Prepare Lesson: Description and Expression in Autobiographical Texts

Prepare Lesson: Description and Expression in Autobiographical Texts page 72 of Language Arts Textbook
 

Lesson Preparation: Description and Expression in Autobiographical Texts (Short 1)

I. THE COMBINATION OF NARRATIVE, DESCRIPTION, AND EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION IN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TEXTS

Question 1:

Description Elements:
+ I breathed heavily, sweat dripping down my forehead, my legs trembling
+ My mother looked worn out, frail
+ Her face still bright with sparkling eyes and smooth skin
Expression Elements:
+ Was it the joy of suddenly being able to see and embrace the flesh-and-blood image of myself that made my mother still look beautiful like in her prime?
+ I sat on the seat, my thigh pressing against my mother's, my head leaning on her arm
+ Pressing my face against my mother's warm bosom, feeling her hand gently stroking from my forehead to my chin
🡺 Description and expression elements intertwine with each other combined with autobiographical elements, rather than being separate.

Statement 2:' My mother waved at me. I ran after her car. Mom pulled me up onto the seat. I burst into tears. My mother also cried along. Sitting beside my mom, leaning into her arms, I observed her face.'
Comments
+, Without the descriptive and expressive elements, storytelling in the passage would become dry, lacking specificity and vividness
+, Descriptive and expressive elements play a crucial role in storytelling, making the story lively, engaging, and emotionally rich.
Statement 3: It's impossible to omit the autobiographical elements in the passage. Without them, the descriptive and expressive elements would lose their coherence due to the lack of narrative context. Hence, autobiographical elements are immensely important in autobiographical texts.

II. PRACTICE

PREPARING THE ESSAY: DESCRIPTION AND EXPRESSION IN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TEXTS (SHORT 2)

Combining narrative, descriptive, and emotional expression elements in autobiographical texts

Question 1 (page 73 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
- Description elements:
+ The car moves slowly... I breathe heavily, sweat dripping from my forehead, my legs trembling.
+ My mother looks exhausted.
+ My mother's face remains bright with sparkling eyes and smooth skin, highlighting the pink color of her cheeks.
- Expression elements:
+ Expressing thoughts: Is it because of the sudden joy of seeing and embracing her own bloody figure that my mother appears so beautiful again, as she used to be when she was prosperous?
+ Revealing feelings: Warm feelings that have long been lost suddenly spread all over my body. The scent of clothes and the breath from the beautiful mouth chewing betel nuts at that time were unusually fragrant.
+ Creating imagery: I had to shrink back and nestle into my mother's arms... for my mother's hand to stroke from my forehead to my chin and scratch my back, feeling how incredibly gentle my mother was.
→ Descriptive and expressive elements are intertwined with narrative elements.

Question 2 (page 73 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
If the descriptive and expressive elements are removed, the connection of the narrative elements becomes dry, lacking images and emotions.

Question 3 (page 73 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
If all narrative elements are removed, leaving only descriptive and expressive sentences, the passage will lack events, and it will no longer be a 'story.'

PRACTICE
Question 1 (page 74 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
Some autobiographical passages use descriptive and expressive elements in the texts:
- My School Journey (Thanh Tinh):
Every late autumn, leaves fall heavily on the streets and silver clouds float in the sky, making me nostalgic for the fond memories of the school gathering. How could I forget the feelings of that bright day blossoming in my heart like fresh flowers in the open sky…

- The Dam Bursts (Ngô Tất Tố):
Mrs. Dậu gritted her teeth:
- You dare tie my husband, I'll show you!
Then she grabbed his collar, pushed him out the door. The addict's feeble strength couldn't match the force of the powerful woman; he fell flat on the ground, still muttering nonsense about tying the married couple.

- Lão Hạc (Nam Cao):
No! Life is not necessarily sad, or still sad but sad in a different sense. I returned to Binh Tu's house after a long time and heard noises from Lão Hạc's house. I hurried over. My neighbors were already bustling inside. I rushed in. Lão Hạc was struggling on the bed, his hair messy, his clothes disheveled, his eyes rolling.

