Discussion on the Short Story 'The Ivory Comb'

Topic: Discussion on the short story 'The Ivory Comb' by Nguyen Quang Sang

Discussion on the Short Story 'The Ivory Comb'
 

I. Outline of Discussion on the Short Story 'The Ivory Comb'

1. Introduction

Introduction to the topic for discussion.

2. Body:

a. Character Mr. Six - 'no happiness for the soldier':

b. Little Thu - an indirect victim of war's tragedies:
- With a pitiful situation, her father left for the battlefield when she was still unaware, lacking her father's affection, growing up in the arms of her mother, her grandmother in the years of the country's pain.
- Thu is a thoughtful girl, understanding her father's fighting actions, and in her small heart, not only are there deeply affectionate paternal feelings, but also admiration for a heroic revolutionary soldier.
- But it is Thu's distance and naive thoughts that lead to family tragedies, just because of a scar and a changed appearance, refusing to acknowledge Mr. Six as her father, not calling him 'father' at all, and even having erratic, cold actions towards Mr. Six.
- Another tragedy in the relationship between father and daughter Thu and of Thu herself is perhaps a regretful, regretful sorrow. When the girl understood everything, deciding to return to accept her father, it was also the time when Mr. Six had to return to the battlefield.
- The day the girl accepted her father was also the last time she saw her father alive, which was even more painful. That girl, even when grown up, perhaps in her heart, there is always a lingering pain of regret, when now only the ivory comb is left as a meticulous souvenir carved by her father's careful knife strokes for her.

c. Deep paternal affection:
- Mr. Six himself tries to make up for it, tries, takes care of little Thu on his days off, meticulously makes her an ivory comb, always puts it in his front pocket, occasionally takes it out to comb her hair shiny, beautiful.
- In Thu are innocent, pure feelings, love for her father formed from a photo, then through the stories of her mother, her grandmother, and finally when she understood everything, the girl became brave, immediately returned to accept her father, fearing not being able to see her father again.
 

3. Conclusion

Express general feelings.

II. Sample Essay on Discussion of the Short Story 'The Ivory Comb'

Nguyen Quang Sang (1932 - 2014), was a renowned writer, playwright in modern Vietnamese literature, especially with works on soldiers and war themes. Nguyen Quang Sang's literature is characterized by a gentle, sincere, pure, and touching tone, which is why he is nicknamed 'one of the rare dinosaurs of wartime literature whose works contain no hatred.' With his most famous work of his life - 'The Ivory Comb,' Nguyen Quang Sang did not attempt to evoke wartime hatreds but instead focused sharply on family emotions, parent-child relationships, and the pains amidst the miserable circumstances of the nation's painful days.

In the short story 'The Ivory Comb,' the first thing to mention is perhaps the pain, the misery of the soldier - Mr. Six. This man seems to have sacrificed his youth for the motherland, wielding a gun in battle for decades, since his daughter was barely a year old. Mr. Six sacrificed a lot, accepting to leave his homeland, far from his wife and child, to heed the call of the motherland, sacrificing his health and blood on the battlefield. After many years of fighting, what does he receive? A body full of scars, a grotesque scar on his face, and ultimately, the estrangement, the fear of the daughter he never got to hold since she was a baby. That child, she only loves her father in the photo of her mother, not as a middle-aged man with ugly scars. During his rare leaves, Mr. Six faces excruciating pain, sorrow, regret for missing moments with his child. Moreover, confronted with the unruly behavior of the child he never taught, he hits her, making her cry; perhaps for every tear shed by the child, Mr. Six feels tenfold the pain. Clearly, neither Thu nor Mr. Six are at fault; the circumstances have strained their father-daughter relationship. Even when father and daughter accept each other, amidst a tearful, affectionate scene, Mr. Six must return to the battlefield, ultimately sacrificing himself there. He departs before he can fulfill his promise of giving his beloved daughter the ivory comb, leaving behind pain and regret for both the departed and those left behind. Thus, it can be said that the character of Mr. Six in the short story 'The Ivory Comb' is one of the most representative examples of the saying: 'There is no happiness for a soldier.' This reinforces the need to cherish the sacrifices made by our forefathers for independence and to show love and respect for those who have fallen for the nation, as well as for their families.

The discourse on the short story The Ivory Comb is a reflection and sentiment on Nguyen Quang Sang's short story The Ivory Comb. To delve further into this work, I invite you to explore articles such as Analysis of the short story The Ivory Comb by Nguyen Quang Sang, Sensing the parent-child relationship through the short story The Ivory Comb, Character analysis of little Thu in the excerpt of the short story The Ivory Comb, Sensing the parent-child relationship through the short story The Ivory Comb.