Rejected the Right to be Human - Chí Phèo's Greatest Tragedy

Topic: Rejected the Right to be Human - Chí Phèo's Greatest Tragedy

Exploring the Tragedy: Chí Phèo Denied the Right to be Human

Sample 1: Denied the Right to be Human - Chí Phèo's Greatest Tragedy

Some argue that if Nam Cao had not written 'Chí Phèo,' he would have left a significant gap in Vietnamese literature. Chí Phèo, Nam Cao's debut, emerged as a masterpiece in the realm of realism. It provides a unique perspective on the plight of Vietnamese farmers in feudal society. While other realist writers such as Ngô Tất Tố and Nguyễn Công Hoan depicted farmers facing injustice and oppression, Nam Cao explored new dimensions. He revealed the tragedy of not only being impoverished but also becoming rogues, rejected the right to be human.

Nam Cao introduces Chí Phèo with a vivid and unique image: Chí Phèo stumbles while cursing. His curses immediately evoke a sense of abnormality. Why would someone utter such curses? Why are these curses not reciprocated? However, these curses are neither baseless nor simple; they carry logic and profound meaning. Initially, he curses the heavens, life, and then the entire village of Vũ Đại. The targets of these curses remain ambiguous until he curses whoever gave birth to him, causing his misery. Chí Phèo curses to understand the cause of his own tragedy. Yet, he realizes that his curses are futile. He deeply senses the suffering of fate and wishes for someone to respond, to communicate. He curses the entire village of Vũ Đại, hoping for a retort. However, all he receives is a dreadful silence, implying that everyone refuses to acknowledge him as human. Chí Phèo curses the entire village, hoping for someone to curse him back. This would mean acknowledging him as human and engaging in dialogue. Yet, all he receives is a terrifying silence, leaving Chí alone in the lonely desert: he curses and listens, surrounded by three ferocious dogs and a drunken companion.

By starting the narrative uniquely, the author not only introduces but also begins to unfold the reader's view of the tragic situation of a fate, that is the fate of farmers destroyed in soul, annihilating humanity, thus denied the value and dignity of being human. Chí Phèo's initial suffering is all zeros: no home, no door, no parents, no beloved relatives, no inch of land to cultivate... But that's just the beginning; Chí Phèo's most painful agony is society turning its back, robbing him of humanity, excluding him from human society, forcing him to live the dark life of an animal. From the past to the present, from essence to phenomenon, Chí Phèo has transformed. In the past, he was a kind-hearted person, inherently good. After working as a farmhand for Bá Kiến, then being pushed into prison and released after 7-8 years, Chí Phèo fell into unconsciousness and became a rogue. All of Chí Phèo's actions involve alcohol and occur unconsciously: hiring, stabbing, robbing, faking injuries... Chí's crimes are displayed in the eyes of the villagers of Vũ Đại.

It seemed like Chí Phèo's life would perpetually slide down the slope of rogue degradation, falling into the abyss of a sinful life. However, the appearance of Thị Nở brought Chí Phèo from the abyss of a rogue life to the shores of a virtuous existence. This can be considered a momentous event, a turning point in Chí Phèo's life, bringing him back to humanity. The presence of Thị Nở and a bowl of onion soup symbolize empathy and humane compassion. The ugly woman, scorned and despised, is the only one in Vũ Đại village who understands why there are times she is so kind. The warmth of the onion soup is the warmth of humane compassion that has resurrected the inherently good person long overshadowed by the image of a fierce demon, the stubborn one, now reborn, with the vitality of the soul awakened within Chí Phèo.

After the resurrection of the inherently good person, the soul's character of Chí Phèo awakened, listening to the simple and rustic daily sounds that Chí had long forgotten. Chí suddenly recalled memories of the beautiful past: the desire for a small family, a husband plowing the fields, a wife weaving fabric, leaving a pig for savings, becoming well-off and buying a few acres of land... He should have had a normal life like everyone else, but now, as he awakens, he realizes he is old and still lonely. He continues to live on the fringes of life, in a wretched manner. He feels sad and humiliated. More than ever, he yearns to be human, to share stories...

But the moments of love in the couple's life, Chí Phèo - Thị Nở, are short-lived, the happiness barely unfolding before it closes. Chí Phèo and Thị Nở held hands to the threshold of life but were harshly rejected by societal prejudices, represented by Thị Nở's relatives. When waking up and facing reality, Chí Phèo realizes more profoundly that he has been rejected from the community and can no longer become a virtuous person in the eyes of others.

