The portrayal of the patriotic farmer in Can Giuoc

Prompt: The portrayal of the patriotic farmer in In Honor of the Patriot Farmer of Can Giuoc by author Nguyen Dinh Chieu.

A selection of sample essays on the portrayal of the patriotic farmer in Can Giuoc

I. Outline of the portrayal of the patriotic farmer in Can Giuoc

1. Introduction

- General overview of 'In Honor of the Patriot Farmer of Can Giuoc' by author Nguyen Dinh Chieu
- General overview of the portrayal of the patriotic farmer in the poem.

2. Main Body

a. The Image of Farmers in Daily Life
- They are ordinary, hardworking farmers: 'only know the fields and the buffalo, living within the village.'
- Completely unfamiliar with warfare, gun practice, shield training; never experienced training in the 'horse stable,' or the 'training ground.'

b. The Image of Farmers in the Anti-French Resistance
- Farmers emerge through their hatred for the enemy: '...wanting to feast on their livers,' '...eager to bite their necks.'

c. The Art of Constructing the Image of Farmers
- Realistic writing, depicting farmers comprehensively and authentically.
- Utilizing various literary devices: comparison, contrast, description, etc.

3. Conclusion

Overview of the image of the farmer - patriot.
 

II. Sample Essay: The Image of the Patriot Farmer in the Poem 'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc'

1. Short, Model Image of the Patriot Farmer in Cần Giuộc, Sample 1 (Standard):

“Carrying countless boats without sinking,
Stabbing several rogue villains but not faltering”

The two lines above demonstrate Nguyễn Đình Chiểu's artistic creation viewpoint - the 'Bright Star in the National Literature Sky' (as Phạm Văn Đồng described him). One of the underlying themes in Nguyen Dinh Chieu's concept of 'dao' is 'patriotism and compassion for the people.' This has been expressed through many works, notably 'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc.' With profound emotion towards the sacrifices of the peasant soldiers, the author successfully constructed a monumental, realistic, and heroic statue embodying the intense patriotism and determination to defend the homeland.

In the opening of the work, author Nguyễn Đình Chiểu vividly depicts the contemporary context through emotionally charged sentences: “Enemy guns shake the land/ The people’s hearts show.” It is a context closely associated with the sound of gunfire and the invasion of French colonialists against our nation. Yet, it is precisely in that tense, turbulent, and determined era that the image of the patriotic peasant warriors shines brightly with a dignified and fierce posture. Previously, they were just individuals immersed in a simple life through hard work, struggling with poverty, and hunger day and night in the fields:

“Remembering ancient spirits:
Bending down to work,
Worrying about poverty and hunger”

Through short verses and simple poetic language, the author successfully portrays the portrait of the peasant in daily life: 'only knows plowing and herding, in the village he walks' and is completely unfamiliar with warfare. They have never undergone training in places like 'horseback riding arenas,' 'battlefields.' Through the section 'Awakening,' the author recalls the image of the peasant patriot with qualities of diligence, perseverance, especially deep-seated enmity towards the enemy: 'Once they see the enemy setting up white tents, they want to charge in; when they see black smoke rising, they want to go out and bite the enemy's neck.' These sentences evoke associations with the fervent fighting spirit of General Trần Quốc Tuấn in the work 'The General's Ode': 'I often forget to eat, at midnight I toss and turn, my stomach aches as if cut, tears stream down; only anger has not been vented, skin has not been peeled, they eat the enemy's liver and drink their blood. Even if a hundred bodies are exposed to the sun, a thousand corpses are wrapped in horsehide, I am still pleased.' Thus, through powerful verbs like 'eat liver,' 'bite neck,' we can see the deep-seated enmity of the peasants when witnessing foreign invaders occupying their homeland.

