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Prompt: Analyzing the character of Cám in the fairy tale Tấm Cám
I. Detailed Outline
II. Sample Essay
Analyzing the character of Cám in the fairy tale Tấm Cám
I. Outline for Analyzing the Character of Cám in the Fairy Tale Tấm Cám (Standard)
1. Introduction
- General introduction to fairy tales.
- Brief overview of the Tấm Cám story, introducing the character of Cám.
2. Body
* Character's Background:
- Cám is born with both parents, which is considered fortunate compared to Tấm.
- Cám is always pampered and loved by his mother.
* Character Traits:
- Cám is lazy and enjoys indulgence:
+ When Cám's mother sends his two sisters to collect water chestnuts, Cám only cares about playing.
+ Despite avoiding labor, he still desires to claim his mother's prize.
- Cám- a cunning and scheming girl:
+ Pretends to care for Tấm: 'Sister Tấm, you're dirty. Let me dust you off or mom will scold you'.
+ Exploiting Tấm's trust, Cám empties the shrimp and crab in her sister's basket, returning home first to claim the reward from their mother.
- Cám- a selfish and cruel girl:
+ Cám is envious of her sister's happiness upon seeing Tấm being loved by the king.
+ Plots to kill Tấm to usurp the queen's position.
+ Seizing the opportunity on their father's death anniversary, Cám, taking advantage of Tấm's trust and honesty, joins her mother in cutting down the tree, directly killing Tấm.
+ Inflicts harm upon Tấm repeatedly.
* Fate of the character: Cám dies=> Reap what she sowed.
* Significance of Cám's death: Cám's demise signifies the eradication of evil, triumph of good, and justice prevailing.
3. Conclusion
- Key lessons drawn from the life and fate of the character Cám.
- Personal reflections.
II. Sample Essay Analyzing the Character of Cám in the Fairy Tale Tấm Cám (Standard)
Fairy tales always hold a significant position in folklore literature, particularly in Vietnamese literature. Behind the fictional and fantastical details, each fairy tale conveys profound lessons about ethics, behavior, and social justice. One of the most famous fairy tales is the story of Tấm Cám. In the fairy tale Tấm Cám, alongside the character of Tấm, who represents goodness and kindness, there is also the character of Cám, who embodies evil and cruelty.
The character of Cám is the half-sister of Tấm from the same father but different mother. Cám is considered fortunate to have both a father and a mother, and a sister like Tấm who is kind and loving. Furthermore, Cám is always pampered by her mother and provided with the best. However, this fortunate circumstance not only fails to make Cám good and virtuous but also breeds selfishness and cruelty. Every word and action of Cám in the story evokes a sense of injustice and anger in the reader.
Firstly, it's evident that Cám is a lazy individual. Perhaps this trait stems from the indulgence of her mother. When Cám's mother sends her and her sisters to collect water chestnuts, Cám is only interested in playing, refusing to work. By nightfall, her basket remains empty. Not only lazy, but Cám is also cunning and deceitful. To obtain the reward, a peach-colored robe, from her mother, Cám deceives Tấm into giving her all the shrimp and crab - the result of a day's hard work by Tấm.
'Sister Tấm, you're dirty.
Let me dust you off or mom will scold you'.
These seemingly caring words mask Cám's cold-hearted scheming. Exploiting Tấm's trust, Cám empties her sister's basket to claim the reward from their mother, indifferent to the potential distress it may cause Tấm. Cám's actions and words are contradictory; her apparent concern for Tấm is deceitful, which is even more cruel considering Tấm's lack of love and affection since childhood.
When Tấm luckily meets and marries the king, becoming queen, Cám becomes envious of her sister's happiness, breeding resentment. Plotting to kill Tấm to seize the queen's position illustrates Cám's extreme cruelty and greed. No longer just about a basket of chestnuts or a few shrimp, this time it's about someone's life, someone who is her own flesh and blood. Cám takes advantage of their father's death anniversary; when Tấm returns to pay her respects, Cám, leveraging Tấm's trust and honesty, joins their mother in cutting down the betel tree, causing Tấm to fall into the pond and die. Cám's inhuman actions deserve condemnation. At this point, it's not just a family feud but a battle between good and evil, between greatness and depravity in society.
After Tấm's death, she came to understand the cruel nature of Cám and their mother, as she turned into a golden bird to warn:
'Wash my husband's clothes
Wash them clean
Hang my husband's clothes
Hang them high, hang them low
Don't hang them on the fence
Tear my husband's clothes'
Upon the warning of the golden bird, Cám recognized it as Tấm's returning soul, determined to kill the bird, harming Tấm once again. Though Tấm turned into a wooden frame, a peach blossom tree, Cám relentlessly sought to destroy all signs of Tấm's resurrection. With piled sins, Cám never reflected upon herself, her words, or her deeds with remorse or guilt.
Ancient folklore says, 'Goodness begets goodness, evil begets evil,' and indeed, Cám eventually paid the price for her crimes. When Tấm bravely stood up to reclaim what was rightfully hers, it was also the moment when Cám and their mother faced deserved retribution, and Cám met her end. Cám's demise signifies the eradication of evil, the triumph of good, and justice prevailing.