When the inherently good person within Chí Phèo resurrected, he longed more than ever to become more human. However, that longing remains just that, like a rainbow disappearing after the rain, like a small flame extinguished when the spark of his desire to be human was completely rejected. Chí returns to solitude, and the pain and sorrow of realizing he has no way back intensify: Denied! Who will grant me humanity? How to lose these shattered pieces on my face? This is Chí Phèo's heightened self-awareness of his own tragedy. The image of the shattered glass on his face is the mark of years of wrongdoing. This image is deeply ingrained in the minds of the people of Vũ Đại village and has become a horrifying obsession for them. In the eyes of everyone, Chí Phèo is a fierce demon. The buffalo head and this image cannot be erased anymore. Prejudice itself has hindered Chí Phèo's steps from returning to the virtuous life.

Above all, Thị Nở brings Chí Phèo a sense of compassion for humane feelings, but Thị Nở herself pushes Chí Phèo to the brink of death. She is both the means and the victim of prejudice.

At this point, Chí Phèo falls into the tragedy of choosing between life and human dignity. And finally, Chí Phèo sought death to affirm his personality. Chí Phèo stabbed Bá Kiến - his life's greatest enemy - and committed suicide. Chí Phèo made a choice - a harsh choice, but it was the only way for the inherently good person within him to live, for his human personality to survive.

Chí Phèo's act of suicide is the strongest, most desperate battle, and the final battle between the inherently good person and the fierce demon with the buffalo head. In this decisive battle, Chí Phèo died, but the virtuous personality awakened and shone. This was the inevitable victory of good over evil, a clear manifestation of humanitarian ideals and the humane spirit of Nam Cao's pen.

Next to The Denied Right to Become Human - Chí Phèo's Greatest Tragedy, you should explore additional topics such as Perceptions of the Image of Onion Soup in Chí Phèo and the Image of Rice Chaff Soup in The Wife Collects, Analysis of Chí Phèo's Denied Tragedy, or the section Analysis of Nam Cao's Work Chí Phèo to reinforce your knowledge.

Sample Essay 2: The Denied Right to Become Human - Chí Phèo's Greatest Tragedy

Nam Cao once declared: 'Live first, then write.' He believes that 'to write humane and humanistic works, one must first live in a humane and humanistic way. Because one's life will influence literature.' With this belief, Nam Cao pens his creations, infused with the genuine humanity of a writer who deeply loves humanity to the core. We know that the theme of farmers has been explored extensively. How can we forget sister Dậu - in the work Tắt đèn by writer Ngô Tất Tố? Selling children, selling dogs, selling milk, almost being assaulted and fleeing in the dark like the miserable life of sister Dậu due to tax collection. We thought sister Dậu was the most unfortunate. No! It's only when Chí Phèo stumbles out from the pages of Nam Cao's writing that we realize he is the most unfortunate farmer in Vietnamese society before the August Revolution. And the beauty of Chí Phèo still exists today. It is the tragic tale of the denied right to become human. From this, we see that Nam Cao is truly a profound humanistic writer. Because Nam Cao once said: 'Art, oh, art, it shouldn't be a deceiving moonlight, it should not be a deceiving moonlight; art can only be the cries of pain, emerging from the mistakes of life...'. So, what is tragedy?

Many people think that tragedy is a tragic situation. Understanding it this way is wrong. Tragedy is often a relentless struggle without compromise. Light and darkness, between good and evil, between nobility and meanness happen right in the spiritual life of human beings. Or we can understand that tragedy is sincere aspirations, genuine dreams that are not realized in the present. And ultimately, they fall into a tragedy. That is the tragedy of human life. Reading Chí Phèo, we see, a great tragedy unfolds in the life of Chí Phèo. He is born as a human, but in the end, he dies on the path back to virtue. He is born as a human, but ultimately becomes the demon of Vũ Đại village, a ruthless thug, a rogue, someone no one wants to associate with.