Arising from the determination to drive out foreign invaders, they voluntarily rise up to fight for the greater cause: 'Who waits for anyone to demand or capture, this time I will exert my strength to break the barrier; not afraid to flee back or forth, this trip throws everything into the tiger's mouth.' The peasants willingly sacrifice themselves, ready to sacrifice to defend the country. Therefore, in the battle against the West, they appear with a firm, indomitable posture and brave, powerful actions: 'breaking through fences, treating the enemy as if non-existent'; 'rushing in, risking themselves as if there were none…' The determination is emphasized even more through enumeration: 'Those who stab across, those who chop back, causing chaos and terror; those who were in front, those who were behind, disregarding iron trains, copper trains, guns firing.' Therefore, despite being equipped with extremely rudimentary gear: 'coarse cloth shirts,' 'bamboo tip spears,' 'grass culms,' 'phay knives,'... they still step onto the battlefield with the dignified stance of masters: 'also chopping off the heads of corrupt officials.'

The work concludes with a affirmation of the noble sacrifice of the peasant - patriots through a concise eight-word sentence: 'A smoke-filled battle, a thousand years of radiance.' The term 'a thousand years' suggests the eternal nature of the immortal soul of the peasant.

To successfully depict the image of the peasant, patriot, the author used realistic writing techniques. This is one of the new contributions to medieval literature - a period mainly characterized by symbolic writing techniques. Thanks to this, the image of the peasant appears vividly through many drawings, from external appearances to laborious life, along with thoughts, reflections, and actions. In addition, the author also used many artistic literary techniques to enhance imagery and emotion such as comparison ('looking for officials is like waiting for rain, hating weeds like farmers hate grass'), contrast, description,...

Thus, 'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc' has successfully portrayed the portrait of the peasant, highlighting the spirit of patriotism, deep-seated enmity towards the enemy, and determination to resist foreign invaders. These are the common qualities of our people through all ages, shaping the core traditional values of the nation. However, through the use of realistic writing techniques, author Nguyễn Đình Chiểu has constructed the image of the peasant with new aspects of magnificence in the medieval Vietnamese literature.

2. Portrait of the peasant patriot Cần Giuộc, model 2:

Nguyễn Đình Chiểu is a talented writer who has portrayed the image of the peasant in literature, which has not been mentioned throughout the ages through the work 'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc.' In this eulogy, the image of the peasant is clearly depicted. The image of the impoverished peasant who silently works all year round, diligently toiling the land is portrayed. They are peasants with clear likes and dislikes, with deep-seated hatred, refusing to collaborate with the enemy when the French colonialists invaded. They fought bravely and sacrificed heroically, in words that are full of sorrow but shed no tears. That is the beauty of Nguyễn Đình Chiểu's literature.

'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc' was born in 1858 when the French colonialists fired shots at Đà Nẵng, Vietnam. After capturing Gia Định at the beginning of 1859, the French army began an expansion process attacking neighboring areas such as Tân An, Cần Giuộc, Gò Công... On November 15, in the Tân Dậu year, the patriots, who were peasants, due to their deep resentment towards the foreign invaders, bravely stood up to attack the French outpost in Cần Giuộc, annihilating some of the enemy's troops and Vietnamese collaborators. About fifteen patriots sacrificed themselves. These examples deeply moved the people. At the request of the Gia Định administration, Đỗ Quang, Nguyễn Đình Chiểu wrote the poem 'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc' to be read at the memorial service for the martyrs who sacrificed in this battle.

As we know, 'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc' is a rare 'Artistic work.' 'Magnificent' is the stature and nature of that artistic work: both grandiose and poignant. Grandiose in the content of fighting for a great cause. Grandiose in the heroic qualities, in the spirit of sacrifice unto death. Grandiose in how it erects an era of turmoil and fierceness for the nation and people. The eulogy begins with the two words 'Oh dear!' resonating poignantly, it is the poet's cry for the patriots, it is the lamentation for the perilous country: 'Enemy guns, earth quakes; the people's hearts revealed,' which means the homeland is in danger, enemy guns echoing through the land, and the homeland. In the scene of a country lost and scattered, only the people stand up to bear the historical mission, fighting the enemy to save the country and home. And the peasant, who only knows toil silently rose to fight the invaders to regain independence for the beloved country, and that courage stems from the patriotic heart within every individual. The patriotic and vengeful hearts of the peasants, of the cloth-clad people, now shine brightly with righteousness. The main image of the eulogy is the soldiers of Cần Giuộc.

