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Topic: Nam Cao's Humanitarian Thoughts in Chí Phèo
1. Sample Article 1
2. Sample Article 2
3. Sample Article 3
3 Engaging Essays Analyzing Nam Cao's Humanitarian Thoughts in Chí Phèo
1. Nam Cao's Humanitarian Thoughts in Chí Phèo, Sample 1:
Nam Cao is renowned in Vietnamese literary history as an outstanding realist writer. He left behind numerous literary works of value, addressing both the intellectual petit bourgeois and impoverished peasants. However, his name is inseparable from the masterpiece Chí Phèo - A work of NC that holds profound humanitarian value while simultaneously criticizing the corrupt society of that era.
Constructing the image of the peasant degraded in the pre-August Revolution colonial society was a novel creation in the country's prose literature in general and specifically for Nam Cao. The author perceived the beauty of simplicity and plainness hidden beneath their rough, unkempt appearance, exemplified by the character Chí Phèo - an artistic representation of a peasant pushed to the point of degradation. Chí, unlucky to be born into a dishonest family without parents or land, had a tough life. Despite the unfortunate circumstances, he grew up healthy, gentle, and kind-hearted, with a simple dream like many other peasants: a small family, a husband plowing, a wife weaving fabric... Initially possessing the true nature of a righteous person, Chí could distinguish between right and wrong, good and bad through his act of massaging Bà Ba's leg - 'He felt more ashamed than pleased.' Living in a normal society, someone like Chí could lead a morally stable life. However, life is never that simple.
In addition to referencing the sample analysis of Humanitarian Ideals in Nam Cao's Chí Phèo, students should explore other topics such as Analysis of the Peasant and Chí Phèo theme or Why is Nam Cao's short story Chí Phèo considered a masterpiece? for review and reinforcement of their knowledge.
2. Humanitarian Ideals in Nam Cao's Chí Phèo, example 2:
In the realm of realistic literature criticism from 1930-1945, Chí Phèo is perhaps the most successful work in delivering powerful, unforgettable impressions of the dark, stifling portrait of rural Vietnam before the August Revolution. Simultaneously, it awakens the finest intellectual qualities of humanity, fostering a sense of hatred towards the morally bankrupt society that trampled upon human dignity. It evokes sympathy for those oppressed and marginalized in the old regime.
Hatred for the colonial feudal society in decay, vehement criticism of the forces dominating society – based on empathy, love, and respect for humanity, especially for those oppressed and downtrodden – these are common inspirations among realistic literature critics from the 30-45 period. However, in the work Chí Phèo, Nam Cao explored this reality with a distinctive perspective. Rather than directly depicting the hardships of poverty, hunger, and tattered clothing – though these are common realities – the author reflects more on a human reality: a person is no longer themselves and may even transform into a 'devil' due to sinister plots and the ruthless oppression of a cruel ruling machine. With a sharp, profoundly humane perspective, analytical and delicate interpretation of reality, abundant life experience, and a compassionate heart, the author has constructed a work with exceptional realistic and humanitarian values not found in contemporary writers.
In any genuine work of art, the value of reality always intertwines with humanitarian values. The more exceptional the work, the more these values permeate and harmonize, inseparable. Chí Phèo by Nam Cao follows this rule. The reflection of content (and reception) - love, respect, or hatred, disdain? Separating these two values disrupts the organic unity of an art form inherently unified.