Firstly, let's delve into Chí Phèo's background. Chí's life can be divided into two stages. The first stage, from birth to the age of 20, living under Bá Kiến's roof and ending up in prison. In the second stage, Chí meets Thị Nở in prison and ultimately dies on the path back to virtue. Chí Phèo, an orphan wrapped in tattered clothes, abandoned at an abandoned brick kiln. Chí Phèo transcends being merely a character in literature; he embodies the essence of literature. He represents countless individuals dehumanized and corrupted. Found by someone who brought him home with a snake, he wandered from one house to another, from an old man's shoulder to a blind widow's. Despite being an orphan with no parents, relatives, or loved ones, Chí Phèo didn't turn into a spoiled child. Instead, he grew up to be a genuine, kind, and gentle farmer, akin to fertile soil. To understand a person's true nature, one can examine their dreams. Chí's dreams were simple: 'to have a small family, a husband renting a plow for cultivation, a wife weaving cloth, and raising a pig for additional income. If prosperous, buy a few acres of land for farming.' Genuine aspirations, the fervent desire of Chí Phèo, were to be a virtuous person, a poor farmer, a diligent and kind-hearted individual. Remarkably, Chí Phèo is genuinely as kind as fertile soil. The character Bá Kiên is not just a literary figure; he symbolizes the feudal landlords. Aside from being a pure-hearted farmer, Chí is often called upon by Bá Kiên's wife to massage her legs and reach high places. Chí Phèo - at the age of 20, he understands neither genuine love nor the licentious habits of an unfaithful woman. Summoned to serve the cravings of this woman. Chí Phèo doesn't feel pleasure, only shame and fear. He is a person of honor, and due to baseless jealousy, he is sent to the harsh prison environment. This marks a different path in his life. Upon release, he undergoes a transformation, both in appearance and character. What needs condemnation here is the unjust prison, a prison that goes against human expectations. In an ideal prison, when we enter, we are considered criminals, and we enter to pay for what we've done, to reform ourselves and reintegrate into society. However, in this narrative, this prison is unjust. Upon entering, Chí was a kind-hearted, fertile-soil farmer, but after seven or eight years, he has become the demon of Vũ Đại village. The change is evident in both appearance and character. Shaved head, laughing white teeth, a stretched face, sly eyes, tattooed with wide phoenixes, and a chest featuring a general holding a seal - living by the trade of shaving and performing acts to entertain Bá Kiên. We agree that giving birth to Chí in this world was a poor and somewhat heartless mother. However, to create a demon of Vũ Đại village like this, it must be a prison in cahoots with old Bá Kiên to dehumanize the farmer. This is the product of a realist prison. We can see here not only changes in appearance but also in character. Chí Phèo earns a living by shaving and performing acts, always immersed in drunkenness, cursing incessantly. He curses the one who gave birth to him, curses the entire Vũ Đại village, and in the end, no one responds to Chí Phèo's curses. In the end, only a drunken Chí Phèo and three ferocious dogs remain.

In the second phase, after getting out of prison, Chí Phèo encounters Thị Nở - a woman deemed monstrous and spiteful. Despite her lack of grace, Chí catches a chill during a night in the banana chamber with Nở. Out of pity, Thị prepares a bowl of onion porridge for Chí. Reading the work, one sees that the onion porridge is not just an artistic detail; it's the golden thread of a literary masterpiece. It's a dewdrop capable of creating an entire ocean of profound meaning, a drop of happiness that the author bestows upon his character. One might wonder, without the onion porridge, when would Chí Phèo awaken? When would he find his true enemy in life? When would he return to virtue? It's a soothing remedy, an antidote. Chí Phèo sobers up after prolonged bouts of drunkenness. He seeks reconciliation with everyone, acknowledges his faults, and deepens his regret. He longs to return to virtue. However, he's denied. Aunt Thị Nở prevents Thị from reaching out to Chí, leading Chí Phèo back to the demonic image of Vũ Đại village. Turning to alcohol, brandishing a knife, Chí seeks retribution against Bá Kiến. But ultimately, Chí stabs Bá Kiến to death and dies on the path back to virtue. Why kill Bá Kiến? Because Bá Kiến is the essence of the issue. Addressing the problem requires dealing with its nature, not just its manifestations or individuals involved. That's why Nam Cao lets Chí Phèo kill Bá Kiến and commit suicide on the path back to virtue. Through this, the story goes beyond Chí Phèo as a literary character; it becomes a phenomenon representing the class nature of farmers in today's society before the August Revolution. It's the transformation into rogues, destitution, and the dehumanization of farmers. Before Chí Phèo, there were Binh Chức, Nam Thọ, and after Chí Phèo, another Chí Phèo will be born. As the story concludes, the author closes it with an open ending: 'Thị Nở looks directly at her patched dress and gazes toward the abandoned brick kiln.' One day, a new Chí Phèo will emerge in this lifetime.

The writer sympathizes with the fate of Vietnamese farmers; he is truly a writer who, despite his outward coldness, is deeply humane from the core. A society the writer condemns is one where the realist prison colludes with the feudal class to dehumanize and corrupt farmers. It's a society of big fish swallowing small fish, humans preying on humans, where survival demands becoming evil. To quote Vũ Trọng Phụng: 'A society full of prostitutes, giving birth to thieves, a shameless Western society, a decadent society...' that is the life of unfortunate, destitute, and lamenting farmers before the August Revolution. It's the tragedy of being denied the right to become a human. From this, we can see that as long as there are people with painful lives wanting a better life, works like Chí Phèo will retain their intrinsic value. Condemning and denouncing an unjust oppressive society, showing compassion for the fate of farmers, as they always stand as the most vulnerable in society. The work concludes, leaving us with much to contemplate...

