aspx
Alongside the essay on reflections of Chị Dậu in the excerpt 'When the Dam Breaks,' you may also refer to: Interpretation of the character Vũ Nương through the work 'The Story of the Girl from Nam Xương'; Reflection on the beauty of Đăm Săn in the excerpt 'Victory over Mtao Mxây'; Impressions on the poem 'Missing Wife'; Reflections while reading the poem 'Nam quốc sơn hà'; Your thoughts on the legend of An Dương Vương and Mị Châu - Trọng Thủy.