Demonstrating how farmers uphold their admirable qualities through the tales of Old Hawk and Overflowing Water despite the hardships preceding August Revolution.

Prompt: Through Overflowing Water and Old Hawk, prove that despite encountering numerous hardships and misfortunes, farmers before the August Revolution maintain their admirable qualities.

Three essays demonstrating how farmers uphold their admirable qualities through Old Hawk and Overflowing Water.

1. Demonstrating how farmers uphold their admirable qualities through Old Hawk and Overflowing Water, sample #1:

Vietnam, an agricultural country, the cradle of rice civilization. Before the August Revolution, over 90% of the population lived by farming. And from the early days when literature emerged and flourished, the topic of farmers has become fertile ground for nurturing outstanding literary works. 'The Night of the Lamp' by Ngô Tất Tố and 'Old Hawk' by Nam Cao are such works. Reading these creations, we see the shining beauty in the souls of the working class: 'Despite encountering numerous hardships and misfortunes, farmers before the August Revolution maintain their admirable qualities.'

Firstly, reading these two texts impresses us with the harsh and unhappy life of Vietnamese farmers before the August Revolution, with scenes of extreme suffering and misery.

Chị Dậu in 'The Quenching of the Lamp' by Ngô Tất Tố epitomizes resilience. Despite facing immense hardships, she remains steadfast, navigating through the darkness of poverty and illness.

When reading 'The Quenching of the Lamp' by Ngô Tất Tố, one can't help but empathize with the plight of rural women under feudal colonialism. Similarly, in 'Old Hawk' by Nam Cao, the loneliness and hopelessness of rural life gnaw at the soul of Old Hawk.

Farmers in the old society endure tremendous suffering, yet amidst adversity, they uphold their noble qualities. Despite the melancholy realism, their dignity and character shine through, inspiring belief in humanity and life.

Even in the depths of adversity and exploitation, Chị Dậu radiates the inner beauty of a devoted wife and mother. Her desperate pleas and fierce resistance against oppressors in 'Overflowing Water' exemplify profound love and sacrifice for her family.

Driven by her love for her husband, she courageously confronted the oppressors to protect him. Though her action was spontaneous, her thoughts were profound: 'I can't bear to let him suffer endlessly.' Perhaps this consciousness of resistance latent within the farmers is what Ngô Tất Tố seems to be hinting at in 'Overflowing Water.'

If Chị Dậu epitomizes the compassionate, forgiving nature and fierce resistance of rural women, in the character of Old Hawk, we perceive the soulful love, fervent belief, and noble character of an aging, impoverished farmer on the verge of death. Old Hawk's death due to poverty isn't just a surface-level interpretation; it encapsulates the spirit of responsibility, compassion, and self-sacrifice of a father struggling with hunger.

Old Hawk was also remarkably generous and noble. He wept bitterly, filled with regret, when he had to sell his dog, tortured by his conscience for not being faithful to a loyal companion. His compassion moves us deeply.

The most admirable traits of Old Hawk are his boundless love for his son and his lofty self-sacrifice. His love for his son prevented him from selling the garden. Despite his health, he toiled tirelessly to save money for his son. However, in sickness, with nothing left, he chose to sacrifice himself to preserve the garden for his son. His death was intense and horrific, yet his heart remained serene till the end.

Thank you, Ngô Tất Tố, and thank you, Nam Cao! They have enlightened us on the harsh and tragic life of farmers, making us even more admiring of their noble, beautiful, and pure qualities. Amidst the darkness, their souls still emanate a sweet fragrance like the lotus flowers in the marshes. Looking at the lives of farmers today, we feel even more sorrowful for our ancestors and yet hopeful for the new life ahead.

2. Demonstrating that farmers still uphold good qualities through Lão Hạc and Tức nước vỡ bờ, case 2:

A certain writer once said: true literature, even when depicting the ugly and the evil, must still lean towards the beautiful, the good. It acts as a magnetic force attracting every generation. Indeed, is it not that the ugly and the evil are synonymous with suffering and unhappiness, while the beautiful and the good represent the writer's belief in the beauty of characters, to help readers learn a lesson about character? And, through Tức nước vỡ bờ and Lão Hạc, it is demonstrated that: Despite facing much suffering and unhappiness, farmers before the August revolution still uphold their good qualities.

Literature and life are two concentric circles with human beings at the center. Therefore, the common issue of humanity has always been the common denominator, the timeless theme of poets throughout the ages. But, through every page, a true writer must bring forth an innovation in form, a new discovery in content. This is the demand of art, not accepting repetition of others or oneself. That is the only way to survive in the arena of art. It is precisely because of this understanding that both Ngô Tất Tố and Nam Cao, when delving into the topic of farmers, a familiar subject worn thin by countless poets, each had their own discoveries. Thus, the fate of farmers has been vividly, multidimensionally, and deeply portrayed. If in Ngô Tất Tố's writings, farmers endure the suffering of high taxes, oppression, and even have to pay taxes for the deceased, which is absurd. Then in Nam Cao's writings, farmers are seen in the tragedy of being degraded in character, enduring the torment of hunger and food shortages. Either they live but are degraded for a meal, or they die to preserve their dignity, Lão Hạc being a prime example. However, the act of scrutinizing and perceiving uniquely by each writer has helped readers recognize the essence and beauty of Vietnamese farmers.