Sample 3: Rejected from Becoming Human - The Greatest Tragedy of Chí Phèo

When Chí Phèo 'steps out of the pages of Nam Cao's works, one immediately recognizes the embodiment of the most miserable and humiliating aspects of peasants in a colonial country, scarred and destroyed both in spirit and body. Sister Dậu sells her child, sells her dog, sells her milk, yet she remains a human. Chí Phèo has to sell both his appearance and soul to become a demon.' (Nguyễn Đàng Mạnh). Amidst the myriad of hardships and humiliations that Chí endured, one cannot ignore the tragic drama of being rejected from becoming human.

The pervasive theme throughout creates the humanistic and realistic value of the work Chí Phèo.

'Tragedy is the poignant, trapped emotion without an escape, endured by the one who suffers.' Interpreted in that sense, Chí Phèo's fate is a long series of tragedies, each more painful than the last. Many assert that Chí emerges after curses, and that's true! But perhaps not sufficient. Nam Cao often introduces readers to the most crucial stage of the character's fate. Reading the opening lines, the reader sees an unnamed character, seemingly with just one action, one dialogue. Through artistic techniques like short sentences, disjointed rhythms that seem torn, readers feel the firsthand torment of Chí in the rejection of his humanity. Chí curses the heavens (the supreme being of all creatures), Chí curses the village, 'the close-knit, sacred community of humans'... But no one speaks up. No one speaks up because no one recognizes Chí as human. The entire Vũ Đại village fails to understand Chí. If there was someone to speak up, perhaps Chí would suffer less. Because in living - even if it's for cursing each other, one cannot curse alone. Chí only knows to curse the one who gave birth to him. Cursing the one who gave birth to him is also cursing himself. Chí's curses reflect a desperate attempt, even if unconscious, to find the root cause of suffering. But alas, Chí becomes more stuck. If only, back in Vũ Đại village, one person spoke up, like Thị Nở, 'Not only knows how to take but also knows how to give'... if only... if only... just once, if only it happened, just one of the thousands in Vũ Đại village saw Chí as a human, the tragic drama of Chí's life might not have happened. But what has happened has happened. Nam Cao reverses time to lead readers back to the past, helping them understand the process of Chí's rejection from becoming human, from low to high, and also clarifies the reasons that led Chí to that state.

Chí is 'a wild child,' 'a young man casting a luring trap in the morning, finding him naked and gray under a patched dress beside an abandoned brick kiln; he picks him up and brings him to a widowed woman.' The word 'one' exists in the long sentence, seemingly foretelling Chí's endlessly solitary life. From the moment of crying into the world, Chí has been rejected from being a part of society. Chí becomes fatherless, motherless, fortunate to grow up with laborers. Chí becomes a robust field guard, learning self-respect, 'knowing not to like what people despise.' He yearns for 'a small thatched cottage, a rented plow, a wife weaving fabric.' But life did not offer Chí the reachable dream.

A jealous rage from Bá Kiến landed Chí in prison. The feudal force colluded with the colonial prison to strip Chí of freedom for nearly seven to eight years. It was the second time Chí experienced the rejection from becoming human. The prison turned Chí into someone else. 'He looks completely different this time.' Chí's humanity was rejected as the prison robbed him of a part of his human form. Out of prison, he looks like a 'fresh recruit' (a shaved soldier), bald, teeth scraped white, a 'tough-looking' face - 'looking human' only in appearance. 'He wears black shorts with a yellow western-style shirt, his chest adorned with phoenix patterns, with a terrifying general holding a truncheon looking horribly frightening.' That's the appearance of a thug, brutal, only knowing how to cause trouble, stab and slash, returning to the village the day before, the day after. Chí drinks recklessly, madly engages in provoking Bá Kiến by eating dirt, cursing wildly. If revenge is a common right (an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth), then Bá Kiến cleverly revokes that right from Chí. Unable to take revenge, Chí gradually becomes a pawn for the enemy, a blind instrument of Bá Kiến. He only knows to scar faces, eat dirt to demand money, to stab and slash those not on the same side as the main enemy. From there, he sinks into drunkenness, eating dirt, sleeping while drunk, and fighting while intoxicated. 'He has broken so many families, shattered so much happiness, made the blood and tears of many innocent people flow.' Thus, his life slips away. Looking at his face, one cannot tell his age. His life seems as if it has departed; his form destroyed, his character eroded. The entire Vũ Đại village avoids him whenever he passes. Even he himself forgets his presence in the world. Perhaps it can be said that before meeting Thị Nở, Chí had been rejected from becoming human to an extreme extent. But maybe he didn't realize it or unconsciously recognized it, not finding a way out. Chí had to plunge into a life of alcohol, cursing, eating dirt, stabbing for hire, slashing for money.

