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Prompt: Perception of the onion porridge imagery in the story of Chí Phèo and the rice bran porridge imagery in The Wife Next Door
Perception of the onion porridge imagery in the story of Chí Phèo and the rice bran porridge imagery in The Wife Next Door
1. Perception of the onion porridge imagery in the story of Chí Phèo and the rice bran porridge imagery in The Wife Next Door, sample 1:
I. Introduction:
- Introducing Nam Cao, the story of Chí Phèo, and the onion porridge detail
- Introducing Kim Lân, The Wife Next Door, and the rice bran porridge detail
Introduction reference:
Both Nam Cao and Kim Lân are skilled short story writers, with many touching pages dedicated to rural themes and farmers. A common point between the two writers is their simple yet profoundly humane short stories. The imagery of onion porridge in Chí Phèo and rice bran porridge in The Wife Next Door are both remarkable, contributing to the vivid portrayal of the imaginative content of the works and the talent of the writers.
II. Body: Analyze the significance of the two images in sequence, then compare their similarities and differences
1. Onion porridge imagery:
Appearance: This imagery appears in the middle of the story. Chí Phèo, drunk, meets Thị Nở in the banana garden. The romantic scene of the moonlit night led to the love affair between Thị Nở and Chí Phèo. The next day, Chí Phèo falls ill. Thị Nở, out of compassion, goes home to cook onion porridge and brings it to him.
- It serves as a crucial detail driving the development of the plot, vividly depicting the characters' personalities, psyche, and tragedies.
- It contributes to the vivid portrayal of Nam Cao's ideology: belief in the transformative power of human compassion.
2. Depiction of the Rice Bran Porridge:
Introduction: This image appears at the end of the story, during the first meal welcoming the new daughter-in-law of Grandma Tứ's family.
* Meaning:
- Regarding the content:
- For Tràng's family, the rice bran porridge is the meal that dispels hunger, the sole dish at the wedding feast welcoming the new daughter-in-law. Through this, the author deeply etched the poverty, hardship, and scarcity of farmers during the 1945 famine.
- Through the detail of the rice bran porridge, the characters' personalities are revealed:
- Grandma Tứ calls the porridge 'che khoan', she is cheerful, amiable, chatting with her children ->> she is a kind, loving mother, and has an optimistic spirit. The rice bran porridge symbolizes familial love, human compassion, faith, and hope. In times of scarcity, Tràng's mother dared to nurture, comfort, and share life with her daughter. Grandma Tứ speaks only of happy things, bringing out the rice bran porridge to entertain the new daughter-in-law to create a happier atmosphere.
- Tràng's wife undergoes a change in character. She is greatly surprised by the rice bran porridge, but the new daughter-in-law calmly eats it to please her mother-in-law. This shows that Thị no longer has the stubbornness she once had, but has accepted her circumstances, and is truly willing to face the difficult days ahead with her family.
- Regarding the artistic aspect: This detail contributes to revealing the characters' personalities, demonstrating Kim Lân's talent in selecting details in short stories.
3. Comparison:
* Similarities:
- Both images are symbols of heartwarming human compassion.
- They both depict the tragedies of the characters and the social reality: In 'Chí Phèo,' it's the tragedy of being rejected the right to become a human [the bowl of onion porridge is very modest, even humble, but it's the first time Chí is given without having to rob]. In 'The Adopted Wife,' human fate also becomes cheap.
- Both portray profound humanitarianism, a belief in the power of human love by the writers.
- Differences:
- The bowl of onion porridge: symbolizes the love Thị Nở has for Chí Phèo but the contemporary society rejected Chí, pushing him to his doom. Thus, we see the cruel, inhumane face of the semi-feudal colonial society as well as the pessimistic, hopeless view of Nam Cao.
- The rice bran porridge: symbolizes family love, human compassion, faith, and hope in the good qualities of the working people during the famine. After the rice bran porridge, people talk about the Viet Minh. Thus, in Kim Lân's work, there is an optimistic view, full of trust in the characters' transformation under the leadership of the Party.
4. Explaining the similarities and differences:
- Both writers depict the farmers during the 1945 famine.
- The difference lies in the influence of the Revolutionary ideals on each writer. Nam Cao has a pessimistic, hopeless view of the farmers' fate. Kim Lân has an optimistic outlook, believing in a bright future.
2. Reflection on the portrayal of the onion porridge in Chí Phèo and the rice bran porridge in The Adopted Wife, model 2:
In each literary work, we find different images, artistic details carrying the values, emotions of the author, as well as the artistic intentions that the writer wants to convey to the readers. Through Nam Cao's 'Chí Phèo,' the image of the bowl of onion porridge becomes the key to awakening a person. Not only that, when delving into Kim Lân's 'The Adopted Wife,' surely within the hearts of readers, there is no end to the turmoil with the haunting image of the rice bran porridge.
