Reflections on the poem 'On the Road' by Ho Chi Minh

Topic: Discuss your impressions of Ho Chi Minh's poem 'On the Road'

Impressions of Ho Chi Minh's poem 'On the Road'
 

I. Outline Share your reflections on Ho Chi Minh's poem 'On the Road'

1. Introduction

- Introduction to Uncle Ho
- Introduction to the poem: From the collection 'Prison Diary'
- Significance of the poem: Celebrating the spirit and determination of Uncle Ho.

2. Body of the Poem

- Circumstances of poem creation:
+ Composed while the Leader was under house arrest by Tưởng Giới Thạch
+ After enduring challenging relocations
- Significance of the poem:
+ Authentically records the hardships faced by Ho Chi Minh
+ Affirms the philosophy: Overcoming all challenges leads to success...(Continued)

>> Check the Outline Share your reflections on Ho Chi Minh's poem 'On the Road' in detail here.

II. Sample Essay Reflecting on Ho Chi Minh's poem 'On the Road'

Ho Chi Minh is an immensely revered leader of our Vietnamese nation. He is not only an outstanding revolutionary but also a remarkably talented poet. Throughout his life, his creative career was vast, with the most prominent being the poetry collection 'Prison Diary.' This collection, consisting of twenty poems, represents works completed by him while imprisoned at Tưởng Giới Thạch's residence. Among them, 'On the Road' (Escape Route) stands out as one of the most famous, praising the image of revolutionary soldiers amidst hardships.

The poem emerged in a particularly special circumstance, as Ho Chi Minh was arrested and confined in Tưởng Giới Thạch's prison, forced to move from one labor camp to another. In such adversity, difficulties, and hardships could have weakened the footsteps of any prisoner. Still, with a love for life and a strong fighting spirit, he not only resisted submission but also used his poetry to vividly depict the harsh conditions while inspiring his own determination. He wanted to portray the unwavering spirit of a revolutionary prisoner even in difficult circumstances and to convey the timeless philosophy that overcoming all challenges inevitably leads to resounding victory.

Adhering to the form of classical Chinese poetry, which he favored, Ho Chi Minh painted a picture of both reality and his spiritual world during the labor relocations in the poem 'On the Road':

'Escaping perilous paths, escaping hardship's grip
Amidst the wild mountains, yet beyond the wild mountains
Scaling the heights, reaching the summit grand and high
A myriad miles remain, but the goal nears despite adversity'

Translation of the poem:

'On the road, one truly understands hardships
High mountains, then more towering peaks
Mountains rise to the ultimate heights
Fading into the eyes amidst endless land and water'

The opening line of the poem serves as an observation, a reflection on life's reality:

'Escaping perilous paths, escaping hardship's grip'
(On the road, one truly understands hardships)

To derive insights and wisdom, undoubtedly, he must have endured countless hardships and traversed numerous paths during the relocations. Each time the enemy forced him from one prison to another, it deepened his understanding of the suffering with every step. With each step, the shackles and chains dragging the revolutionary prisoner's feet made the journey even more arduous. Sensing this, he penned the opening lines of his poem 'Escape Route.' Reading it, we feel the profound weight of the hardships permeating every word. The repetition of the phrase 'escape route' in the same verse is perhaps his emphasis on the endless, difficult paths, overwhelming challenges that left him physically and mentally exhausted.

With just a concise quatrain, Ho Chi Minh painted a picture of a prisoner struggling with each step on the rugged path during relocations, the difficulties, and the experiences drawn from those long journeys. It's a reminder that in life, to understand the fatigue of work, one must embark on the journey, must 'escape route.'

The resounding first verse evokes a sense of emotion and sympathy for the hardships he endured in that prison. However, the second verse, when read aloud, further deepens our understanding of those difficulties:

'Amidst the wild mountains, yet beyond the wild mountains'
(High mountains, then more towering peaks)

On those paths of relocations, Uncle Ho not only had to 'face the wind and bathe in dew,' but also traverse forests, cross streams, and endure countless difficulties on the rugged journey. Yet, these challenges pale in comparison to the mountain passes he conquered. With shackled feet, he had to ascend high mountain peaks, not just one, but a continuous series stretching endlessly before him. 'High mountains,' each peak connecting 'beyond the wild mountains.' The repetition of 'high mountains' in the verse, one at the beginning and one at the end, gives the impression of continuous, boundless peaks, seemingly infinite and recurring.

Ordinary travelers already find the journey strenuous, yet our Uncle Ho, with chains on his legs and a yoke on his shoulders, had to overcome one rugged path after another, crossing from one mountain to the next. Truly, it was incredibly arduous. Could these consecutive high mountain peaks and challenging paths be symbolic of the difficulties the Revolution is facing? Are these difficulties and challenges demanding a revolutionary with steadfast determination to overcome and achieve resounding victory?

Closing the first two verses, readers envision lengthy, rugged paths and continuous mountain peaks. The journey of Ho Chi Minh, the revolutionary prisoner, in the relocations at Tưởng Giới Thạch's prison was truly difficult and excruciating. Perhaps, the difficulties Bác referred to, the high mountain peaks, and the hardships on the road are life's challenges destined for the indomitable will of a patriotic revolutionary prisoner before the ultimate success?

Moving on to the last two verses, still portraying mountains, but the verses carry a remarkably different tone. If the first two verses depict challenges and hardships, reflections on the life of Ho Chi Minh, the revolutionary prisoner, the last verse unveils a different flavor:

'Scaling the heights, reaching the summit grand and high
A myriad miles remain, but the goal nears despite adversity'

Translation of the poem:

(High mountains rise to the ultimate heights
Fading into the eyes amidst endless land and water)

The image of mountains remains towering, yet it can't deter the revolutionary's steps with a resolute and determined spirit, determined to conquer even the highest peaks. The poetic rhythm here sounds fast and powerful, interspersed with the rhythmic breaths of the prisoner striving to ascend the mountain. That urgency permeates the entire verse, each word becoming stronger, more urgent, and more rhythmic:

'Scaling the heights, reaching the summit grand and high'
(High mountains rise to the ultimate heights)

Reading the verse to the end, one senses a faint happiness, a triumph in conquering the 'ultimate' of the 'high mountain.' Reaching the last line, the prisoner takes a deep, exhilarating breath:

'A myriad miles remain, but the goal nears despite adversity'
(Fading into the eyes amidst endless land and water)

In the third verse, the reader seems to feel the rhythmic breath of the poet. At that moment, who among us can't help but wonder whether he reached the mountain peak, whether he stepped to the 'ultimate,' ...? By the time the fourth verse exhales lightly like a sigh, the reader also feels gentle, elated, and extraordinary. Reaching the high 'ultimate' of the mountain peak, opening before our eyes is a vast, expansive space of 'endless land and water.'

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