People will suffer less if they don't realize they live in misery. Pain is alleviated when stripped of the awareness of being dehumanized. Before meeting Thị Nở, Chí Phèo was unaware of the tragic drama of his life. Chí didn't know how people brought him into the world gradually took away his right to be human. Just as Chí ventured to the extreme of degradation, just as people thought Chí would endlessly live as a demon, Nam Cao discovered a small flicker of light in the character's deep spiritual realm. Chí aspired to become a virtuous person. Thị Nở's role and position in the work are crucial. The 'foolish, ugly ghost despises demons,' yet is the only light source in Vũ Đại village that can illuminate Chí's dark life. Thị's female body does not evoke animal instincts in him. Thị's love rekindled the lost humanity in Chí. After a short-lived affair with Thị Nở, Chí hears the sounds of life he had long ignored. After so many years, he now hears the birds singing, the joyful voices of people going to the market, the sound of fishing boats tapping their oars to chase fish. Those sounds evoke ancient dreams in Chí. For the first time, Chí feels sadness; then he is 'afraid of old age, hunger, cold, illness, and loneliness - loneliness is even scarier than hunger and painful illness.' Thị Nở's onion porridge awakened healthy emotions in Chí. Eating porridge, he feels moist eyes. Just one act of love, even the love of a foolish person, of an old unmarried man, with a stray offspring, is enough to revive the human nature that has died. The transformative power of love is truly boundless. Nam Cao truly embodied himself in the character to empathize, to share the genuine moments of Chí's happiness. So, after more than two decades of rejection from being human, Chí Phèo found his way back to being human. Chí created a bridge to reconcile with the human world. That bridge is Thị Nở. If Thị could live with him, Vũ Đại village could accept him. But tragedy and pain for Chí. Thị Nở cannot bond with Chí. Because, according to Aunt Thị, 'all men are dead, why marry someone fatherless, motherless, who knows how to scar faces and eat dirt.'

So, a small, fleeting happiness that Chí had in his hands once again was snatched away by societal consciousness. Thị Nở is the rainbow after the rain, but Chí painfully thinks that there is no bridge that can take him back to human life anymore. Society, with its cruel philosophy, has rejected Chí's right to live, the right to be human. No one allows Chí to be a virtuous person, even when Chí demands to be one. Chí cannot erase the scars drawn on his face. Chí painfully feels, 'It's not allowed anymore, only this way remains.' Only death inside, better than living aimlessly. Chí said his final words 'demanding virtue' to Bá Kiến and also to himself. The act of killing Bá Kiến and Chí's self-stabbing is a powerful accusation against an inhuman society, a desperate plea for the right to be human.

Chí dies, mouth gasping in a pool of blood, but Chí does not surrender. The resilience, openness, and exemplary value of this character are infinite. Chí not only represents the suffering of farmers in our country living in the bondage of slavery. Chí also represents the dark, insane, hidden part born in exile, which anyone can become if they don't know how to restrain themselves and if manipulated by sinister forces.

The tragedy of Chí Phèo's rejection from being human has many causes. There are reasons from society and reasons from Chí himself. When human rights are still violated, the tragedy of Chí Phèo's life is mentioned as a pain for all humanity.

Sample 4: Denied the Right to Be Human - Chí Phèo's Greatest Tragedy

In the literary period of 1930-1945, most authors wrote about the fate of farmers, each with their unique style and character exploration. Nam Cao, however, delves into the suffering of virtuous farmers. Born into a hardworking farmer family in Đại Hoàng village, Nam Cao faced life's hardships. He was rich in love and especially compassionate towards poor oppressed farmers. In 1951, Nam Cao sacrificed himself, rightfully considered a literary warrior, a cornerstone of Vietnamese literature. The work 'Chí Phèo' underwent three title changes, initially named 'The Old Brick Kiln,' changed by the publisher to 'Matching Pairs,' and finally, Nam Cao settled on 'Chí Phèo.' The work is regarded as a masterpiece by the author.

