Story situations from selected Grade 9 Literature works

Story situations from selected Grade 9 Literature works

I. Story Situations

* Concept

- Story situations encompass circumstances, events, and special details containing conflicts, contradictions, and ironies that emerge within a literary work.
- While a work may feature numerous events, not all qualify as story situations.

* Role:

- Story situations serve as the 'medium' to reveal the characters' personalities and essence.
- Through story situations, writers not only create intrigue and suspense in their work but also contribute to revealing the content, ideas, and special artistic implications.

* Classification:

- Psychological situations: Events or circumstances that illuminate the character's psyche.
Example: Mr. Hai's character in the short story 'The Village' by Kim Lân

- Action situations: Special situations in which characters in the story can only resolve through action.
Example: Phương Định's character in the short story 'Distant Stars'.

- Situational awareness: It refers to a situation where a character is pushed into a precarious or unusual situation, through which the character helps elucidate the laws of life.

II. Situations in Selected Grade 9 Literature Works

1. Situation in the Story 'The Story of the Nam Xương Girl'

* Story Situation:

- Situation 1: Vũ Nương is a talented and virtuous young woman, but she marries an uneducated man who is prone to jealousy.
- Situation 2: When her husband goes off to war, she diligently takes care of all household matters, is respectful to her mother-in-law, and shows immense love for her child. Due to her child's longing for his father's affection, every evening she points to her own shadow on the wall and says it's little Đản's father, also to alleviate the longing for her husband

* Significance/Impact:

The construction of unique story situations has allowed author Nguyễn Dữ to express the content, ideas, and themes of the work.

2. Situation in the Story 'The Village' by Kim Lân

* Story Situation:

* Significance:

- The novelist Kim Lan has crafted unique story situations, thereby expressing love for the village, the country, and unwavering loyalty to the revolution of the farmers in the resistance against the French.
- Demonstrating the talent in constructing story situations by the writer.

3. Story Situation of Silent Sa Pa by Nguyen Thanh Long

* Story Situation:

The storyline of Silent Sa Pa revolves around a simple encounter: a chance meeting between a young meteorologist on the summit of Yen Son and an old taxi driver, a seasoned painter, and a young engineer.

* Significance:

Through this unexpected encounter, the life, work, and beauties of the young protagonist are naturally and authentically revealed. The story situation also contributes to the expression of the thematic ideas of the work: 'In the silent tranquility of Sa Pa [...], there are people working and thinking like this for the country.'

4. Story Situation of The Ivory Comb (Nguyen Quang Sang)

* Story Situation:

- Due to war, Mr. Sau and his son had to be separated for 8 long years, only seeing each other through photographs.
- During a short leave to visit home, Mr. Sau eagerly awaited the moment to hear his son call him 'father,' but because of the scar on his face, little Thu adamantly refused to acknowledge his father, leaving Mr. Sau heartbroken.
- After hearing his wife's explanation, Thu finally understood, but just as he realized and expressed his affection for his father, Mr. Sau had to leave for battle.
- In the war zone, Mr. Sau poured all his love for his son into making an ivory comb but before he could hand it to his son, he sacrificed himself.

* Significance:

- The crux of the story: The scar on Mr. Sau's face is the reason why little Thu refuses to accept his father => The situation is full of twists, surprises, yet very logical and natural according to the psychology of a child seeing his father, who is now completely different from the father in the photograph. This is also the greatest challenge for the father and son to overcome, and having overcome this significant challenge, it deepens their profound and sacred father-son bond.

- The story situation also contributes to revealing the characters' personalities:
+ Mr. Sau: A gentle and exemplary father, devoting all his love to his delicate daughter. He eagerly awaits his daughter's call every day and seizes every short moment of leave to express his affection towards her. He feels sadness and even anger when his long-awaited daughter refuses to acknowledge him.
+ Little Thu: A strong-willed, stubborn girl who refuses to cry even when her father punishes her. However, she deeply respects her father, refusing anyone who is not like her father in the photograph. Only when she understands the issue does she reveal her longing and affection for her beloved father.

- Through this, the author Nguyen Quang Sang praises the sacred and profound father-son love as well as subtly condemns and accuses unjust wars.

5. Story Situation of Homeland Wharf by Nguyen Minh Chau

* Story Situation:

- Situation 1: The contrast in the life of the character Nhi
+ In youth: He traveled to many places, even lacking nothing extravagant on Earth
+ Near the end of life: Paralyzed, unable to move, relying on others for every activity.

- Situation 2: Discovery of the paradoxical laws about human life
+ He discovers the simple yet enticing beauty of the sandbank across the river, longing to set foot there but given his current condition, it seems unattainable
+ He asks his son to cross over in his place but the son misunderstands his father's intentions, getting lost in a chess game on the street and missing the only ferry to the other side.

* Significance of the story situations:

- Through the character Nhi, Nguyen Minh Chau conveys discoveries of his own life's laws: Human life always holds paradoxes, surprises, and on life's journey, we always encounter twists and turns.
- Through the short story, Nguyen Minh Chau also awakens in each of us the need to appreciate the simple, familiar things around us, especially family and homeland.

6. Story Situation of The Distant Stars by Le Minh Khue

* Story Situation:

- The short story 'The Distant Stars' revolves around the lives and work of 3 young female volunteers on the old Truong Son trail: Phuong Dinh, Nho, Thao.
- Phuong Dinh, Nho, Thao are young, responsible women. Their job is to measure the land and rocks affected by enemy bombs, fill bomb craters, and disarm unexploded bombs.
=> The work is perilous, arduous, with death always lurking.

* Significance:

The story situation highlights the courageous spirit, sense of responsibility towards work, and the soulful beauty of young female volunteers: idealistic and full of love.

7. Story Situation of Homeland Reminiscence

* Story Situation:

For the first and also the last time, the character 'I' returns to visit the homeland after 20 years of separation, witnessing the desolation, poverty, and the changes, degradation of the people in the old village, especially the childhood friends. 'I' couldn't help but feel sadness and disappointment.

* Significance:
- Through this situation, Lo Tan helps the character 'I' easily express his emotional turmoil when witnessing the changes of the scenery and people in the homeland after 20 years, increasingly desolate, impoverished, and degraded.
- With the image of the road at the end of the story, the author also embeds hope for a future life of civilization, goodness, and happiness for the people of the homeland.

8. Story Situation of Two Children

* Story Situation:

The event that creates the climax of the story and most vividly reveals the characters' personalities is the incident where Alisa saves the youngest son of the colonel from death, who is also their neighbor. The innocent, pure, carefree friendship between Alisa and the colonel's three children blossoms from this event. However, due to the significant gap in status and class, their relationship is vehemently condemned by the adults. Nevertheless, above all, the friendship between Alisa and the colonel's children becomes even closer and more intimate.