Buzz
Sample Essay:
Last summer, Nobi and Doraemon (two characters from the comic Doraemon that we still read) traveled to Vietnam for vacation. Luckily, they stopped by my house to ask for a place to stay overnight. It was truly a special day.
After dinner, our parents let us three go up to my room to play. After examining my small room, Nobi expressed great liking for it, just regretting that it looked a bit... cramped (?!) to him. Then he bragged:
- Do you know how talented Doraemon is. Whatever you wish for, he can make it happen immediately.
Doraemon gave Nobi a glare, but then he also said:
- I can't do everything. But if you want to go play somewhere far, we'll go. I've got the magical door with me.
What a coincidence. This morning we were debating: What kind of person is Cinderella? Why would someone as gentle, kind, and filial as Cinderella be able to harm her stepsister so fiercely? After arguing fruitlessly, we decided to ask the teacher, but she was absent. Why not take this opportunity to ask Cinderella directly now?
Hearing my request, Doraemon said:
- Great idea! I also want to visit your fairy tale world. However, we won't go through the magical door but will use this time machine instead.
Saying that, he immediately pulled out the time machine from his magical pocket. Following Doraemon's instructions, as I closed my eyes, I opened them to find myself in an incredibly strange world. A magnificent palace lay right in front of me. Servants hurriedly moved about. Seeing a girl sitting on a swing in the garden, we went to inquire. Unexpectedly, she turned out to be Cinderella (Nobi and I, each lost a donut with Doraemon about this). We took the opportunity to conduct a brief interview:
- Hello, Cinderella! We've come from the 21st century to visit you.
- Hello, everyone! Are you here to visit me or do you have more questions for me?
The three of us exchanged glances. Surprisingly, Cinderella anticipated what we were about to do. Nobi quickly spoke up:
- Yes, ma'am. We still say to each other: 'As kind as Cinderella.' You've had to endure hardships like picking crabs, catching snails, doing hard labor, and still get scolded by your stepmother, bullied by your stepsister. Even when you caught a small fish, you didn't eat it but released it into the well to nurture it. When you couldn't pick the same amount of rice as your stepmother ordered, you just cried. That's truly kind of you. So why could you do something that few dare to do, like pouring boiling water over Cinderella, then making her body into fish sauce to send back to your stepmother?
- Is that true? Cinderella exclaimed in surprise.
I quickly intervened:
- Yes, indeed, ma'am. I even brought the book with me.
I took out the book and read the ending for Cinderella to hear. After listening, Cinderella was stunned for a moment. Then she told us:
- That's not true, dear. No matter how much you hate or even resent Mother and Daughter Cám, how could I ever do such a dreadful thing. There must be some misunderstanding here. It's truly terrifying.
We didn't know what to say. After accompanying her to visit the palace, we bid her farewell, feeling uneasy.
During dinner, we recounted the story to my mother. My mother said:
- Cinderella is right, my children. Even an ordinary person would find it difficult to do that, let alone Cinderella.
I wonder:
- Then why does the book have that part, Mom?
- You must remember, Cinderella is a fairy tale. Before being printed into books for children to learn as it is now, it was passed down through the oral tradition of the people. Therefore, it reflects the views, thoughts, and beliefs of the people about life as well as the dream of a just society, where the poor and disadvantaged like Cinderella should live happily, while the wicked like Mother and Daughter Cám should be justly punished. Thach Sanh pardoned Ly Thong, but Ly Thong's crimes were too great, how could heaven and earth forgive him? Suppose Cinderella pardoned Cám, she would still suffer the same fate as Ly Thong. But Mother and Daughter Cám are even more cruel. Ly Thong only pushed Thach Sanh to die in his place, or filled the cave entrance with dirt so Thach Sanh couldn't escape, but Mother and Daughter Cám didn't just kill Cinderella once. Cinderella died and turned into a golden bird, Cám smashed the golden bird. Cinderella turned into a apricot tree, Cám cut down the apricot tree. Even when Cinderella transformed into a pile of ashes, Cám didn't hesitate to burn the pile of ashes. Cám was determined to kill Cinderella to the end. With such atrocities, our people believe that Cinderella must personally punish Cám to satisfy justice. Cinderella's actions, the tragic death of Mother and Daughter Cám, are the victory of good over evil after good has struggled fiercely with blood and tears. In reality, Cinderella couldn't do that, but our people took revenge for her, using imagination to enforce justice.
Oh, I see! We didn't expect to learn such a valuable lesson in such a short time. Doraemon said:
- I never expected, your world is truly complex, but also fascinating.
It's time for Doraemon and Nobi to go home. The two promised me to come back next summer to explore the magical and mysterious fairy tale world together.
So we have suggested the next assignment Imagine and recount a meeting with a character from a fairy tale, you need to carefully prepare the contents of Imagine 20 years later on a summer day when you revisit your old school and along with the part Imagine yourself as Dam San to recount the battle of Mtao Mxay to study Vietnamese literature better.