Deep insights into Humanitarian Ideals are vividly portrayed in Chí Phèo
Upon finishing the work Chí Phèo, what do we perceive? The opening scene depicts Chí Phèo cursing vehemently on the road, from heaven to people, with curses sharp, venomous, and bitter. The conclusion is Chí Phèo struggling amidst so much fresh blood. Enveloping everything, the work haunts us with a stifling, terrifying atmosphere, full of irreconcilable contradictions in a Vietnamese village before the Revolution: looting, intimidation, murder, bullying, creating chaos... among which Chí Phèo emerges as a representative caricature. Let's hear the author's description: 'Now he has become an ageless person. Thirty-eight or thirty-nine? Forty or beyond forty. His face is neither young nor old; it's no longer a human face: it's the face of a strange creature, the face of animals that never know age. After coming out of prison, he became a demonic creature in the village of Vũ Đại without realizing it. His life has no days or months due to endless intoxication. He eats while intoxicated, wakes up still intoxicated, smashes his head and tears his face, curses and threatens while intoxicated, drinks alcohol while intoxicated, only to get drunk again, endlessly drunk. He has never sobered up, and perhaps he has never sobered up to remember that he exists in this world. Perhaps he also knows that he is the demon of the village of Vũ Đại, performing evil for many villagers. He doesn't know how many careers he has ruined, how many scenes of joy he has shattered, how much happiness he has destroyed, causing tears of blood for many kind-hearted people... All villagers fear him and avoid him every time he passes...'
The passage encapsulates the myriad sufferings of a fate no longer touched by the essence of human life. The inherent capacities of a person - emotional, cognitive abilities - are nearly obliterated, leaving only the capacity for violence and destruction. Chí Phèo's destruction of both humanity and appearance stems from where? The author doesn't focus on a lengthy description of that degradation process. Instead, he leans towards explaining and analyzing the deep-rooted source that leads to its tragic outcome, with simple sketches of Bá Kiến, the prison, Mrs. Thị Nở, and societal perceptions in general. In these interconnections, readers easily recognize: Chí Phèo (and not just Chí Phèo, but also Năm Thọ, the Binh Chức - an entire class personified through the character Chí Phèo) transforms from a youth as innocent as a lump of clay into a fierce demon because Chí, from the very beginning, lacked the warmth of love. Especially as he grew up, he was treated with disdain, brutality, and cruelty. The direct culprit is Bá Kiến, described by the author as an old fox 'sly as a weasel,' 'throwing stones while hiding his hands,' 'seasoned in the craft of cunning,' knowing how to be 'soft when necessary and firm when necessary,' 'Secretly pushing people into the river, but then lifting them up to repay favors. Or banging on the table to demand 5 dong but, once received, throwing back 5 hào because he pities the poor soul!'. He plotted to frame Chí Phèo with unjust accusations and then used him as a powerful pawn to serve his own interests and dark schemes. Without Bá Kiến, there is no Chí Phèo, but Chí Phèo is not just a product of domination; he is even an optimal tool for domination: 'Without those stupid ones, who would rule over the stupid ones.' Bá Kiến himself drew the conclusion that, according to him, makes perfect sense. As a criminal, cunning, heartless, yet Bá Kiến appears outwardly as gentle, affable, knowledgeable, causing people to view him with 'reverent' eyes... Thus, he deceived many simple-hearted people. Chí Phèo became his devoted servant, truly transformed into a tool, a means of domination for his cunning enemy without realizing it. Bá Kiến appears in the work Chí Phèo as a typical, vivid, and distinctive character, representative of a part of the ruling class, depicted and explored under the masterful pen of the writer. Alongside him are Lý Cường, the Chief Tổng, the Tảo squad... Together, they create a suffocating atmosphere for rural Vietnam, like the scene of 'Fish fighting over food' (older siblings are just a group of fish competing for prey, constantly spying on and devouring each other). They are the direct culprits of the tragedies of characters like Chí Phèo... The fates of Năm Thọ, Binh Chức, although only mentioned in the work, also contribute to pointing out the systemic and widespread nature of the dehumanizing process in their domination. Behind characters like Bá Kiến, Lý Cường, Chánh Tổng... as an indirect but positive support is the ruthless, filthy prison system - an unfavorable environmental condition. Chí Phèo's time in prison is not directly described, only knowing that when he entered, he was a gentle and kind-hearted person. Upon leaving prison, he returned with a fierce appearance, adopting defiant habits learned there. The author merely mentions this, but for intelligent readers, it's more than enough!
