Buzz
Prompt: Reflecting on the excerpt 'First Life Lesson' from the book 'The Adventures of a Cricket'
I. Detailed Outline
II. Sample Essay
Expressing thoughts on the excerpt 'First Life Lesson' in a refined and selective manner.
I. Outline: Expressing thoughts on the excerpt 'First Life Lesson' (Standard)
1. Introduction:
- Brief overview of author Tô Hoài and the work 'The Adventures of a Cricket', introducing the excerpt 'First Life Lesson'.
2. Main Body:
a. Physical Appearance of Cricket:
- The robust beauty of the cricket is emphasized through descriptions of its 'firmly muscular' legs and sharp claws.
- Its wings, once short stubs, now serve as a long cloak extending all the way to its tail.
- 'my entire body swayed with a glossy brown hue, reflected in the mirror and very pleasing to look at' further showcases the robust, healthy, and youthful vigor of the cricket.
- Revealing a part of the character's personality: Alongside confidence and pride in physical appearance, the cricket also carries an inherent arrogance.
=> A character fond of freedom, living leisurely, arrogant, yet to experience hardships.
b. Personality of Cricket:
- The cricket appears arrogant, fearless, and domineering.
- Striding proudly, always appearing fierce, daring to mock all the villagers.
- Bullies the weak, intimidates the delicate Cào Cào sisters, teases the gentle Gọng Vó, and deludes himself into believing he's about to rule the world, expecting everyone to bow down in reverence.
c. First Valuable Lesson:
* Context:
- Cricket Choắt is the neighbor of Cricket Mèn, often ridiculed and bullied by Cricket Mèn due to his frail and weak condition.
- Cricket Mèn always sees Cricket Choắt as a lazy and careless fellow, living a sloppy and careless life.
* Foolish antics of Cricket Mèn and the tragic death of Cricket Choắt:
- Upon seeing sister Cốc enjoying her meal nearby, Cricket Mèn, feeling mischievous, decided to play a prank on sister Cốc.
- It was only when Cricket Choắt lay motionless that Cricket Mèn realized his mistake, but it was too late for remorse.
- Faced with the brink of life and death, Cricket Choắt harbored no resentment, only earnestly advising, 'Well, I'm too weak and sick now, so it's okay to die. But before I close my eyes, let me advise you: in life, if you have a tendency to be unruly and reckless, if you have a mind but don't use it, sooner or later, you'll bring trouble upon yourself'. => A profound piece of advice for Cricket Mèn.
=> Cricket Mèn, arrogant and proud, who used to fear no one, received his first life lesson, a valuable lesson paid for with someone else's life.
3. Conclusion:
Provide a general impression of the excerpt.
II. Sample Essay: Reflecting on the excerpt 'First Life Lesson' (Standard)
Tô Hoài stands out as one of the most remarkable and prominent writers in 20th-century Vietnamese literature, with works spanning various genres including short stories, novels, plays, memoirs, and even screenplays. Regardless of the genre, Tô Hoài leaves a deep imprint on readers with works infused with passion and abundant creativity. Before the revolution, Tô Hoài was best known for his children's stories - 'The Adventures of a Cricket', which narrates the adventures of Cricket through which the author conveys profound lessons. 'First Life Lesson' is excerpted from Chapter I of 'The Adventures of a Cricket'. The excerpt focuses on depicting the physical beauty and arrogant, haughty personality as well as the first life lesson that changes Cricket's perception.
The opening passage, author Tô Hoài vividly describes the robust beauty of Cricket Mèn through 'its sturdy claws glistening', 'its leg joints growing firmer and sharper'. Realizing its rapid growth, Cricket Mèn also begins to display its strength by 'stomping vigorously on the grass'. The scene where the grass bends and breaks as if sliced by sharp knives reveals the power of the newly grown cricket legs, simultaneously showcasing confidence and the arrogant nature of Cricket Mèn.
The physical maturation of the cricket is also highlighted through the comparison of its wings, which were once short stubs, now serving as a long cloak extending all the way to its tail. The passage 'my entire body swayed with a glossy brown hue, reflected in the mirror and very pleasing to look at' further emphasizes the robust, healthy, and youthful vigor of Cricket Mèn. Through the description of the perfect physical appearance of Cricket Mèn, author Tô Hoài has revealed a part of the character's personality.
