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Essay Topic: Impression of the character Mị in the night of spring romance
I. Detailed outline
II. Sample essay
Impression of the character Mị in the night of spring romance
I. Outline Impression of the character Mị in the night of spring romance (Standard)
- Introduce the author, the work, and lead into the theme of the character Mị in the night of spring romance.
2. Body:
a. Circumstances:
- Impoverished, burdened with an ancestral debt to the local chief Pá Tra.
- To repay her father's debt, Mị has to accept becoming a daughter-in-law in debt to the household of the chief Pá Tra.
* Physical pain:
- Mị lives like a slave, toiling relentlessly day and night.
- From a beautiful, flute-playing girl => transformed into a person living in despair, resigned, indifferent to life.
=> Powerfully depicts the physical agony and extreme misfortune not only of the character Mị but also shared by many other women in Hồng Ngài.
* Mental anguish:
- Living in a dark room with only a window the size of a palm, always blurred, uncertain if it's misty or sunny.
- Forced to abandon all her life's aspirations, relinquish a life of freedom, burying her youth in a debt-laden marriage.
b. Turning point in life on the night of spring romance:
- The melodious sound of the flute calling echoes - the sound of life seems to awaken Mị' soul.
=> Mị' seemingly calloused heart is gradually coming back to life, echoing the essence of the soul, a blossoming spirit, stepping out of the long-standing rigid shell.
- The transformation in Mị' soul is further revealed through the detail of Mị drinking alcohol: 'On Tet days, Mị also drinks. Mị secretly takes the wine jar, drinking it greedily bowl by bowl'.
=> A resistance, Mị wants to assert her rights, to live once as a human being in the place that has brought so much pain to Mị.
- Mị drinks the wine vigorously, bowl by bowl => Expresses resentment, discomfort within.
* Revival of the soul:
- 'Mị feels revived, suddenly joyful again like the Tet nights of the past'. => Regaining emotions.
- Reflecting on her life and youth, 'Mị is still young. Mị is still very young', simultaneously revealing desires and wishes: 'Mị wants to go out'.
=> The desire for freedom, the desire to live, to enjoy life of Mị is most vividly exposed.
* Tragedy of physical bondage:
- Mị plans to change into a bright dress to go out, but A Sử returns, denying Mị the right to celebrate Tet. Cruelly grabbing Mị by the hair, then tying her to a house post with a rope.
- 'Mị stands silent, as if unaware of being tied', Mị is still thinking about the games, the festivities that Mị longs for. => A Sử's rope cannot bind the fiercely longing soul of Mị.
- Mị resists 'Mị steps forward' but the rope tightens, 'hands and feet ache unable to resist'.
- Hearing the horse hitting the wall, Mị once again realizes the pain of her fate, that she is not even as valuable as a horse. Mị sheds tears, contemplating her life's agony with a heart full of sorrow.
=> The miraculous rejuvenation of the soul through the detail of Mị shedding tears.
3. Conclusion:
- Express thoughts on the content of the work and the character Mị in the night of spring romance.
II. Sample essay Impression of the character Mị in the night of spring romance (Standard)
Mentioning Tô Hoài is mentioning a prolific writer with abundant and diverse creativity across various genres. In every genre, he leaves outstanding works and imprints, from children's stories, memoirs, short stories, novels, to film scripts. In the realm of realistic literature, Tô Hoài made a mark with the collection of stories Tây Bắc, including three short stories depicting the lives of people in the Northern mountainous region before the August Revolution. Among them, Husband and Wife A Phủ is the most well-known for its profound humanistic values embedded in the realistic context of the country at that time. Tô Hoài can be considered a trailblazer in exploring the lives of ethnic minorities in the Northern mountainous region, delving deep into the miseries and hidden beauty in the souls of indigenous women under the oppression of both political and divine powers. Mị in Husband and Wife A Phủ is an epitome of extreme misfortune and agony in the Northwestern sky. Mị' life seems to have died since stepping into the household of the chief Pá Tra. However, with a strong vitality and an intense desire for freedom, in that night of spring romance, Mị woke up, began to resist, and sought an escape for herself.
Mị comes from a poor peasant family; her father had to borrow money to marry, a debt that lingers even when Mị has grown up, becoming a beautiful and talented girl who still hasn't fully paid off the debt. This ancestral debt has dragged Mị' life into the utmost misery. To repay her father's debt, Mị has to accept becoming a daughter-in-law in debt to the household of the chief Pá Tra, forced to live together with A Sử, a person Mị despises. Mị has to relinquish the love of her life.
On the first day as a daughter-in-law, Mị attempted to escape back home, holding a handful of leaves, wishing for a swift end. Despite struggling and resisting against her fate, Mị realized that if she died, who would repay the debt for her elderly father? Filial duty and affection kept Mị bound to this existence. Yet, living felt no different than a soulless body merely existing. Despite the facade of becoming a wealthy family's daughter-in-law, Mị lived as a slave, toiling day and night continuously, enduring physical agony and mental torment cohabiting with a brutal man. The suffering in her body and the spiritual torment seemed to have killed Mị' heart and soul. Mị, once a beautiful girl with a talent for playing the flute, now lived like a laboring machine. For years, no one heard Mị speak; she remained silent, 'crawling like a turtle in the yard,' enduring each painful year. Despite being a beautiful girl with flute-playing talent and a once-romantic love story, Mị turned into a daughter-in-law burdened with debt, facing the brutality of an uncouth man, imprisoned in a dark room with a tiny window always blurred, uncertain if it was mist or sunlight. Mị had to abandon all her life's aspirations, surrendering her youth in a debt-married life, marrying a rich man but living in a hellish realm on earth. Mị had no right to choose, no alternative path. She could only wrap herself in a stiff shell, moving silently through the dark, desperate days.
