My Reflection on 'The Vietnamese Bamboo Tree' by the writer Steel New

Prompt: My Reflection on 'The Vietnamese Bamboo Tree' by the writer Steel New

3 Sample Essays: My Reflection on 'The Vietnamese Bamboo Tree' by the author Steel New

1. My Reflection on 'The Vietnamese Bamboo Tree' by the author Steel New, Sample 1:

The resounding victory at Dien Bien Phu reverberated worldwide, earning admiration and respect from nations undergoing revolutions to break free from colonial oppression. In 1956, Polish filmmakers produced a movie about Vietnam titled 'The Vietnamese Bamboo Tree,' portraying the bamboo as a symbol of the noble qualities of the Vietnamese people, particularly their indomitable spirit, resilience, and perseverance. Writer Steel New provided commentary for the film, enriching it with poetic imagery and musicality, stimulating the reader's imagination. This essay can be seen as a brilliant piece of subjective writing, seamlessly blending descriptive artistry with sentimentality and critique.

After 1954, the momentum of the Dien Bien Phu victory still felt fresh, as if it had just happened yesterday. Every morning, the Voice of Vietnam radio station played the Liberation of Dien Bien anthem. The people of the North enthusiastically embarked on economic restoration and socialist construction. Our international friends provided substantial material and moral support. The film 'The Vietnamese Bamboo Tree' was completed amidst this vibrant atmosphere, and this essay was written in the midst of that excitement.

The film uses the bamboo tree as a symbol, and the commentary must follow that theme. Filmmakers depict typical characteristics, viewing bamboo as a closely associated plant, providing shelter for a cultural foundation, a close and intimate friend to farmers throughout their lives from cradle to grave. Bamboo is a steadfast companion in daily labor and a loyal ally in the harsh, intense nine-year resistance against the brutal French colonialism. Both the filmmakers and the commentator aim to praise the simple, poetic life, extol the struggle and glorious victory of the Vietnamese nation, exemplified by the humble yet noble bamboo tree.

The essay is divided into four paragraphs. The first paragraph serves as an introduction, outlining the overarching theme and portraying the image of the bamboo tree with its prominent qualities. The second and third paragraphs constitute the body, elaborating and illustrating the main points. The fourth paragraph concludes the essay.

This content is expanded and illustrated with details and imagery arranged in a logical sequence as follows:

Bamboo (and its botanical relatives) are ubiquitous throughout our country. Bamboo possesses simple beauty and many admirable qualities.
Bamboo has long been intertwined with humans, especially farmers in their productive lives.
Bamboo is linked with humans in the endeavor to protect our homeland, our country, most notably in the resistance against the invasion of French colonialism.
Bamboo remains the steadfast companion of our nation on the journey to the future.

The opening statement affirms: Bamboo is the close companion of farmers, the close companion of the Vietnamese people. Bamboo is an easy-to-grow, resilient plant with simple beauty and many precious qualities. The topic of bamboo is not new, but in this essay, the association between bamboo and people has been expanded to the national level. This is unique and creative. The writer does not only view bamboo from a moral aspect but comprehensively, starting from an emotional perspective: bamboo is a close friend of humans, not confined to symbolism.

Let's imagine a screen unfolding before our eyes. Vietnam's lush greenery, with various types of trees throughout the four seasons, but the most abundant is bamboo. Bamboo forests in the North, South, East, and West... connected. The author emphasizes: among all the greenery adorning our land, one species stands out as the most familiar, that is bamboo. Familiar, not just acquainted. It means bamboo has a kinship with humans.

The commentary enthusiastically introduces Dong Nai bamboo from the South, Bac Viet bamboo - the cradle of revolution and resistance, the dense bamboo forests of Dien Bien Phu, where the recent resounding victory of the nation was celebrated... suddenly, a surprising statement is made with a gentle, whispering tone: the bamboo grove of my village. Why does 'my village' appear here? Why would the author's rural bamboo grove be depicted on the screen? Yet we hear it and it sounds natural, reasonable, even soothing? It's because it resonates with the familiar sentiment above. Who doesn't find bamboo intimate?! Therefore, that bamboo grove on the screen, no matter which village it belongs to, is still the intimate bamboo grove of my village. Because wherever we Vietnamese go, there's always a bamboo grove as our friend.