To comprehend Chí Phèo's tragic denial of humanity, readers must first understand what tragedy is. Tragedy involves sorrow, often exploring intense conflicts and concluding with the main character's death. In the short story 'Chí Phèo,' the author not only delves into class conflicts but also explores conflicts within the characters themselves. Chí Phèo is born with all the qualities of a normal person, with plans, dreams, a kind and virtuous farmer. However, he is pushed onto a path of degradation, dehumanization, expelled from human society. When he wants to return as a virtuous person, he faces harsh rejection and ultimately dies on the threshold of rejoining life.

From birth, Chí was abandoned, found by a man who picked up a snake trap in the early morning dew outside the deserted brick kiln. People come into life as if thrown there, lonely and desolate. Fortunately, with the care and protection of the people in Vũ Đại village, he was able to live, becoming a kind and virtuous farmer with self-esteem. But due to jealousies, Lí Kiến sent him to prison, and the colonial prison turned him into someone 'as hard as stone.' Later, Bá Kiến completed the final step, turning Chí into his henchman. Exploited, Chí became a hired assassin, selling his soul to demons for a few coins and some rice. Eventually, he transformed into a real demon, 'Look at him, you can't guess how old he is, his face is yellow, and yet pale, covered with countless scars.' He spends his days cursing after drinking, expressing the loneliness. He craves communication with others, even if it's just through curses, but receives no response, no acceptance, because 'he has destroyed so much happiness, shattered so much peace and joy, causing the bleeding and tears of many virtuous people.' But he did many evil things because he was always intoxicated. Nam Cao writes about farmers, but he doesn't follow the conventional path of suffering from heavy taxes or poverty. Instead, he explores the mental pain of individuals. Deprived of his humanity, stripped of his dignity, cast out of human society.

And perhaps, his life would have continued like that if he hadn't met Thị Nở. She came into his life, making him feel love, teaching him to love and be loved. For the first time, he felt 'a woman's giving.' He loved Thị, wanting to be gentle with her like a mother. At this moment, he was completely awake; his human soul had returned because of Thị Nở. 'Oh! Wanting to reconcile with everyone,' he argued, tightly hoping that Thị would be the bridge to a flat and virtuous life. 'If Thị Nở can live peacefully with him, why can't others? They will see that he's not causing harm, and slowly, they will accept him back into the ordinary life.' He hoped again, dreaming of a happy family with Thị Nở. But hope didn't last long. Thị suddenly remembered there was an aunt at home and wanted to go back to ask for the aunt's opinion. However, the aunt rejected Chí, thinking he was a fatherless, motherless wretch, always begging and hired to commit crimes. The bridge that led him to life was broken, the wings of life closed right in front of him. Here, Nam Cao cleverly intertwined the tragedy of denied humanity with the tragedy of denied love. If he suffered before but at least was oblivious, now he was awake. His suffering turned into agony, and no one could welcome him back to life anymore.

The author masterfully used the pen to express the character's psychology, even lending his own pen to the character, allowing the character to articulate their pain. When he heard Thị venting all her anger on him, he slowly understood and was 'amazed.' He was stunned, bewildered, catching a whiff of the aroma of green onion porridge. Then, when Thị left, he tried to hold Thị's hand, grasping the last thread to salvage his life, but Thị Nở decisively refused. He fell into a state of despair, crying in pain. Then he turned to alcohol again, but the more he drank, the more sober he became. The scent of alcohol mixed with the scent of green onion porridge made him more agonized. He decided to take a knife, ranting that he would go to Thị's house to kill the old woman, but in the end, he went to Bá Kiến's house. Perhaps because he realized who pushed him into this situation. In front of the cunning old fox Bá Kiến, Chí spoke completely soberly, assertively, 'I want to be a virtuous person.' This statement expresses the desire to reform, to return to human society. However, at this moment, Chí deeply understood the tragedy of his life; he would never be able to return to a virtuous life again. Who will make him virtuous? Who will help him become a virtuous person? In pain and hatred for those who harmed him, Chí took out a knife, 'stabbed the dust bag into Bá Kiến,' and then he committed suicide. Chí Phèo died on the threshold of returning to life.

It can be said that Nam Cao was very successful in exploring the spiritual and physical suffering of ancient farmers. Combined with the art of describing character psychology, simple yet vivid language further highlights Nam Cao's talent. Through the work, the author wants to convey deep empathy for the character's tragedy, the belief in the innate goodness of human beings. Moreover, the work is written as a plea, a cry to save the right to be human, to save the right to live, the right to enjoy the dual happiness of human life.

Sample 5: Denied the Right to Be Human - Chí Phèo's Greatest Tragedy

When The Perfect Match (Chí Phèo) emerged in the literary world (1941), critical realism had already gone through a period of vibrant development. Though arriving late, Nam Cao affirmed himself with fresh artistic discoveries, providing contemporary literature with a distinctive and remarkable voice.