With a unique, flexible artistic style, rich in variations, Nam Cao, when describing and narrating with a psychological structure and storyline that outwardly seems objective, cold, and ruthless but contains countless agonies, pain, and compassion for the painful fate of human life. Embedded in the above realistic picture is the love-hate attitude, the analysis, and evaluation of the realities that the author poses. Choosing a character with the most miserable fate in society as the object of description and conveying countless sympathy, thoughts of pity... in itself carries humanitarian content. But the value
The humanistic essence of the work is most concentrated in the author's perspective on the character degraded to the extreme. Nam Cao discovers in the depth of the character's inherently good nature that just a touch of tenderness can revive vehemently, earnestly. The presence of the character Thị Nở in the work holds a remarkable significance. A person so evil that he's been likened to a 'ghost despising demons,' miraculously becomes the sole source of light illuminating the dark corners of Chí Phèo's soul, awakening the inherent nature within Chí Phèo, lighting up a heart that has slept through days of suppression and rejection. After a brief encounter with Thị Nở, Chí Phèo now recognizes the radiant light outside, the cheerful chirping of birds, the rhythmic sounds of fishing boats paddling in pursuit of fish, the bustling noise of people in the market selling fabric... Those sounds were always there, but today Chí hears them anew. Oh, how sad! In that moment of awakening, Chí Phèo feels the weight of his old age, hunger, cold, illness, and loneliness - this is even more terrifying than hunger and illness. Fortunately, Thị Nở brings a bowl of onion porridge. Otherwise, he might have cried in such a state... Looking at the smoking bowl of porridge, Chí Phèo's heart is stirred with a mix of emotions: He feels as innocent as a child, wanting to be affectionate with Thị as if with his mother... Oh, how gentle he has become! 'He craves goodness - He yearns to reconcile with everyone'... From a fierce demon, thanks to Thị Nở, or more accurately, thanks to the love of Thị Nở, Chí truly returns to being human, with all the inherent capabilities. A bit of love, even the love of a foolish, sick, crude, ugly person, is enough to revive the inherent human nature within Chí Phèo. That's when one truly understands the magical power of miraculous love!
With this detail, Nam Cao has shone a beautiful humanitarian light on the work - The author seems to merge into the character to sympathize, share the rare moments of happiness with Chí Phèo...
However, tragically and painfully, ultimately even Thị Nở cannot bond with Chí Phèo. The tiny last bit of happiness still does not reach Chí Phèo. And it's truly harsh when the inherent nature within Chí Phèo awakens, it's also when Chí Phèo understands that he can no longer return to goodness. Society has robbed Chí of the right to be human and will never give it back. The scars on his face, the result of numerous bouts of drunkenness, stabbings, face-slashing for lying, have broken the bridge connecting Chí to life. And, as Đỗ Kim Hồi said, 'Once a person has tasted a little of the flavor of being human, their emotional experience cannot be lost... That is the ultimate tragedy that can only be resolved by death'. (Literary Journal No. 3-1990)
Chí Phèo's tragic death is a harsh indictment of a society devoid of humanity, a plea for the right to be human, and an urgent call: Save humanity! Show compassion for humanity!
It is the profound ideology and emotions carrying high humanitarian and realistic values that readers extract from the artistically rich pages of Nam Cao's works. The fusion of sharp realistic value and lofty humanitarian value makes the masterpiece Chí Phèo immortal, forever capable of awakening intellect and arousing beautiful emotions in the souls of readers across all ages.
3. Humanitarian Ideology of Nam Cao through Chí Phèo, Exemplar 3:
As a devoted writer to realism, like contemporary realistic writers, Nam Cao is primarily concerned with deeply depicting the suffering of the poor oppressed, including in the work Chí Phèo. The work vividly portrays the social life of rural society, revealing the enclosed system of Vũ Đại village: an impression of the closed nature of feudal village life. Importantly, it exposes the complex social relationships of reality by honestly describing those relationships. Simultaneously, it expresses compassion for those individuals pushed onto the path of degradation, those marginalized by society... This is the realistic and humanitarian value of Chí Phèo.