The country has just endured nine years of arduous resistance against the brutal French invaders. But it is precisely in those harsh months and years that we discovered: under the leadership of the Party, the Vietnamese people have fully restored and enriched the ancient tradition of Mutual Assistance deeply rooted in the mirror of our ancestors from time immemorial, and the precious, profound shared tradition. Anywhere, on the battlefield, we have dear mothers, sisters, brothers, and beloved bamboo trees. The sentences do not explicitly mention these things, but within their tone, they carry such content. Talking about bamboo is talking about the sentiments of the country, the sentiments of our Vietnamese people.

After the general introduction, now the lens zooms in, describing some characteristics, as well as the virtues of bamboo. The prominent artistic technique in this essay is personification, effectively used by the author to portray the qualities of bamboo. A bamboo shoot sprouts. The commentary summarizes: Bamboo, reeds, bamboo shoots, bamboo groves of various kinds, yet all stem from the same shoot growing upright. Talking about bamboo, it faintly evokes human stories. That young shoot will later become an icon in the symbol of Vietnamese childhood, currently just a shoot but already upright and straight.

Next are the admirable virtues of bamboo. Bamboo demands little: wherever it stands, bamboo thrives. The bamboo's figure is simple, its color vibrant. Despite hardships and scarcity, bamboo remains sturdy, flexible, and robust... That is the virtue of bamboo and somewhat the virtue of our farmers. In commentary: Bamboo looks dignified, simple, with a human-like vigor... then indeed, bamboo's qualities are human qualities. Bamboo and humans have blended together as one.

Now, let's talk about the role of bamboo in the longstanding culture of Vietnam. The lens focuses on the bamboo arches, providing shade, towering over, embracing the villages, as if embracing the lives of an entire nation.

The phrase 'Bamboo shade casting beautiful coolness' is as poetic as a verse, and this whole passage uses the word 'shade' as the dominant theme: Bamboo shade envelops the villages, hamlets, and clusters. Beneath the ancient bamboo shade, the revered ancient communal houses and pagodas faintly appear. Beneath the green bamboo shade, we preserve an ancient culture... On the screen appear the villages, hamlets, clusters, ancient moss-covered communal houses, representing a longstanding culture, alongside the lives of people toiling with the imagery of bamboo always by their side, becoming family, living together, helping each other through generations. Bamboo is like the arm of the hardworking farmer laboring tirelessly year-round. Two verses paired like two steadfast friends: Our fields yield crops two or three times a year, Bamboo and humans toil tirelessly year-round, further affirming that close relationship.

Above was general, now the author specifically outlines the bond between bamboo and people from childhood to old age. Bamboo casts cool shade sheltering from the youthful sun. Splitting bamboo to wrap green square cakes, tightening the bond for young men and women to become husbands and wives. Bamboo is the sole source of joy for countryside children through makeshift dart games. Bamboo brings moments of contentment to the elderly as they leisurely smoke tobacco from bamboo pipes. Thus, from cradle to grave, nestled in bamboo cribs, to the final rest, lying on bamboo beds, bamboo and humans live together, loyal unto death.

The passage is gentle, soothing, full of sincerity. One could consider the commentary in this section as an epic ode to the history of a culture condensed in the imagery of bamboo and the image of Vietnamese farmers spanning thousands of years. Bamboo's shade envelops, protects. Bamboo is the arm, the sympathetic friend, the source of joy, the blissful moment. Bamboo swings childhood, supports old age. Bamboo is family, kin, for generations upon generations.

The writer vividly describes bamboo, both realistic and deeply sentimental, lofty. It's not just the imagery on screen and in words that creates bamboo's beauty, but also the melodious rhythm within each word, each sentence. The cadence within the sentence, within the passage, within the entire essay is balanced, alternating, harmoniously combined, creating a resonant, profound atmosphere.

Bamboo is inseparable from humans in daily life, and bamboo is even more inseparable from humans in the endeavor to protect the homeland, the country.

Since ancient times, bamboo has made miracles with the heroic figure of Village Hero Giong chasing away the An invaders. At the outset of the resistance against the French, bamboo confronted the enemy with mere bamboo staffs. Bamboo became the backbone, comrades of the people, achieving many resounding victories alongside them.

At the outset, lacking steel in hand, the determination of our nation to fight the enemy was immense. Therefore, the sharp bamboo became a sharp weapon against the French invasion forces with ample assistance from the American empire, the British colonialists. Bamboo poles and fences erected the Homeland Defense Barrier in the South immediately after the initial resistance.

