Crafting the Tale of Serene Sa Pa

Composing Serene Sa Pa, Ultra Brief 1

Structure:

- Part 1 (from beginning to 'Behold, there he is'): The young man through the taxi driver's narrative.
- Part 2 (continuing until 'there was nothing like that'): The encounter, conversation among the old painter, the young engineer, and the young man.
- Part 3 (remaining passage): The farewell among the three.
Guidelines for composing

Question 1:
Silent Sa Pa has a simple plot. It's merely a rendezvous among four individuals: the elderly painter, the freshly graduated engineer, the taxi driver, and the young man overseeing the weather station atop Yen Son mountain. The author never discloses the names of these characters. Through the encounter of these 'nameless' individuals, emerges a portrait of silent laborers against the serene backdrop of Sa Pa. The story of the rendezvous unfolds within thirty minutes, and while the painter only manages to sketch a portrait of the young man, the individuals dedicating their youth to work are vividly portrayed. Their portraits emerge primarily through the jovial introduction by the taxi driver, through the observations, reflections, and professional appreciation of the painter, through the empathetic perception of the young girl, and through the self-portrayal of the young man.

Question 2:
The young man is the protagonist of the story. This character doesn't appear at the beginning but only surfaces during the encounter with the old painter, the young girl, and the taxi driver when their car stops for a rest. The character of the young man is revealed through the evaluations and perceptions of other characters such as the taxi driver, the old painter, and the young engineer. Hence, the image of the young man is illuminated from multiple perspectives, highlighting endearing qualities. He overcomes hardships to fulfill his duties. Consider his living and working conditions: he lives alone on a high mountain, surrounded by wilderness, tasked with measuring wind, rain, sun, clouds, and seismic activity, participating in daily weather forecasts for production and combat services. The young man possesses admirable qualities:
- He has beautiful thoughts: He holds righteous views on happiness and the essence of life. He believes, 'When I work, I'm not alone; my work is intertwined with my comrades below. Although my work is arduous, if I were to give it up, I would be utterly miserable.' His perspective on happiness is remarkable. Happiness, for him, is when he contributes to life, such as helping to discover a dry cloud cluster aiding our air force in downing American planes at the Ham Rong Bridge. He admits, 'Since then, I've lived truly happily.' Happiness, to him, lies in dedication to life.
- He exhibits beautiful actions: He surpasses hardship and loneliness to conscientiously carry out his tasks on a high mountain, with remarkable results. Imagine the scene, 'At one in the morning,' amidst the chilling silence of Sa Pa, 'he alone takes the lamp out to the garden to measure the seismic activity on the shell of the earth, reporting back 'home' to contribute to daily weather forecasts.' This work demands meticulousness and a high sense of responsibility.
- He leads a beautiful life:
+ Even alone on the high mountain, he organizes and manages his life neatly and proactively. He beautifies his surroundings by planting flowers. Moreover, he raises chickens, studies, and reads books outside of work hours.
+ He lives sincerely, openly caring for others, eager to converse with everyone, cherishing others' feelings. He sends gifts to the taxi driver's wife as a customary gesture, moved when guests come to visit. He remains humble and sincere, always feeling his contributions are small. Therefore, when the old painter wants to paint his portrait, he introduces other, more admirable individuals.

Question 3:
The reader can easily discern in Silent Sa Pa, the character who mostly listens quietly and reflects. That's the painter. Confronted with the young, vibrant man who understands and loves his silent work, the painter realizes that Sa Pa, a name associated with 'taking a break,' has people working and caring for the nation. Initially, in response to the taxi driver's words, the painter says, 'I like it, I really like it. I planned to settle there. But not yet.' After meeting, hearing the young man speak, witnessing and understanding the lives of those truly working, truly dedicating, the painter's perspective changes. Upon parting, the elderly painter firmly grasps the young man's hand and says, 'I'll definitely come back. Can I stay with you for a few days?' This isn't just a change in perspective about Sa Pa but also a change in the artist's perception of life, of beauty.

Question 4:
a. The romantic essence of the work emanates from the beauty of Sa Pa's picturesque nature: 'The cherry blossoms, the herds of wandering cows, the ancient bells hanging in the meadows in the valley.' It's the peculiar beauty of 'The sun beginning to rise, igniting the forest. The tall pine trees, swaying in the sunlight like silver fingers under the occasional gaze of the thorny trees poking their heads amidst the green of the forest.' Then there's 'The sun dispersing the clouds, weaving through and growling at the cars.' Followed by 'the single flowers, yellow, purple, red, pink, bee hives, blooming amidst the summer,' 'the silver sun shining on the mountain pass, igniting the forest like a large torch…'

b. The romantic essence arises from the beauty of the souls of the characters in the story:
+ The young man's thoughts, lifestyle, and actions are as poetic as can be.
+ The young engineer's soul is stirred by a profound, beautiful emotion upon encountering the beautiful light shining from the young man's soul. A nearly indescribable sense of gratitude wells up within her, not just because of the bouquet the young man gave, but also because of 'Another bouquet, different, a bouquet of excitement, random dreams he added for her. And also because of something else she hadn't thought through yet.'
+ The old painter is consumed by a desire to create, deeply moved by the young man.

c. Effect: The romantic essence creates a special allure for the work, making the story akin to poetry. The poetic essence pervades the entire story, from the beautiful, romantic scenery of the highland nature to the imagery of the people living and working in serene silence, not lonely due to their bond with life, with everyone, with the nation. It fosters a sense of intimacy for the work, elevating the significance and beauty of the objects, the very humble people described in the story, bringing forth the profound and insightful themes of the story.

Question 5:
The story Silent Sa Pa praises the nameless, humble individuals who silently dedicate themselves to the country every day. Among these people, the image of the young man performing meteorological duties stands out, selflessly overcoming all difficulties, fulfilling his duties, and living beautifully, bringing joy to everyone.

Practice
Question (page 190 Textbook): Thoughts on one of the two characters: the young man, the painter.

Character: The young man:
The young man works in meteorological duties and earth physics, living alone on the peak of Yen Son, over two thousand six hundred meters high. Yet, loneliness does not fade in him the optimistic love for life, the sensitive heart, always loving everyone. He is also a person full of responsibility and passion for work, living silently to contribute. He is a person without fame, no one knows his face or name, a person living a simple life yet with a beautiful soul, a very lovable heart.

Meaning - Comment:
- Through the excerpt, students perceive from the characters in the work, especially the character of the young man, the simple beauty of the laborers and the significance of the silent work they are doing.
- Students learn to analyze the artistic construction of the story situations, the natural narrative style, the combination of personal narratives, sincerity with the author's comments by Nguyen Thanh Long.

Continue to read more essays to study Literature well in 9th grade

- Review the Vietnamese section
- Write essay exercise 3 - Autobiographical Writing

Prepare the essay Silent Sa Pa, extremely short 2

Question 1: This short story has a simple plot, focusing only on the chance encounter of the female engineer, the painter, and the young man doing meteorology. Creating a meeting situation, the author allows the main character to appear in the eyes of the other characters. This is a portrait of nameless, silently devoted individuals to the country. The portrait, prominently featuring the young meteorologist through the evaluations of the taxi driver, the painter, the engineer, through actions of picking flowers, giving gifts, not bidding farewell (because it's time to 'patch') by him.

Spring Scene is a prominent lesson in Lesson 6 of the Grade 9 Vietnamese Language textbook. Students need to Prepare the Spring Scene lesson, preview the content, and answer the questions in the textbook.