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Prompt: The Character of Nhĩ and Reflections on Life and Humanity in the Short Story Homeland
Sample Essay: The Character of Nhĩ and Reflections on Life and Humanity in the Short Story Homeland
Essay:
Mentioning the author Nguyen Minh Chau (1930-1989) is to evoke a writer who extensively explored and innovated in terms of ideas and artistic expression in modern Vietnamese literature. He always 'longed to find the hidden gems deep within the human soul' to elevate the humanitarian values in life. His short story Homeland, written and published in 1985, portrayed the writer's insights into human life and the most valuable true values. In the work, the character Nhĩ is placed in a truly paradoxical and impoverished situation, allowing Nguyen Minh Chau to reveal the character's profound feelings and thoughts about family, life, and homeland.
Nhĩ was someone who had traveled far and wide across the globe 'having traveled to every nook and cranny'. He had witnessed many new and captivating beauties. If judged conventionally, he would be seen as a successful individual, accomplishing great deeds and greatly admirable. However, when he fell seriously ill to the point of being bedridden, all activities had to rely on the care of his wife and children, as well as the kind neighborhood children. Nhĩ had to 'exhaust all his strength crawling bit by bit on the wooden plank. When he managed to lift himself up from the mattress he lay on, he felt as though he had just flown half a world away'. This was truly a dire situation that the author placed the character in. It was also for the character to have the opportunity to look back on his life and reflect on the things lost. In literature, many authors place their characters in precarious situations, on the brink between life and death, often to highlight the love of life and the fervent desire to overcome adversity. Authors like O. Henry with 'The Last Leaf', or Jack London with 'Love of Life' have explored situations in this direction. But with Nhĩ, author Nguyen Minh Chau chose a completely different approach: Nhĩ faces death to realize insights about life, which humans may find difficult to grasp without experiencing it firsthand.
When the author describes Nhĩ's state of mind during his days in bed, we see that he had a keen observational ability and a sensitive soul. Firstly, Nguyen Minh Chau portrays Nhĩ's fresh perceptions of nature during the autumn. The natural scenes that Nhĩ beheld were not unfamiliar to him. For they were scenes right in front of his small house by the river. Perhaps he had seen these scenes many times before, but then, he overlooked their beauty. When in pain and illness, Nhĩ could not be swayed by the illusions of life or the splendor of success, life gave him the opportunity to appreciate the scenery: 'The sky seemed higher. The early sun rays were slowly moving from the water's surface onto the banks on the other side of the river, where a long-standing silt of the Red River was revealed in front of Nhĩ's attic window, with colors so familiar as if they were skin...'. The pen describing the scenery by Nguyen Minh Chau is expressed through Nhĩ's perspective in this moment so vividly, it contains an intense affection for the simple things around him. Nhĩ's vision perceives the beautiful colors of the homeland's nature, he sees 'The autumnal flowers become more intense in color' and 'the Red River a pale red'. Those purple and red colors make the landscape around Nhĩ vivid, beautiful, even though it is extremely simple in life. Perhaps through Nhĩ's confessions and emotions, the author wants to tell readers that the simplest things, sometimes, are the most sacred, valuable, and the most beautiful. It turns out that the homeland is the most beautiful place above all other places Nhĩ has ever set foot in. We discover the deep love for the homeland in Nhĩ's heart, a man who has experienced and is approaching the final days of life.
