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Essay Prompt: Demonstrating the Assertion: Genuine Literature has the Power to Humanize People
I. Detailed Outline
1. Introduction
2. Body
3. Conclusion
II. Sample Essay
I. Outline Demonstrating the Assertion: Genuine Literature has the Power to Humanize People
1. Introduction
- Introduce the perspective: Genuine literature has the ability to humanize people.
2. Body
a. Concept of Genuine Literature:
- Genuine literature places humans at the center, emphasizing the value of humanity, delving into reciprocal human life, rooted in humanism.
- In contrast, literature lacking genuineness often dazzles with polished forms and clever sentences but lacks humanistic qualities. It may even degrade the moral and ethical standards of readers, portraying distant and sometimes becoming a facade for the misery and corruption of a ruling class.
=> Only literature focused on humanity has endured through the ages, becoming timeless and immortal because it 'contains something grand, powerful, simultaneously painful and uplifting. It extols compassion, brotherly love, justice... It brings people closer together'.
b. Foundation of Humanization in Genuine Literature:
- Literature utilizes emotions to regulate and strengthen human emotions.
- Literature represents the profound love and compassion of the artist towards humanity.
- Literature is the expression of the objective world's reflection in the writer's soul. It reveals the artist's refined and acute emotions, perceptions, and reactions to societal events, allowing readers to reflect on themselves.
c. Humanizing Humanity through Literature:
- Literature has made people aware, empathetic, and compassionate towards their counterparts, refining the human soul to become more sophisticated and sensitive to emotional changes and life experiences of characters. This transformation leads individuals to become more humane and tolerant (analyzing 2-3 examples).
- Literature has provided a process of soul purification, enabling individuals to self-reflect and become conscious of self-improvement through the lessons and philosophies embedded by artists in their works (analyzing specific examples to illustrate).
3. Conclusion
- Express personal thoughts.
II. Sample Essay: Affirmation - Genuine Literature's Capability to Humanize Mankind
I recall M. Gorki's statement that 'Literature is humanism,' signifying literature as both the sophisticated intellectual product of humans, created using their souls and senses, and as a means for educating and nurturing various societal aspects. This includes enhancing awareness, cultivating emotions, encouraging motivation, and calming the soul to listen to life's resonances. Following Thach Lam's perspective, literature is not about providing an escape or forgetfulness; instead, it is a realm of elevated and influential atmosphere that enhances our understanding and enriches our inner selves. To echo his sentiment, 'Literature should not just offer an escape or forgetfulness; contrarily, it is a realm of elevated and influential atmosphere that enhances our understanding and enriches our inner selves.' According to me, the most prominent aspect is that Genuine Literature has the ability to humanize mankind.
So, why does it have to be Genuine Literature that has the ability to humanize mankind and not other forms of literature? To clarify this, we need to understand what Genuine Literature is. It is a form of literature that places humans at the center for exploration, emphasizing the value of humanity and delving into human life, embracing humanitarianism as its foundation. As Nam Cao once wrote, 'A truly valuable work must transcend all borders and limitations. It must be a work shared by all humanity, containing something grand, powerful, both painful and uplifting. It praises compassion, benevolence, and justice... It brings people closer to each other.' In contrast, literature that lacks authenticity focuses solely on literature, often diminishing the values and ethics of the reader. It depicts distant aspects of life, sometimes becoming a cover for the misery and corruption of a deteriorating ruling class. To classify Genuine Literature and non-Genuine Literature, we can borrow Nguyen Van Sieu's words as a criterion: 'Literature can be worthy or unworthy of reverence. The unworthy type is the one that focuses only on literature, while the worthy type focuses on humans.' Therefore, from ancient times to the present, only literature imbued with human values, carrying humanitarianism as its core, stands as a monument for humanity. On the other hand, all other literature, despite its beauty, if detached from human life, is quickly forgotten, as it lacks the power to impress readers with genuine emotions and the love of the artist. Mention can be made of some great works imbued with humanitarianism that continue to be praised and revered by people in Vietnam and the world, such as Nguyen Du's The Tale of Kieu, Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, and Hector Malot's Nobody's Boy. Each work has its own way of exploring humanitarianism, and sometimes these works are considered flawed due to their outdated conflict resolutions, knots that no longer suit today's society. However, the humanitarian values embedded within them are undeniable.
Why do I assert that humanizing mankind is the aspect that literature excels in the most? Our forefathers often said, 'Treating poison with poison,' but in literature, we don't speak harshly. Instead, literature employs emotions to adjust and reinforce human emotions. A genuine artist, when putting pen to paper, must invest their entire heart and soul, utilizing all their talent and intellect, fueled by a plethora of emotions stemming from a discovery in life that resonates deeply. As Enxa Toriole stated, 'A writer is a blood giver.' The artist must view literature as their precious lifeblood, to be cherished and preserved. Every word written must carry the artist's essence to evoke the most genuine emotions. Therefore, literature is the reflection of the objective world onto the writer's soul. Whether it's a work about love, war, tragedies, grandiose or trivial aspects of the universe, it always bears the unique shadow and style of the artist. Readers perceive the author's thoughts, feelings, joy, anger, love, and subtle sensitivity to events in society, enabling them to compare with their own selves. The artist aims to create a work that touches the soul, altering the reader's perception, which requires placing humanity at the center, exploring real-life aspects of human existence, both happiness and sorrow, positivity and negativity. Writing authentically, vividly, and attractively, the artist allows readers to sense closeness and profound love for humanity in every word, as L. Toi Xtoi affirmed: 'An artistic work is the result of love. Love for humanity, burning dreams for a just, equal, and compassionate society always drives writers to live and write, squeezing out every thought, dedicating their warm blood to humanity. In summary, 'art tastes of humanity' should be the benchmark for all literary works, indicating the capacity of genuine literature to humanize.