Not only the physical pain made Mị callous, but it was the wounds in her soul that made her indifferent to everything. From a beautiful girl who played the flute, admired by many, with a seemingly beautiful love story, Mị suddenly became a daughter-in-law in debt, colliding with a boorish man, confined to a dark room with a small window. Mị had to abandon all her life's dreams, surrendering to a debt-married life, taking a rich husband but living like living dead, indifferent to life. Mị felt like a machine laboring for years; no one heard Mị speak, she remained silent, 'getting lost like a turtle in the yard,' traversing through painful years. Clearly, a beautiful girl with flute-playing talent, around the age of twenty, lived like a handful of ash, cold, lonely, even unable to feel joy or pain because 'in prolonged suffering, Mị got used to it. Now, Mị thinks of herself as a buffalo, a horse. A horse only eats grass, works, and nothing else.' Yet, in the midst of numbness, lacking passion for life, Mị still recognized the suffering not equal to the beasts, painfully portrayed in the lives of women in Pá Tra's household, where 'horses and buffaloes sometimes rest, but women in this house bury themselves in work day and night.' This small detail vividly illustrated the extreme agony, misery, not only for Mị but for many women in Hồng Ngài, living a life worse than livestock.
It seemed that Mị' life would forever remain silent, stagnant, eternally buried under the rule of political and divine powers. However, the night of spring romance along with the sound of the flute calling friends - the sound of life in Husband and Wife A Phủ - seemed to awaken Mị' soul. A soul not completely dead, hidden deep in the handful of ash, these were the burning embers of vitality, still fervently longing for life and freedom. When spring arrived, young girls and boys enthusiastically dated, wearing colorful outfits, playing flutes, blowing leaves, affectionate all day long. Mị heard the flute echoing back, 'passionately reviving.' In a subconscious manner, Mị suddenly murmured along with the song someone played. These lyrics, although not spoken, seemed to be the echo of her soul, a revived soul gradually emerging from the long-stagnant ash.
The transformation in Mị' soul becomes unmistakably evident through the detail of Mị drinking wine: 'On Tet day, Mị also drinks wine. Mị secretly takes the wine jar, drinking eagerly bowl after bowl.' In reality, Mị holds no status in Pá Tra's household; her life is even more destitute and miserable than livestock. Thus, drinking wine is an extravagant event for Mị. Even if caught, Mị might face punishment. Despite this, Mị still clandestinely drinks, a form of resistance. Mị wants to assert her rights. While everyone in Pá Tra's household enjoys abundant wine during Tet, Mị desires the same. Mị wants to experience, just once, living as a human in a place that brought so much pain. So, Mị drinks resolutely, not merely to satisfy desire but seemingly to drown all the grievances and pains. It's a way for her to express long-suppressed resentment and discomfort. In the fiery alcohol, memories flood back to distant days. Before being forced into marriage, Mị had a beautiful life, a promising future, being a perfect, hardworking girl with a blossoming love. But in one night, it all turned into a nightmare. The more Mị thinks, the more lost she becomes in nostalgia. Suddenly, alone in the room, Mị feels a revival within, 'Mị feels happy again, as in the Tết nights of the past.' Mị' seemingly dead soul has miraculously come back to life, experiencing joy long-forgotten, the liveliness of a young heart. It's perhaps since the moment Mị entered Pá Tra's household that she couldn't feel happiness. Not just in emotions, the proof of Mị' revived soul lies in her realization about her youthful life, 'I'm still young. I'm still young,' simultaneously expressing the longing desire, 'Mị wants to go out.' At this moment, the intense desire for freedom and the yearning for a vibrant life are vividly revealed. Mị is no longer the young woman silently enduring in Pá Tra's household with a perpetually sorrowful face. She has almost restored her true nature, a beautiful, life-loving, flute-playing young girl, beginning to dare to resist and reclaim happiness for herself.
Unfortunately, though Mị' soul has been liberated, her body is still under the control of tyranny. While Mị was about to change into a dazzling dress to go out, A Sử returned, denying Mị the right to enjoy Tet. Cruelly grabbing Mị' hair, A Sử tied her to a house post with a rope, severing all the joy that had just blossomed in the woman's soul. A Sử left, leaving Mị alone in a dark room. In such circumstances, one might think Mị would collapse, despair once more. Surprisingly, 'Mị stands still, as if unaware of being tied,' her mind still thinking about the games, the festivities Mị yearns for. It's as if A Sử's rope tightened; it could only restrain Mị' body but not the intensely desiring soul. Mị begins to resist, 'Mị takes a step,' but the rope tightens, 'hands and feet in pain, unable to wriggle.' Hearing the sound of a horse hitting the wall, Mị once again realizes the fate's agony that she's not even equal to a horse. A horse, after all, has the freedom to stamp its hooves against the wall, whereas Mị is bound, unable to struggle. Tears flow as Mị thinks about the painful journey of her life with a poignant sentiment that she seemed to have overlooked for so long.
The night of spring romance concludes with Mị being tied in her bedroom. However, this is not the end. In fact, all the events unfolding sequentially serve to gradually awaken the soul nestled within Mị' rough shell. Until Mị fully grasps the pain of her fate, comprehends her self-worth, along with the fervent desire to live and be free, that is when Mị completely resurrects, both physically and spiritually. A Sử tying Mị is the precursor, the beginning of powerful resistance, self-liberation for others and for Mị herself, to find a new, better life and future.