Alongside confidence and pride in physical appearance, Cricket Mèn also exhibits a reckless, arrogant nature, with details such as 'my head bulging and prominent', 'my two black teeth always chewing', 'my long and boldly curved whiskers'. At the same time, we also sense a bit of the character's fondness for freedom, living arrogantly without experiencing hardships. It can be said that Tô Hoài has meticulously observed the cricket species and with his rich creativity, he has created a truly remarkable character. Cricket Mèn not only embodies the appearance and character of a typical young person but is also very relatable to children, arousing their interest in following the story.
In addition to describing the physical beauty of Cricket Mèn, Tô Hoài also reveals the initial traits of Cricket Mèn's character when it was still at home, when it was young, when it lived with familiar neighbors. Cricket Mèn appears arrogant, unafraid, striding around like a young general, always appearing fierce, daring to mock all the villagers, but everyone endures, saying nothing in return. Due to lack of understanding, Cricket Mèn thought that it was good, that it was strong and brave, so everyone had to fear, not dare to resist, but in reality, it was because people respected their familiarity so they tolerated its arrogant nature, not out of fear. However, our cricket didn't know where to stop, the more it got, the more it encroached, bullies the weak, intimidates the delicate Cào Cào sisters, teases the gentle Gọng Vó, and deludes itself into believing it's about to rule the world, expecting everyone to bow down in reverence. However, sadly, its reckless, arrogant nature of youth has caused Cricket Mèn to pay a heavy price, and also made others bear the blame for its actions, losing their lives. Though it escaped danger, throughout its life, it has to live with regret, torment for the reckless antics of youth, regretting too late.
The first valuable lesson of Cricket Mèn is closely associated with his neighbor, Cricket Toad. In reality, Cricket Toad is of the same species as Cricket Mèn, but simply due to his weak appearance, even though he has reached adulthood, he looks 'skinny and long like a drug addict', short and stubby wings, heavy, blunt whiskers, and a vacant expression. Compared to Cricket Mèn, it's like night and day, precisely for this reason, Cricket Mèn looks down on this pitiful neighbor a lot, even giving the neighbor the name 'Cricket Toad', in a very mocking and condescending manner.
Not only that, Cricket Mèn also assumes the right to assert himself, having the authority to educate his unfortunate neighbor. In Cricket Mèn's thinking, Cricket Toad is a parasite, lazy, living a careless, negligent life. But Cricket Mèn's arrogance and conceit did not allow him to have a compassionate understanding of his unfortunate neighbor. Because if he had looked closely, Cricket Mèn would have seen that Cricket Toad was originally weak and constantly ill, so he had no strength to dig many tunnels, let alone have the energy to tidy up the house. Not only that, Cricket Mèn not only lacks observation, but also lacks listening, despite Cricket Toad's many complaints, Cricket Mèn just turns a deaf ear, only speaking to please his own mouth, showing off his superiority over the poor neighbor in every way possible. When Cricket Toad hinted at asking for help to dig a tunnel to his house, especially when the lights were off, Cricket Mèn immediately objected with an unpleasant tone, disdainfully scolding Cricket Toad. Cricket Mèn considered Cricket Toad dirty, smelling like a skunk, always crying and moaning, and adding the sin of laziness in not digging a nest. For Cricket Toad, Cricket Mèn felt neither pity nor compassion, only discomfort, not wanting to bother with the misery of this weak neighbor.
Until one day while standing at the entrance of the cave watching the sunset, when he saw Mrs. Beetle just finishing her meal and grooming her wings nearby, Cricket Mèn, who was not afraid of anything, became mischievous and composed a verse mocking Mrs. Beetle:
'The Beetle, the Stag Beetle, the Cockroach,
All three fat beasts, which one?
Pluck Mrs. Beetle's hair for me,
I'll cook, I'll roast, I'll stir-fry, I'll eat.'
The first life lesson is a captivating excerpt that offers readers valuable insights. To delve deeper into the work, I encourage you to explore additional articles such as Analysis of The First Lesson of Life, Mind Map of The First Lesson of Life, Summary of The First Lesson of Life, and Crafting The First Lesson of Life.