Question 2 (page 74 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
Reference passage: I look at the crowded crowd in this spacious airport, wondering if she would recognize me. When my mother took me to live in America, leaving Hanoi, I was just a 10-year-old girl. I returned after 9 years, when I learned that she had a brain tumor. Today I return, she said she would come to pick me up, but I still haven't seen anyone familiar. A group of people, old and young. Ah, my uncle! The person in the wheelchair over there, could it be, that's my mother! I hurriedly ran over, my mother looked older than before. The wrinkles were deeper, and her hair was grayer, but her face was still as kind as ever. She cried. Oh grandma! The grandchild who has been separated for years has come back to you. Grandchild misses grandma so much. I looked at her kind face and burst into tears like a child, crying even harder when I thought of the illness she was suffering from. She smiled happily, her arms embracing me: 'You foolish granddaughter of mine'

 

PREPARING THE ESSAY: DESCRIPTION AND EXPRESSION IN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TEXTS (SHORT 3)

I. Description and Expression in Autobiographical Texts

Question 1 (page 73 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
- Descriptive elements:
+ The car moves slowly
+ I breathe heavily, my forehead soaked in sweat, my legs trembling
+ Crying loudly, sobbing
+ Exhausted, frail
+ My mother's face remains bright with sparkling eyes and smooth skin, highlighting the pink color of her cheeks.
+ The cute mouth chewing betel nuts emits an unusually pleasant fragrance.
- Expression elements:
+ Is it because of the sudden joy of seeing and embracing her own bloody figure that my mother appears so beautiful again, as she used to be when she was prosperous?
+ I feel the warm feelings that have long been lost suddenly spreading all over my body
+ I have to shrink back and nestle into my mother's arms, press my face against her warm breast, for my mother's hand to stroke from my forehead to my chin and scratch my back, only then do I feel my mother's extreme gentleness.
- These elements intertwine and merge into the narrative elements present in the passage.

Question 2 (page 73 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
- Rewrite the passage after omitting the descriptive and expressive elements:
The car moves... My mother waves me goodbye, a few seconds later, I catch up. My mother grabs my hand, pats my head, I burst into tears. My mother cries too:
- Stop crying! Mommy's back with you now.
My mother uses her brown scarf to wipe away my tears and then pulls me up. Until now, I only realized that my mother was not as exaggerated as my aunt described. I sit on the car seat, thighs pressing against my mother's, my head leaning against my mother's arms. From the intersection to home, I don't remember my mother asking me and I don't remember what I answered my mother.

- If the descriptive and expressive elements are missing, the storytelling passage becomes less vivid, less specific, and more dry.
- The role of descriptive and expressive elements in autobiographical texts: makes the passage more lively, specific, and profound.

Question 3 (page 73 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
- If all narrative elements are removed from the passage, leaving only the descriptive and expressive elements, the passage does not create a story because there are no events, subjects, or clear characters.
- The role of narrative elements, narrators, in autobiographical texts: Narrating people and events is the main content of autobiographical texts, and without it, there would be no story.

PRACTICE
Question 1 (page 74 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
- Text 'I Go to School' (Thanh Tịnh)
'After a resounding drumbeat filled my heart, a few old classmates lined up under the porch and entered the classroom ... Right now, the whole body of these kids is also trembling in unison with the bustling steps in the classrooms'
→ Descriptive and expressive elements in the passage make it more attractive, vivid, and clarify the hesitant state of the students and my thoughts when facing a new world.

- Text 'The Dam Bursts' (Ngô Tất Tố)
'The family head seems hesitant to torture a seriously ill person, afraid or waiting for something to happen, he hesitates, hesitates, wants to speak but dares not. Better to sit in jail. Let them do all the guilt and punishment, I can't stand it...'
→ Descriptive and expressive elements make the action of Mrs. Dậu described vividly and strongly, more decisive. At the same time, it clearly demonstrates the weakness and helplessness of Mr. Dậu and the resistance of Mrs. Dậu.

Question 2 (page 74 of Vietnamese Language 8 Textbook Volume 1):
It's been a long time since my family had the opportunity to visit our grandparents in the countryside. Amidst the scorching summer weather, golden sunlight covers every street, and the car slowly rolls forward. In the car, my whole family laughs and talks happily, looking forward to meeting our grandparents. After about two hours of driving, we arrived. When the car stopped, I saw our grandparents standing at the gate, waiting. Their hair is grayer now, and their faces have more wrinkles. Our grandparents smile brightly, my sister and I run straight into their arms, while my parents carry our luggage into the house. Then, my grandpa lifts my sister up while grandma hugs me tightly. In that moment, I feel so lucky and happy. After arranging our belongings, my whole family sits with our grandparents by the green tea table, sharing so many stories. I hope our grandparents will live a long life with us.