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Essay Prompt: Impressions on the short story 'Riverside Village' by the author Nguyen Minh Chau.
Sample Essay: Reflections on the Short Story 'Riverside Village'
Written Work:
Human life is but once, so everyone desires to grasp its true values, to avoid regret and remorse as time slips away, people lose invaluable things they can never regain. Writer Nguyen Minh Chau, a pioneering figure in Vietnamese literature during the renewal period, conveyed these insights about life in his work 'Homeland Wharf.' By depicting the emotional changes of the character Nhi, a terminally ill man spending his final days in a house by the Red River, the writer aims to awaken people to the importance of cherishing the simple, intimate values of family and homeland.
The story 'Homeland Wharf' revolves around the main character Nhi, a man who once traveled the world, admiring many new and captivating beauties. Later, he fell seriously ill, became paralyzed, and found his final refuge in the comfort of his own family during those painful days.
The initial impression of the 'Homeland Wharf' story lies in the author's unique construction of the plot, highlighting the difference between Nhi's past and present and emphasizing life's paradoxes. Currently, Nhi is suffering from a serious illness, and he can only lie paralyzed in bed 'while his wife feeds him spoonfuls of food.' To move, Nhi has to 'use up all his remaining strength to drag himself slowly, slowly across the wooden plank. When he manages to lift himself off the mattress outside, he feels like he's traveled halfway around the world.' Every small movement of his requires assistance from others. The tragedy of illness is even more poignant when Nhi was once considered a successful man. As described by Nguyen Minh Chau, he had traveled the world, seen many beautiful landscapes. This is Nhi's tragedy, but it also helps him gain many insights into life. Because when he's sick, he has more time and deeper contemplation about life's paradoxes. Placing the character in such circumstances, the writer doesn't intend to emphasize Nhi's tragedy or pain, but rather wants to present the philosophical theme of the work in the most logical and persuasive manner.
Nguyen Minh Chau not only constructs remarkable story situations but also brings us exquisite, beautiful descriptions of the natural scenery of a riverside land. It's a rural picture seen through the eyes of Nhi, a person living only a few short days at the end of life. Through the frame of the small house by the river, Nhi realizes that autumn is approaching, the wildflowers are richer in color, a simple beauty of life that perhaps others around Nhi do not perceive as deeply as he does. As the days of life shorten, as night after night, the sound of the earth crumbling intrudes into his sleep, foretelling death and the end, perhaps the desire to enjoy the beauty of nature and life within Nhi becomes even more intense. The beauty of the land and sky, with colors that are both simple and splendid, seen through the eyes of Nhi, suddenly becomes vivid and mysterious. Nhi deeply loves 'the long-standing alluvial plains of the Red River spreading out in front of the attic window of his house, colors so familiar as if they were flesh and blood, the breath of the rich soil.' It's truly beautiful and poetic, these landscape details are not unfamiliar, quite familiar, yet they captivate the soul. The writer's style helps us see the love for the homeland and the emotional stirrings of Nhi before its beauty. Surely, Nhi is a lover of beauty, always eager to discover and enjoy that beauty. He suddenly realizes that the sandbank on the other side of the river is too beautiful, the most beautiful, but in his current situation, how can he reach that place to appreciate its beauty. The narrative blends bitterness with sorrow: 'Throughout his life, Nhi had traveled far and wide, yet the bank on the other side of the Red River seemed so close but also so far away because he had never set foot there.' Places Nhi had been to were surely beautiful, but they were not as beautiful as the natural beauty of this sandbank. The writer has described the natural beauty interwoven with deep sympathy for Nhi, and for many others like him. The humanitarian value of the work becomes deeply felt, moving people's hearts.
Entering the short story 'Homeland Wharf,' the reader's appreciation becomes even more profound when the value of family is praised and elevated in a simple, natural manner. In his prosperous times, Nhi left his family to go to many places. When ill, Nhi returned to seek solace from loved ones. The writer describes the image of Nhi's wife and children caring for him: 'He looked up like a child for his son to wipe his face,' his wife 'used her slender fingers to affectionately caress her husband, then comforted him.' These gestures of tenderness and love for a sick father, a sick husband, are truly touching and evoke much love and sorrow in Nhi's heart. It can be said that the gentle and loving beauty of the wife and the care of the son are expressed in a simple, unadorned manner, without any glitter, yet it is the most authentic and touching beauty that Nhi feels during these days. Nhi had been separated from his family for many years to go to strange lands. And now, at the end of his life, returning to his family, Nhi realizes that the love remains intact. The simple warmth of family is a happiness, a comfort for a person like Nhi, but it also opens up poignant reflections for each of us: do we have to wait until we are 'weary' and sick, until we return to our old home to see the value of family happiness? Why don't we try to understand more, sooner, to cherish more our loved ones?
Nguyen Minh Chau also devotes touching lines to depict the image of the neighborhood children or Teacher Khuyen, who always visits Nhi, helping him with care when he needs it, chatting and confiding in him about life matters. It's the beauty of 'neighbors in times of darkness, turning off lights together.' It makes us even more emotional and fond of the life in this riverside region, and in many other places on this homeland...
