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Prompt: What thoughts does the character Mr. Hai evoke in you regarding the new changes in the emotions of Vietnamese people during the period of resistance against the French?
New emotional shifts of Vietnamese people during the resistance against the French depicted in the story 'The Village'
Essay:
Love for the village, for the homeland, is a beautiful sentiment within every citizen. Perhaps, it is also a recurring theme in most literary works by writers and poets. Author Kim Lan depicted this love through a very exemplary and remarkable piece, becoming an immortal artistic symbol. That is the short story 'The Village', which writes about the peasant theme but is expressed in a new aspect through a surprising and ironic situation to reveal the patriotism of Mr. Hai in particular and the patriotism of the Vietnamese people in general during the anti-French revolution.
Mr. Hai possesses the good qualities of farmers from generations: Kindness, simplicity, diligence, compassion, and deep love for his homeland. When the enemy came to the village, his whole family had to evacuate to another place. When far from the village, he always thought of his village with great nostalgia and affection. Thinking of the village, 'he feels like a child again', with many memories with his siblings returning in his mind:
'Oh, how happy it was back then. He feels like a child again. Singing, playing, digging, hoeing, lost in the daydreams.' In his heart, the old man feels excited. He wants to return to the village, wants to be with his brothers digging ditches, mounding up soil, digging trenches, carrying stones... He doesn't know if the watchtower at the village entrance has been built yet? Those secret tunnels must still be very rough. Oh my! The old man misses the village, misses that village intensely. He always longs to return to join the fight against the enemy, a person with great responsibility for the resistance movement. Mr. Hai's love for the village stems from familiar and simple things, extending to a great love for the resistance, for the Fatherland.
When mentioning Cho Dau Market, he always feels proud, his eyes shining with joy. He detests the invaders who steal water. He always keeps track of news from his village through the information room where he reads newspapers. He pretends to look at paintings to hear news about the country, and when he hears about our army's victories, news of the enemy being ambushed, 'his heart dances with joy'. He loves the resistance and passionately cares about it.
When hearing that Cho Dau village has fallen to the enemy, 'His throat tightens, his face numb. He falls silent, as if unable to breathe'. He is choked up, speechless, bowing his head. From belief, pride in the village turns into despair, sorrow. He can't believe what he just heard is true. The more he loves the village, the more he suffers thinking about his village being terrorized. He wonders, doubts what people say about his village. After hearing the news, he always feels ashamed, humiliated. When he gets home, he looks at his children and feels sorry for himself, for the village, and for the resistance. The greater his love for the village, the deeper his shame. For many days, he dares not go out, lingering in the cramped house listening for news. 'Listening to see what's happening outside? When a crowd gathers, he pays attention, even distant laughter makes him uneasy. Whenever he hears Western, traitor, snitch... he shrinks into a corner, holding his breath. There it goes again!'
It seems, in his mind at this moment is the extreme pain, extreme despair, his village following the Western way means his village betraying the resistance, betraying Uncle Ho.
Cho Dau village is his flesh and blood, the revolution is the light of his life, of his family and of the nation. Mr. Hai stands between two choices: either return to the village in the Western way, or abandon the village for the resistance. In the end, he affirms: 'I truly love the village but if the village follows the West, it's lost, then we must seek revenge'. This is a very noble and righteous decision, he has set aside personal feelings for the future, the common joy of the country, of the nation. His patriotism is profound and sacred, it is absolute trust in the revolution, in Uncle Ho, in the national resistance, 'Support Uncle Ho Chi Minh'.