Since ancient times, bamboo has accompanied peasant soldiers into numerous national battles. Bamboo alongside soldier-farmers - peasants in military uniforms - fought bravely and tenaciously. When soldiers carried cannons into battle, bamboo made the shafts; when they stormed enemy forts, bamboo made ladders pressing onto barbed wire. When soldiers climbed enemy forts with bamboo ladders, crossing enemy moats with bamboo bridges. Soldiers needed food and water, bamboo made carrying poles on the shoulders of civilian workers. Crossing rivers, bamboo stood ready as rafts, makeshift boats. Remembering the early days of resistance, amidst so much hardship, scarcity of rice, bamboo still sacrificed its flesh and blood: bamboo shoots replacing rice, bamboo ash replacing salt to nourish the soldiers.

Our soldiers are heroes, and bamboo deserves to be a hero too.

Throughout the nine years of resistance against the French, bamboo stood up, truly fighting like a human. It was no longer just the usual anthropomorphic art but a miraculous embodiment. Bamboo transformed into a human in the battle and miraculously won: Bamboo spearheaded tanks, artillery. Bamboo defended villages, defended the nation, defended thatched roofs, defended ripe rice fields. Bamboo sacrificed itself to protect humans... Loving the soldiers, bamboo entered the battlefield... Bamboo attacked enemy forts, bamboo went on the offensive... Bamboo participated in the battle of Dien Bien Phu... Bamboo rejoiced with the soldiers. Bamboo harmonized with the victory song... The passage burns with the flames of battle, soaring with heroic fervor, like an epic praising the miraculous resistance of the nation.

The author not only praises bamboo in battle as heroic, indomitable, courageous, and persevering... but also praises bamboo emotionally and spiritually. Bamboo spearheaded tanks, artillery... because bamboo has boundless love for humanity, villages, thatched roofs, rice fields... Bamboo wants to shelter and preserve everything dearest in this country.

The soldiers and bamboo together achieved the glorious victory of Dien Bien Phu, shining with glory. The enemy dispersed, the land returned to peace, amid the victory song of the people, there is also the voice of bamboo through the melodious flute.

Celebrating peace, bamboo rises with the vast, melodious countryside music. It is the sound of the bamboo flute. The sound of the flute along with the kite soaring with the wind. The stronger the wind, the higher the kite, the more melodious and deep the flute sounds. The last few sentences of the essay are as beautiful as a romantic poem full of emotions:

Kites soar, bamboo kites dance across the sky...
Bamboo flutes echo, bamboo flutes resonate in the heavens...
The wind carries the melody of flutes, lifting the wings of kites.

The vast sky, the endless fields, listen to the song amidst the high sky of bamboo, of bamboo...

That is the song of the future. The future belongs to the children of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. They will grow tall and strong, embodying the resilient and indomitable spirit of their forefathers. Tomorrow, amidst the steel and concrete of life, bamboo will still cast its shadow on the paths they tread to school, and bamboo will carry the heartfelt melodies in the tunes of bamboo flutes, still bringing joy at the gates of victory, on the swinging bamboo swings of spring days. Bamboo will endure with the Vietnamese people, sharing the joys and sorrows of the bright days to come, enduring with us, bringing happiness, peace.

As the film ends, as the introduction to the Bamboo of Vietnam concludes, it is thus. With its unassuming appearance, gentle yet harboring deep emotions and noble qualities within, bamboo epitomizes the virtues of the Vietnamese people, the nation of Vietnam.

2. Reflections on 'Vietnamese Bamboo' by New Steel, model 2:

The essay 'Vietnamese Bamboo' was penned by journalist and writer New Steel in 1956, as an elucidation for the Vietnamese Bamboo film by some Polish filmmakers. Overflowing with prideful inspiration, adorned with literary flair, it crafts the romantic essence of prose.

Opening with an eloquent 18-word sentence, New Steel introduces bamboo as ingrained in the soul of our people, a beloved and intimate companion. The sentence is striking: Bamboo is the cherished companion of Vietnamese farmers, the intimate friend of the Vietnamese people.

In the second part, the author delves into bamboo's presence in both material and spiritual life, in production, in the soul, and in the struggles of Vietnamese farmers, of the Vietnamese people throughout the historical epochs. Beautiful, rich ideas, diverse expressions, and engaging narrative style have bestowed upon bamboo a special place in each of us.

Our country lies in the tropical zone, bathed in sunlight, adorned with myriad lush green plants. The author compares to extol the stature of bamboo in people's hearts: Every tree is beautiful, every tree is precious, but the most familiar is still the bamboo shoot. Bamboo is present throughout the country: Dong Nai, Viet Bac, Dien Bien Phu, the intimate bamboo grove of my village. Bamboo is anthropomorphized, becoming affectionately close: everywhere we have a bamboo shoot as a friend.