Over fifty years have passed, and the work Chí Phèo continues to be affirmed, explored from new perspectives, and undoubtedly will permanently exist in the history of Vietnamese literature as an outstanding piece.

Under a talented, flexible, and diverse pen: sometimes narrating, sometimes describing, sometimes cruelly cold, sometimes harmoniously mocking, sometimes sentimentally profound, sometimes sharply philosophical, sometimes painfully struggling... life appears with countless situations, diverse scenes, and vivid details. Sometimes, with just a gesture, a word, a simple sketch... a portrait emerges, revealing the true nature of a personality... In this way, the work creates a captivating attraction from the first line to the last. Closing the book, we are still haunted by the desperate cry of a person deprived of the right to be human. A voice craving to return to virtue but blocked at every turn, leading to a tragically bitter conclusion.

The 'tragedy of a person denied the right to be human' is the overarching theme of the entire work, presented by the author as a desperate, emotional cry, forming the outstanding humanistic value of the work Chí Phèo.

In contrast to contemporary critical realist writers, Nam Cao, in Chí Phèo, doesn't delve deeply into depicting the hunger, poverty, and destitution of the farmers, even though, in reality, it's a widespread phenomenon. Nam Cao contemplates, reflects more on a more horrific reality, more poignant than hunger and destitution - the reality of degradation, a terrifying threat in contemporary society; about human dignity being buried, trampled by a ruthless oppressive system. Issues of human dignity, human rights, dominate the creative inspiration in many works of Nam Cao, with Chí Phèo being more direct, focused, and intense.

The opening of the work is a sharp, challenging curse from Chí Phèo, echoing on the intoxicated path, slamming into the reader's consciousness with a strong impression. Let the writer describe: 'He curses as he walks. Always the same, he curses after drinking. He starts by cursing the sky. What's the big deal? Does the sky belong to anyone's house? Then he curses life. That's okay too: life is everything but also nothing. Furious, he curses the entire village of Vũ Đại. But the whole village, everyone thinks to themselves: 'He must be excluding me!' No one speaks up. Really furious! Really furious! Oh! This is real fury! Furious enough to die! In that case, he has to curse anyone who doesn't curse him back. But still, no one responds. Damn it! Is the wine wasted then? Is he not suffering? I wonder which damned mother gave birth to him, causing him so much misery? Aha! That's right, he just keeps cursing, keeps cursing whoever gave birth to him, gave birth to that damn Chí Phèo.

This is the curse of a drunkard, an unconscious curse. But often, in the unconscious, people reveal themselves more than when sober.

Through Chí Phèo's curses, the reader feels as if facing a solitary 'human-being' at the extreme of suffering, pouring onto life - all life - a articulate, indignant, and deeply distressed voice.

Through Chí Phèo's curses, readers simultaneously perceive three different attitudes: Chí's hostile and vengeful attitude; the contemptuous and indifferent attitude of society; the author's indignant and compassionate attitude expressed through a narrative voice that is both poignant and ruthless. Behind the unconscious curses of a drunken person, or more precisely, merged into those unconscious curses, is a voice full of humane consciousness of the artist, a voice of fierce resistance to reality, a voice of painful compassion for the tragic fate of humanity. And that voice, from the very first page, truly awakens the compassionate heart in the reader.

And so, Chí Phèo's life, according to the writer's account, gradually unfolds like a tragic film.

From when he was a naked and gray child next to the abandoned brick kiln to when he wandered, working for one person to another, then cultivating for Lý Kiến, and finally being unjustly imprisoned and falsely accused... The writer does not describe in great detail how Chí Phèo was treated throughout that long journey. The writer focuses on describing the outcome, the horrific consequences.

Through a non-linear structure - mainly following the emotional guidance of the narrator - readers understand: Chí used to be a virtuous person. Only after coming out of prison, he transformed into an entirely different person, stripped of both humanity and appearance, with 'a bald head, white stubbled teeth, a black and very crooked face, and two eyes squinting horribly'. With an apparently cold demeanor, the writer states: 'Now he has become an ageless person. Thirty-eight or thirty-nine? Forty or beyond forty? His face is neither young nor old; it's no longer a human face; it's the face of a strange creature, the face of creatures that never know age.' After coming out of prison, he has become the evil demon of Vũ Đại village without even realizing it. His life has no date because of endless bouts of drunkenness. 'He eats while drunk, sleeps while drunk, wakes up still drunk, smashes his head, curses and threatens in a drunken stupor, drinks more alcohol while drunk, and then gets drunk again, endlessly. He has never sobered up, and perhaps he has never been sober enough to remember that he exists in this world. Perhaps he doesn't even know that he is the evil demon of Vũ Đại village wreaking havoc on many villagers. He probably doesn't know how many businesses he has destroyed, how many scenes of happiness he has shattered, how much blood and tears he has caused for many virtuous people...'