The Onion Porridge in 'Chí Phèo' by Nam Cao:
- The image of the onion porridge is closely associated with a special sentiment favored for the bond between Chí Phèo and Thị Nở. Chí, a man inherently 'good as soil,' has experienced the ups and downs of life, abandoned, sold, insulted, crushed... to slide down the slope of degradation and become a demon of Vũ Đại village. The hands of cruel oppressors (among whom Bá Kiến is one) and the colonial prison did not allow Chí Phèo to be righteous. Estranged, scorned, intoxicated, humiliated... we thought Chí's life would slide endlessly, down to the bottom under the guise of a beast. However, it was the bowl of onion porridge that Thị Nở brought to him that awakened a heart, a soul capable of being moved, a person in need of warmth, longing for love.
- The significance of the onion porridge image:
+ Regarding the content:
- The love, care, and humanity that Thị Nở shows to Chí Phèo when he's sick: 'I would be heartless if I abandoned him now. After all, we've been living together like a 'married couple.' The term 'married couple' sounded strange yet appealing...'
- It's the first time Chí is cared for by a woman's hands, full of love and warmth of a family: 'Who cooked this for him to eat? And who would cook for him to eat again! He had never been cared for by a woman's hands before' and he feels the onion porridge, though simple, is really delicious and he wonders: 'why is it only now that he's tasted the flavor of the porridge?'.
- It serves as a remedy for Chí's soul -> from surprise, then he's deeply moved, making the character remorseful, reflecting on his current miserable situation. After eating the bowl of onion porridge, Chí earnestly wishes to return to a virtuous life. -> The onion porridge has awakened the buried humanity within Chí Phèo -> stirring up the desire to reconcile with others, hoping for a chance to return to a virtuous life and Thị herself will help him integrate.
+ Regarding the artistry:
- It's a very important, pivotal detail to drive the plot development, vividly depict the character's personality, psyche, and tragedy.
- It contributes to expressing a profound ideological view of Nam Cao: trust in goodness and humanity, in the goodness of human nature.
The Rice Bran Porridge in 'The Adopted Wife' by Kim Lân:
- To start a new day differently with the arrival of a new member in the family, Tràng's mother specially prepared a dish, though 'bitter, choking' but she still praised it as 'delicious as if it were a feast' - that's the rice bran porridge. In the famine, people still yearned for a warm happiness with their family. This detail carries many artistic implications that Kim Lân wants to convey to generations of readers.
- The significance:
+ Regarding the content:
The rice bran porridge is a meal to drive away hunger, the only meal for the wedding feast that Tràng's family welcomed the new daughter-in-law with. In the midst of the famine, when the gloomy, deadly atmosphere was engulfing the entire village, when 'Our village barely has any leftover rice bran to eat,' the poor fate of the people in the famine, then that bowl of rice bran porridge became a tiny happiness they had.
+ Concerning the artistry:
- Through the writer's pen, the characters' psychology appears vividly and profoundly, expressing the humanitarian and literary values of the work:
- Bà cụ Tứ: a courageous mother, rich in maternal love, valuing family bonds (even in times of scarcity, she nurtures and protects her children). Despite her old age, she wakes up early to prepare meals for the whole family; moreover, in the midst of poverty and impending death, she strives to have a simple wedding feast for her son.
- Tràng's wife: a change in character: extremely surprised by the rice bran porridge, but the new daughter-in-law remains calm and eats it to please her mother-in-law - no longer displaying her former arrogance but accepting the situation, truly ready to overcome the difficult times with her family.
- The rice bran porridge is a pot of familial love, human kindness, faith, and hope for life and happiness.
Comparison:
- Similarities:
+ Expression of warm human kindness, tolerance.
+ Thereby, deeply portraying the character's tragedy and reenacting societal reality: tragedy being pardoned + being denied the right to be human (onion porridge) ---> even though Chi desires goodness, the only way is death to avoid becoming degraded. Rice bran porridge: portrays the harsh reality of famine (bran is animal food but now becomes a precious dish, especially for a family).
=> A unique realistic perspective, humanitarian spirit.
- Differences:
+ Onion porridge: symbol of the affection Thị Nở bestows upon Chí Phèo, yet prejudices and contemporary societal realities push Chí to a dead end --> cruel colonial regime. Additionally, it reflects Nam Cao's pessimistic view of farmers - the writer's realistic perception before August Revolution.
+ Rice bran porridge: symbolizes familial love, human kindness, faith, and hope in the good qualities of laborers in hardship. Faith in the revolutionary potential of the people by Kim Lân (after the bran porridge, Thị mentions the hungry group, the Viet Minh flag... Tràng seems to see a brighter path, believing in the Revolution) --> the writer's perception after the August Revolution.