The bamboo family is truly diverse: bamboo, bamboo shoot, bamboo pole, bamboo leaves, and dozens of other types, yet they share a common feature, that is, they all grow from the same straight bamboo sprout. A subtle, flavorful discovery. Bamboo has an incredibly strong vitality; wherever bamboo grows, it thrives, and wherever it thrives, it remains lush green. Fifteen years later, poet Nguyen Duy also penned touching verses about the vitality of bamboo:

Wherever bamboo grows, it's always lush green
Even on rocky soil, on chalky, pale soil.

(Vietnamese Bamboo)

Observing the form, color, and vibrant growth of bamboo, the writer discovers its unique beauty, rustic, modest, sturdy, flexible, and resilient. Bamboo is anthropomorphized into a valuable symbol: Tall, simple, dignified, and vigorous like a person. The qualities of bamboo are also the qualities of the Vietnamese people throughout history.

New Steel quotes a line from poet To Huu: The cool shadow of bamboo covering the village, expressing the serene beauty of rural bamboo groves, the tranquil beauty of the homeland: The bamboo shadow covering the affectionate village, hamlet, and commune. Bamboo is the beauty of rural landscapes, the beauty of the nation's ancient culture, the industrious labor and peaceful life of our people through thousands of years of history. Words and images like bamboo shadow, under ancient bamboo shadows, under green bamboo shadows,... are reiterated, echoing, creating a light and expansive narrative style:

Under the shadow of ancient bamboo, the ancient village and temple roofs appear. Under the green bamboo shadow, we preserve an ancient culture. Under the green bamboo shadow, for generations, Vietnamese people have built houses, fields, and opened up land. Bamboo lives with people, lifetime after lifetime. The green color of bamboo is also the color of the soul, the color of time, the color of culture, the color of fidelity.

The arms are a metaphor praising bamboo as the diligent companion in the labor of farmers, sharing joys and sorrows, enduring hardships with the Vietnamese people:

Our fields see multiple crops a year
Bamboo alongside people toils tirelessly.

Discussing the hand-operated bamboo mortar, New Steel evokes memories of hard times. The prose is fragmented into short phrases of 3 or 4 words, rhyming, aiming to create an associative field about the backward economy, the impoverished life of our people after a century of colonial rule: Bamboo mortar / laboriously turning, for millennia / grinding rice.

Bamboo is anthropomorphized: Bamboo lives with people, bamboo ... helps people..., bamboo must always work hard with people, bamboo is family,... From an object, bamboo becomes imbued with a soul, with a spirit intertwined with the hard, warm, and happy lives of our people in the flow of time. Bamboo is intertwined with the emotions of the people. Bamboo strips soft to wrap Chung cakes; its presence in rituals is as 'tight' as the deep, sincere bonds of hometown love; faithful. New Steel's writing is very skillful, the poetry flows richly, intriguing.

The bamboo strips are soft, bound tightly like the early, often timid love under bamboo shadows, bamboo shoots:

This year wrap Chung cakes in green leaves
For the future take bamboo, for love take her.

The bamboo plow is the joy of old age, the bamboo cradle is the warm happiness of childhood, the humble bamboo bed is the bond of all people living together, dying together, faithful. Through bamboo, the author praises the loyal affection as the noble principle of the nation.

Bamboo is a close friend, a family member, the arm of the farmer, the soulmate of all ages. Bamboo is also our 'comrade in arms' in the resistance. Bamboo grows straight, even if burnt, it stands tall, reflecting the indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people. The bamboo staff, the bamboo stick, are our formidable weapons against the enemy, creating heroic deeds and the heroic tradition of the nation. New Steel creatively employs repetition in classic prose:

At first, without a trace of iron in hand, bamboo was everything, bamboo was the weapon. For generations, we are grateful for the bamboo staff that built the Citadel of the Motherland! And the Red River remains resolute with its bamboo banks. In the following passage, bamboo is anthropomorphized, embodying the spirit of farmers in military uniforms, the valiant heroes standing tall. The word 'bamboo' is reiterated 7 times, the short, dense sentences vividly depict the atmosphere of struggle and the resounding victory of our people in the 9-year resistance against the French.

Bamboo staffs, bamboo sticks against the iron and steel of the enemy. Bamboo charges into tanks, artillery. Bamboo guards the village, guards the nation, guards the thatched roofs, guards the ripe rice fields. Bamboo sacrifices to protect humanity. Bamboo, the heroic laborer! Bamboo, the hero of struggle!

This is one of the most glorious prose passages, resonating with the heroic epic tone in modern Vietnamese prose. The atmosphere, the historical era, the miraculous victory of Dien Bien Phu brought forth the mighty pen of New Steel.