The entire village fears him and avoids him every time he passes by'... This passage encapsulates countless sorrows of a fate no longer living the life of a human being. The inherent human capabilities - emotional capacity, consciousness - are almost annihilated, leaving only a capacity for violence and destruction. Subjected to brutal treatment, Chí Phèo resisted with brutality. It is the 'dark fury' as Lenin once said. In Chí Phèo, Nam Cao pointed out that Chí Phèo is not an exception. Alongside him are Binh Chức, Năm Thọ. It is the inevitable result of logic: once there are Bá Kiến, Lý Cường, Đội Tảo..., there will certainly be Chí Phèo, Năm Thọ, Binh Chức. It is not just a product of domination but even a necessary means of domination. 'Without the fools, who will govern the fools?' Bá Kiến drew that important conclusion. Thus, society not only gives birth to Chí Phèo but also continues to nurture Chí Phèo, turning people like Chí Phèo into tools of domination without their knowledge. Ironically, the virtuous farmers are damaged in character, transformed into tools, instruments of oppression for enemies without their awareness. As the critic Nguyễn Đăng Mạnh said: 'When Chí Phèo steps out from the pages of Nam Cao, people immediately recognize that this is the full embodiment of the most miserable humiliation of peasant folks in a colonial country: trampled, torn, destroyed, from humanity to appearance. Chị Dậu sells dogs, sells children, sells milk but she still remains a human being. Chí Phèo has to sell both his appearance and soul to become the evil demon of Vũ Đại village.' By revealing the horrific consequences of brutality, vehemently questioning and accusing the ruthless domination, the writer sheds light on the process of describing a profound humane inspiration.

But what is remarkable and precious in Nam Cao is that while describing characters degraded to the extreme, Nam Cao discovers in the depth of the characters' nature the inherent goodness, just a little bit of tenderness can revive vigorously, earnestly. The appearance of the character Thị Nở in the work has a truly exceptional significance. The ugly 'devil's scorned ghost,' miraculously, is the only source of light that has shone into the dark place of Chí Phèo, awakening, arousing the inherent nature in Chí Phèo, illuminating a heart that has been oppressed, despised for so many days. After a brief encounter with Thị Nở, Chí Phèo now recognizes the bright source outside, hears the cheerful chirping of birds, the sound of fishing boats tapping the oars to chase fish, the bustling noise of people going to the fabric market... Those sounds were always there. But today Chí hears them for the first time. Oh, how sad it is! In that moment of sobriety, Chí Phèo feels like he has seen his old age, hunger, cold, and loneliness - this is even more frightening than hunger and cold.

Fortunately, Thị Nở brought a bowl of onion porridge. Otherwise, he might have cried...Looking at the smoking bowl of porridge, Chí's heart is emotionally overwhelmed. 'He feels like a young child at heart, he wants to cuddle with Thị like cuddling with his mother...Oh, how kind he is! He yearns for goodness - he longs to reconcile with everyone'...From an evil demon, thanks to Thị Nở, more precisely thanks to the love of Thị Nở, Chí truly returns to being human, with all the inherent human abilities: love, emotion, aspiration...It turns out, just a little bit of love, even the love of a foolish, sick, rough, ugly person...is enough to revive an inherent human nature in Chí. That's when you realize the miraculous power of love's empathy!

With this detail, Nam Cao has illuminated the work with a truly beautiful humanitarian light - the writer seems to want to merge into the character to empathize, share the rare moments of happiness of Chí Phèo...

However, tragically and painfully, in the end, even Thị Nở cannot bond with Chí Phèo. A little lingering happiness ultimately never reaches Chí. And it is truly harsh when Chí's human nature awakens, it's also when Chí understands that he can no longer return to goodness. Society has taken away Chí's right to be human and will never return it. The horizontal scars on his face, the result of countless drunken episodes, numerous acts of violence, face-slashing... have broken the bridge between Chí and life. And, as Đỗ Kim Hồi said, 'Once a person has tasted a bit of the flavor of being human, the human emotion cannot be lost... That is the ultimate tragedy that can only be resolved by death.' (Literary Journal No. 3, 1990, page 32)

Chí Phèo's tragic death is a sharp indictment of the inhumane society, a cry for the right to be human, and a desperate call: Save humanity! Love humanity! It is an outstanding human value that keeps the work Chí Phèo always new.