Nam Cao is considered the Writer of the farmers primarily because of the work Chí Phèo. The work reflects the reality extending across both wide space and the dimension of time. The Vũ Đại village in the work is a small-scale representation of contemporary rural Vietnamese society.
Nam Cao's pen proves sharp in depicting real relationships within the powerful clique. It's not just because the land of Vũ Đại is strategically advantageous, as the geography teacher said, leading the powerful clique to divide and counter each other. They may seem polite on the surface, but secretly wish each other ill. This phenomenon is a law in the countryside, deeply affecting social life - mosquitoes unjustly die when buffaloes clash.
Portraying rural society, Nam Cao first highlights the class conflict between the powerful landlords and oppressed peasants, reflecting the rural reality in terms of class contradictions. This creates significant value in awareness and substantial condemning power.
Nam Cao has constructed a typical image of the ruling class in the countryside: Bá Kiến - the crafty old landlord with a commanding voice and a sly smile, revealing a nature of cunning intelligence. His jealousy is a sign of weakness. Bá Kiến contemplates his ruling tactics, formulating the principle: be flexible, release the grip when needed, stick to those with hair, fear the bald, fear heroes first, fear those who risk everything second... His policy: control the young and fearless, not afraid of death, not afraid of imprisonment.
Nam Cao doesn't delve into tax issues, rage, or corruption. In Chí Phèo, he explores the aspect where peasants are spiritually destroyed, their personalities annihilated, denied the status of human beings by a society that inflicts deep wounds. Chí Phèo's agony lies not only in a life of deprivation: no home, no parents, no close relatives, no inch of land to cultivate... but primarily in Chí Phèo being torn apart by society, robbed of his essence, excluded from the human species, living a demonic existence.
Guide to writing reflections on Nam Cao's Humanitarian Thought through Chí Phèo.
- The opening of the work portrays Chí Phèo stumbling, cursing while walking. Behind the drunkard facade lies the embodiment of a tortured, desperate soul. Chí Phèo's curses aren't mere gibberish but rather obscurely convey the agony of his fate. He represents a segment of oppressed peasants forced onto the path of banditry. Chí Phèo is, first and foremost, a phenomenon reflecting the systematic oppression prevailing in the Vietnamese countryside at that time. It highlights the situation where overly oppressed farmers resist by sacrificing their dignity, becoming easy prey for the exploiting ruling class. Thus, Chí Phèo, once willing to die with his old father, with just a few words and some gestures, becomes a puppet in the hands of the new landlord. The powerful denunciation power of the Chí Phèo character primarily brings to light the systematic phenomenon of banditry in rural areas. However, the broader significance of the Chí Phèo character lies on a higher level: the destruction of humanity in a cruel society, where people are denied the right to be human.
b) Chí Phèo doesn't stop there; with the story of the love between Chí and Thị, despite the humorous tone, sometimes mocking the romance of half-awake people, it remains a serious narrative containing fresh humanitarian ideas.
- In a village where Vũ Đại refuses communication, deeming Chí as a demon, a woman from the despised lineage, hideous to the point of being called a demon, possesses a golden heart. Seeing Chí's kindness, Thị Nở becomes the bridge that awakens Chí at the bottom of degradation to the essence of a laboring person. Through simple care and sincere, rustic love, the miserable woman's love rekindles Chí Phèo's soul. Chí hears the everyday sounds that were long drowned in intoxication. It resonates deeply within Chí, becoming a desperate call for life, making him remember the dreams of his childhood. Perhaps, for the first time in many years, Chí becomes conscious of his fate. He realizes the mysterious, supernatural aspect of himself all these years. And the desire: Is it nice like this forever?... Or should I move in with you for fun? When Thị Nở brings the bowl of onion porridge, he is surprised because this is the first time a woman has done this for him. He recognizes the smell of onion porridge - the flavor of sincere love, simple happiness that is real. He longs for goodness, to reconcile with everyone. Thị Nở's love will pave the way for him to return to genuine love that humanizes. Isn't it true that the somewhat rough love of the ugly woman has awakened the soul of the demon within him?