The music of bamboo is the melody of the countryside. The music of bamboo clusters resonates deeply in the rustling wind, it's the kite made of bamboo leaves, it's the bamboo flute amidst the vast sky. The prose is rich in musicality and poetic essence, evoking a myriad of emotions and impressions:

Kites fly, bamboo leaf kites soar in the sky...
Bamboo flutes, bamboo pipes resound in the sky..
The wind carries the flute's melody, the wind lifts the kite's wings

In the vast expanse of the sky, amidst the sprawling fields, listen to the song echoing in the high heavens, sung by bamboo, by the bamboo...

The third part of the prose speaks of bamboo in the future. Like a law of eternal life: Old bamboo grows new shoots. The young bamboo shoots will forever adorn the badges on the chests of Vietnamese children. Bamboo, the bamboo shoots will endure... endure... endure... with our nation, 'sharing sweetness and bitterness' with our people in happiness, in peace.

The country will industrialize, modernize, there will be plenty of iron and steel, but bamboo will still live forever in the soul of the nation. The cool shade of green bamboo, the heartfelt melody of bamboo, the gates of victory, the bamboo swings, the sound of bamboo kite will endure alongside our country and our people on the path of bright tomorrows...

Vietnamese bamboo, green bamboo with its myriad humble qualities, its straightness, its loyalty, its courage is the noble symbol of the Vietnamese people.' New Steel has bestowed the finest words praising bamboo with all the love and pride for the homeland, for the country and the Vietnamese people.

3. My Impressions on 'Vietnamese Bamboo' by the writer New Steel, model 3:

The image of slender, delicate bamboo has ingrained itself in the mind of every Vietnamese person. Among the characteristic symbols of the nation: communal house, riverside, ancient banyan tree,... the shadow of bamboo cannot be overlooked. Therefore, the writer New Steel has composed 'Vietnamese Bamboo' to honor the beauty of bamboo, while also praising the beauty of the Vietnamese people.

Throughout the entire piece is the image of simple bamboo, familiar to us all. Bamboo is deeply engraved in the minds of everyone. The author emphasizes the position of bamboo in the hearts of every Vietnamese person:

'Bamboo green, green forever
The tales of old have shores of green bamboo...'

Bamboo has been intertwined with the Vietnamese people since the early days of nation-building and defense. Bamboo is enshrined in the legend of Saint Giong, as a weapon aiding our people in defending the country, repelling foreign invaders. Bamboo, though slender, possesses extraordinary strength. Because bamboo has fought alongside our people for generations to achieve peace. 'Bamboo guards villages, guards the nation, guards thatched roofs, guards ripe rice fields.'

Poet New Steel discusses the shape of bamboo. The author has made very subtle discoveries about the bamboo family. Despite there being dozens of varieties, they all share the common trait of straight, slender shoots, reaching high into the sky, resilient and upright. The delicate leaves, the outer layer reserved for shoots, are like a loving mother always sacrificing for her tender child. Despite being slender, bamboo still stands tall. It is solidarity, a unity that cannot be destroyed. The verse also praises the unity, mutual affection of our people. Despite hunger, despite hardship, our people remain united, turning towards each other. Bamboo perseveres, persistently grasping life regardless of circumstances, whether it's 'stony soil,' 'chalky soil of silver hue.' Wherever it is, bamboo retains its inherent freshness. Bamboo, delicate, resilient, noble like the character of the Vietnamese people. That embodiment is truly skillful and accurate. The author explains why bamboo can thrive in any environment. Bamboo is diligent, enduring in any situation. Despite difficulties, bamboo remains cheerful, optimistic in facing life. It is truly a skillful description. The author is likening our Vietnamese people to the precious characteristics of bamboo. Diligence, unafraid of hardship, always optimistic and cheerful. Especially, bamboo, like people, always support, love each other, together accomplish great deeds. Bamboo and people are indomitable, steadfast in the face of all difficulties. From father to son, 'old bamboo sprouts,' the next generations continue the legacy of our ancestors in preserving the peace of the nation.

Bamboo, alongside the Vietnamese people, has experienced the ups and downs of history, through countless struggles to defend the nation. Bamboo rightfully epitomizes the resilience, indomitability of the Vietnamese people, the beauty of Vietnam.

Similarly, bamboo has endured through the historical upheavals and struggles to preserve the nation alongside the Vietnamese people. Bamboo truly embodies the resilience, indomitable spirit of the Vietnamese people, the beauty of Vietnam.