Whether it's Lão Hạc or sister Dậu, in both these characters, the writer shows us that despite facing much suffering and unhappiness, farmers before the August Revolution still upheld their dignity. Sister Dậu, portrayed by Ngô Tất Tố, a simple, virtuous woman, overflowing with love for her husband and children, sacrificed without hesitation for her husband's survival. There were times of extreme poverty when she had to sell her dog, even her child, yet it was absolutely not an act of inhumanity but rather the actions of a shrewd, courageous, and resilient woman who, despite the agonizing pain of selling her child, still endured for the sake of her husband's life. Even when selling the dog, the family's pet, Nghị Quế husband, Nghị Quế wife, still barely had enough to eat, but only lowered herself to say: 'Old Nghĩ is so wealthy yet still...' Without any resistance, nor any vulgar language. Even when in town. Living in a different environment, she still constantly thought about her husband, about her child, unaffected by bad habits. When she saw her husband being mistreated, she rose up strongly, stepping out of her own fear to fight, to defeat the two tormentors. She refused to submit, And with this, Ngô Tất Tố seemed to incite the farmers to revolt. This is the noble quality that Ngô Tất Tố always believed in the pre-revolutionary farmers.

With Nam Cao, he always looked at life with loving eyes. It is because of this belief that Nam Cao's writings always place his characters in the delicate balance between humanity and animality, between drunkenness and sobriety, between life and death. But in the end, Nam Cao still showed his trust in the good qualities of farmers. With Lão Hạc, an elderly father rich in love for his child, with high self-esteem and especially a man of gratitude, he showed affection even towards his animals. When he was old and weak, unable to earn a living, he dared not touch his child's meager savings, only dared to eat plain boiled food. So he could have chosen to live by selling his piece of land, but no, he sought death, a painful, miserable, even humiliating death by hanging. But that very death affirmed the high moral character of Lão, affirmed the humanity within him - a poor farmer but not poor in ethics or affection. Lão's death showed Nam Cao's belief in the beauty of the virtuous farmer, despite suffering, unhappiness, still upholding their good qualities.

So, in just two short works, Nam Cao and Ngô Tất Tố have shown the beauty of farmers in their writings. That is the humanitarian spirit of realistic writers, but at that time, because there was no light of revolution, they still fell into tragedy, stagnation, which is also a limitation that needs to be considered.

3. Demonstrating that farmers still uphold good qualities through Lão Hạc and Tức nước vỡ bờ, case 3:

Before the August Revolution, farmers endured a lot of injustice, oppression, living in a situation where they were surrounded by difficulties. However, despite facing much suffering and unhappiness, farmers before the August Revolution still upheld their good qualities. Through the excerpt 'Tức nước vỡ bờ' (From 'Extinguish the Lamp' - Ngô Tất Tố) and the short story 'Lão Hạc' by Nam Cao, we clearly see that.

Before the August Revolution, the fate of farmers was almost plunged into despair due to the unfair oppression of ruthless, dictatorial rulers, coupled with a stagnant society, pushing the plight of poor farmers into a dead end. It was a dead end to the point of having to sell dogs, even children, to pay taxes for a deceased member of sister Dậu's family, it was a dead end of having to sell one's beloved dog due to dire circumstances. However, these farmers did not allow themselves to lose their valuable qualities due to ironic circumstances.

In the excerpt 'Tức nước vỡ bờ', sister Dậu and her husband faced much unfair pressure from officials, the authorities when they didn't have money to pay the land tax for her deceased younger brother. The life of the couple became even more difficult because the large family lost the harvest, the food money was insufficient, and they had to bear all the taxes in the world. Her husband was beaten, arrested, causing his health to deteriorate, on sister's small shoulders she had to bear countless burdens. However, the gentleness, resilience of a woman in the family not only did not diminish but shone brighter than ever. Her love for her sick husband was shown through her care, tenderness, concern for his health. Even when the family situation was very difficult, her care for her husband remained so full, giving her best to her husband, to her children. Even when the authorities wanted to arrest her husband while he was sick, she did not hesitate to oppose the authorities to protect her husband.

In Nam Cao's short story 'Lão Hạc', Lão Hạc's situation also fell into a dead end when he lost the harvest repeatedly, his health weakened and he could not work as before, yet he did not want to eat into the piece of land he left for his son. He sold the dog that his son bought, the dog was Lão Hạc's only friend, and he lived in deprivation just to preserve the garden for his son. One day, Lão asked Binh Tư - a thief in the village to kill the dog, knowing the situation, Mr. Giáo thought Lão had turned corrupt but it was not so, even in such circumstances, Lão Hạc still maintained his good qualities. Lão asked to kill the dog not to do evil but to end his life, to avoid committing sins, to die in purity rather than live in corruption. Even in such dire circumstances, Lão Hạc still retained his integrity, even though Lão had to pay the price with death.