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Prompt: Reflect on the courageous fighting spirit of our communication team member in Tố Hữu's poem 'The Gatherer.' Why does the author revisit the image of the Gatherer at the end of the poem?
Sample speech reflecting on the brave combat spirit of our communication team member in Tố Hữu's poem 'The Gatherer.' Why does the author revisit the image of the Gatherer at the end of the poem?
Sample Work
Writing about the heroic young figures of Vietnam, Tố Hữu's poem 'The Gatherer' stands out as a remarkable piece of resistance poetry.
1. After portraying the charming physical appearance and innocent soul of Gatherer, the poet crafted beautiful verses praising the self-sacrificing fighting spirit and heroic qualities of the communication team member. Suddenly, Gatherer's image becomes extraordinary:
'Zooming past the frontlines
Bullets whizzing through the air
Title: 'Urgent Dispatch'
Fear what, danger or poverty?'
Amidst the battlefield where 'bullets whizzing through the air', the communication officer charges forward, 'zooming past'. The phrase 'zooming past' depicts swift and courageous combat actions. There's no room for hesitation or delay while carrying the 'urgent dispatch.' It's a command to fight. The line 'Fear what, danger or poverty?' rings out like a challenge, like a vow to fight where death seems lighter than a feather.
The young soldier resembles a 'little child' leisurely strolling through the lush rice fields. The term 'bobbing' suggests an innocent, serene posture of the communication officer as they traverse the battlefield amidst smoke and flames:
'Desolate countryside roads
Fields of swaying rice
The little boy's cart
Bobbing on the field...'
The poet seems to be 'holding their breath' watching. And Gatherer has fallen. The lines are fiery and bloody, filled with lament and pain. Two consecutive exclamatory lines rise like painful sobs:
'Suddenly, a red flash
That's it, Gatherer!
The little comrade
A stream of fresh blood!'
Gatherer fought for the homeland. Gatherer sacrificed for the homeland. Gatherer was wounded, yet the hand still 'clenched tightly' to the rice stalk. Though fallen, Gatherer's spirit still 'soars' amidst the sweet fragrance of rice fields:
'Lying on the rice field
Hand gripping the flower tightly
Rice fields emitting the scent of milk
Soul drifting amidst the fields
These are the most poignant lines depicting the sacrifice of soldiers on the battlefield. Tố Hữu has crafted an artistic space infused with the scent of rice, blending the souls of fallen soldiers with the familiar yet profound simplicity. The communication team member has fallen in the posture of a teenage hero!
2. In the poem's conclusion, Tố Hữu recalls the 8 lines from the opening stanza: 'The little boy toddles... Skipping on the golden road.' This structure is known as 'corresponding start and end,' or circular construction. In this poem, it holds a unique aesthetic value. Although the communication team member bravely sacrificed outside the battlefield, their patriotic spirit, courageous determination, and the heroic name of the teenage hero remain immortal, living forever in the hearts of our people. 'Death turns into immortality,' that is the fierce sacrifice of the Gatherer. The heroic example of the Gatherer shines eternally.
Besides the lesson Reflecting on the brave combat spirit of the communication team member in Tố Hữu's poem 'The Gatherer.' Why does the author revisit the image of the Gatherer at the end of the poem?, in the Vietnamese Literature curriculum for 6th grade, there are other important lessons such as Composing the narrative in autobiographical writing and the content of the section Composing Nouns that students need to pay attention to.