So, how has genuine literature humanized mankind? Firstly, it has enabled people to gain awareness, empathy, and compassion for others. Nguyen Du's 'The Tale of Kieu' is a masterpiece of Vietnamese poetry, a cry of pain from those suffering under the old society. It exposes injustices and serves as a compassionate heart for the fates of characters in a harsh feudal regime. It is a work rich in human values and has become an emblem of national literature, making people empathize deeply with the shared agony of the characters. Similarly, a series of works by pre-revolutionary realist writers such as Nam Cao with 'Life's Excess,' 'Chí Phèo,' 'Worn-out Life,' 'Wife Picking up,' Kim Lân with 'Old Man Hạc,' Ngô Tất Tố with 'Turn Off the Lights,' Tô Hoài with 'A Phủ Couple,' Nguyễn Công Hoan with a range of works like 'Horse People Horse Horse People,' 'Kép Tư Bền,' 'Spirit of Physical Education,' all bring readers profound understanding and sympathy for their fellow human beings. These works refine the human soul, making it more refined, more sensitive to emotional changes and life's ups and downs, thus making people more humane and tolerant.
Certainly, the process of humanizing through literature goes beyond evoking compassion or revealing the hidden aspects of unfortunate destinies or the discontent with the miseries of the old regime. More importantly, literature has brought about the purification of the soul for individuals. As Hoai Thanh puts it, 'Literature gives us emotions we haven't cultivated, emotions we don't naturally possess,' or, in the words of Thach Lam, literature 'makes the reader's soul cleaner and richer.' The essence of literature lies in enabling individuals to self-reflect, to self-consciously improve themselves through the lessons and philosophical insights that artists embed in their works. Take, for instance, Luc Van Tien and a series of works by Nguyen Dinh Chieu, which primarily humanized individuals by distinctly differentiating between good and evil, idealizing characters, directing people towards the beauty of goodness and morality. It educates people with the idea that 'goodness triumphs over evil,' affirming that the truth of goodness will always prevail over the rampant evil. Or consider works of realism like Nam Cao's 'Life's Excess,' where reading is not just to empathize with the mental struggles of characters but also to recognize profound literary and artistic ideologies. 'Negligence in any profession is an injustice. But negligence in literature is truly despicable,' acknowledging the beauty of the protagonist's soul, the lofty ideals amid the struggle between poverty and noble aspirations. This encourages individuals to reevaluate themselves, their attitudes in life and work, fostering the will to rise and change life, to build dreams. Or take 'A Phu Couple,' where beyond the agony of the characters under the tyranny of Mị and A Phủ, the work lets readers perceive the beauty of the soul, the burning desire for freedom, the hidden and intense vitality, paving the way for the process of revolution to liberate the main character's self. In this way, the work has the value of 'elevating our spirits and inspiring noble and courageous feelings.' Or with Xuân Diệu, we no longer have to empathize or feel painful; instead, the author explores human awareness with profound philosophical insights about time, life, encouraging love for life, youthful vigor, appreciation for the beauty around us, making our souls more enlightened and emotionally enriched. Regarding wartime literature, most works carry humanistic significance by educating people about the love for the homeland, the love for the country, the earnest love for fellow countrymen, while promoting courage and the spirit of sacrifice in the fight for national independence. Examples include Nguyễn Trung Thành's 'Xà Nu Forest,' Nguyễn Thi's 'Family's Children,' Tố Hữu's 'Việt Bắc,' Quang Dũng's 'Tây Tiến,' Chính Hữu's 'Comrade,' Phạm Tiến Duật's 'Poem about the Little No-Glass Platoon,' and others. Similarly, works that depict simple aspects of human life also have a significant impact on changing and purifying the soul, such as Nguyễn Minh Châu's two famous works, 'Hometown Pier' and 'The Boat Beyond Far Away.' If 'Hometown Pier' reminds people to appreciate and pay attention to the values close at hand, then 'The Boat Beyond Far Away' raises awareness of a multi-dimensional perspective on life.
In conclusion, it's challenging to comprehensively speak about literature's ability to humanize individuals, as it is a vast realm encompassing all emotional boundaries. Each artist offers a unique perspective and style of expressing humanism in their works. However, it must be acknowledged that genuine literature is an invaluable asset to humanity. Stemming from the humanization of literature, it has indirectly changed the world to make it more beautiful and warm.
To excel in Essay Exercise 5, Grade 12 Literature, alongside the essay Demonstrating the Assertion: Genuine Literature Has the Ability to Humanize People, students can refer to additional sample essays for some other topics such as: In a letter discussing literature, Nguyễn Văn Siêu wrote: 'Literature (...) has a kind worthy of worship and a kind not worthy of worship. The kind not worthy of worship is the kind that focuses only on literature. The kind worthy of worship is the kind that focuses on humans.' Express your opinion on the above perception. Font-buy, the famous French writer, wrote: 'Style is indeed the individual.' How do you interpret the opinion above? Express your viewpoint on the statement by the French writer La Bo-ruy-e: 'When a work elevates our spirit and evokes noble and courageous feelings for us, there is no need to find any principle to evaluate it anymore: it is a good book and was written by an artist.' The Vietnamese literature after the August Revolution of 1945 is 'A literature mainly inclined towards epic and romantic inspiration.' Express your opinion on this assertion.