In addition to Nhĩ's discovery of the beauty of his homeland, this character is also placed in the author's perceptions of family, especially towards his beloved wife. It can be said that Nguyen Minh Chau allows Nhĩ to feel about Liên, his wife, in a very simple way. His deepest feelings for his wife are narrated in a slow, melancholic tone. It is evident in Liên's gestures 'She gently strokes her thin fingers over her husband, then comforts: - You just rest assured. No matter how much effort and expense it takes, I and the children will take care of you'. It is also evident in Nhĩ's realization of his wife sewing her worn-out shirt, a feeling of compassion mixed with regret surges within Nhĩ. Readers perceive that Nhĩ is also a man rich in love and affection, but perhaps, he has once overlooked the silent sacrifices of his wife during the days when he was 'traveling everywhere'. Perhaps this is the hesitation, the wavering in human life, they have to go a very long way to reach the true values of life, and then, when lying down due to illness, Nhĩ feels sorry, thinking: 'Nhĩ feels sorry for Liên. Her whole life has been suffering for me. I love her so much but don't know how to express it'. The most comforting thing for Nhĩ and for readers is that in the final days of life, he finds solace in the warmth of family, where his wife and children lovingly care for him with every meal and every sleep. It is also where the adorable neighborhood children are always ready to help him when needed: 'the kids help Nhĩ lie down outside the mattress. They help him put a hand on the window sill and pile up some pillows behind his back. He feels happy and loves the kids even more'. Perhaps for Nhĩ, those kindnesses make him more deeply understand the value of family, of the homeland. He realizes the sacred feelings he has in this place. Just as he deeply feels the beauty of the sandbar on the other side of his hometown river...
How did Nhĩ come to realize those things so deeply? The skillful portrayal of Nguyen Minh Chau's psychological insights explains it profoundly. Because Nhĩ has a sensitive, perceptive sense of someone about to depart from life. He has deeply appreciated the preciousness of what is familiar, close, and sacred right in front of him, which he may have carelessly overlooked before. And when he realizes this, his ultimate desire is to set foot on the sandbar on the other side of the river.
Why does Nhĩ have that longing? What does it mean? Perhaps it is the expression of reflections on human life.
We can see that desire is the awakening of the enduring, profound values of life, the values often forgotten, especially when one is young. This awakening only comes to those who have experienced. And for Nhĩ, that's when he lies on the sickbed, living his final days, so his awakening is intertwined with regret and sorrow, because he finds it difficult to grasp the things that have passed, as well as the fact that he longs for but never sets foot on the sandbar on the other side of the river.
The author instills in Nhĩ that desire for his son to fulfill: 'Now, go to the other side of the river to help your father', the reluctant son reluctantly agrees because he does not fully understand his father's wish, but then he gets caught up in a chess game, missing the ferry to the other side of the river. Nhĩ finds it difficult to blame his son, as he himself has been drawn into that game, things that his son is doing, he has experienced. Seeing that, Nhĩ realizes that 'people on the journey of life are really difficult to avoid those twists and turns', so one may lose meaningful and beautiful things, which may not be regained. And life and human destiny are full of random paradoxes, beyond plans and desires, leaving regrets for us.
The philosophical meanings of the story are touching and profound, but not everyone fully understands them. The twists and turns of each individual seem inevitable, so they can miss the precious things of their own lives. Feeling the value of life, Nhĩ is experiencing his remaining moments. So, he earnestly wants to convey his experiences to his son, to all those who still have the opportunity to live and grasp the truth. When seeing his son miss the ferry, 'he tries to gather all his remaining strength to swing himself out, raising an arm as a signal to someone out there'. That signal means: Cherish the loved ones around us, know that the homeland is the most beautiful, and the family is the most cherished place for each of us, cherish and nurture it while we still can...
It can be said that Nguyen Minh Chau has revealed a very delicate psychological description when expressing the above content. The inner life of the character Nhĩ and his emotional development are deeply revealed. The author also selects many meaningful details, symbolic images such as the image of the sandbar, the image of the water lilies, or the sound of the rocks pouring into Nhĩ' sleep... From there, Bến quê deserves to be an outstanding short story of modern Vietnamese literature, bringing many philosophical and humanistic meanings about human and life.
After reading the short story Bến quê, and thinking about the character Nhĩ, the reader cannot help but feel nostalgic, sorrowful about the profound reflections, experiences about human and life of him. The story has awakened us to appreciate the normal beauty and precious values of family, of homeland. Because no matter how far people travel, the homeland and family are still the most solid shelter, the place that helps us understand and deeply understand love, sacrifice, and warmth of a place where we bury each other's roots.