Their origin is poor peasants living a 'wretched' life behind the bamboo hedge of the village. Simple and gentle, diligent and hardworking in their livelihood, lingering in the village, befriending the buffalo, plowing the fields, hoeing, and sowing, very unfamiliar with riding horses or attending royal courts: 'Remember the old ways: quietly toil for a living; worry about poverty and hardship.' Toiling for a living: means toiling in solitude, silently and pitifully. Tired or weary, they quietly endure alone without speaking to anyone. 'Toiling for a living; worrying about poverty and hardship' fully depicts a lifetime cycle of no escape for Vietnamese peasants, the 'village people, rural laborers' of the South. Starting with toiling for a living, struggling in livelihood, worrying only to end in poverty. They are the peasants who only know how to work with their hands all year round, yet are completely ignorant of what is called bows, what is called horses. 'Not yet accustomed to bows and horses; only know plowing fields, staying in the village.' They are a class of people who are familiar around us. All year round, they are covered in mud with their livelihoods, 'never having looked at' military and weapons to fight the French invaders: 'The task of hoeing, the task of plowing, the task of hoeing, the task of sowing, hands used to work; training shields, training guns, training spears, training crossbows never seen.' However, when the homeland is invaded by the French, these mud-covered people stand up voluntarily as volunteer soldiers to fight the invaders, to save the country and home, to protect the livelihoods they consider their lifeblood, which they 'cherish' and pursue.

In the poem 'Văn Tế,' Nguyễn Đình Chiểu has portrayed the contrast between the valiant soldiers of the homeland and the French invaders. The invaders are equipped with state-of-the-art weapons, with 'tin boats, copper boats,' 'firing small bullets, large bullets,' with hired soldiers 'demons, devils' experienced in battle. On the contrary, the equipment of the patriots is extremely rudimentary. Their uniforms are 'a piece of cloth.' Weapons only consist of 'a bamboo spear,' or 'a machete,' a shotgun firing 'with a straw as the trigger.' Yet they still achieve feats: 'burning down that missionary school' and 'beheading those two officials.' The eulogy has recreated the fierce moments of combat between the patriotic soldiers and the French invaders: 'The difficult officers beat the drum loudly; the drum urging, stepping over the fence swiftly, considering the enemy as nothing; not afraid of the Westerners shooting small and large bullets, rushing in through the door, risking themselves as if nothing.' 'Those who stab across, those who chop upside down, causing demons, devils to fear; the front line, the rear line, despising tin boats, copper boats, guns firing.'

The battlefield atmosphere resonates with the beat of drums urging the troops forward, 'with those ahead, those behind' echoing across the land along with the sound of gunfire. Our patriots regard death as nothing, attacking like a hurricane, raging within enemy forts: 'stepping over the fence swiftly,' 'rushing in through the door,' 'stabbing across, chopping upside down,' 'ahead, behind.' Nguyễn Đình Chiểu's prose vividly embodies the courageous and unwavering spirit of the peasant patriots of Cần Giuộc. He also clearly expresses admiration for the peasant patriots. Until now, this is the first work to depict the image of peasant patriots. In the eulogy 'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc,' there are also the cries of an old mother awaiting her son's return, a wife longing for her husband, children waiting for their father, all resonating with poignancy and sorrow. Many patriots fell on the battlefield in heroic poses: 'With loyalty long held; who knew the body would hastily depart.' The nation, the homeland mourns deeply. A vast, desolate space, painful: 'Missing Cần Giuộc River, miles of sorrowful grass and trees; looking at Trường Bình Market, young and old, tears flow.' The cries of the old mother, the agony of the young wife, the longing of the children are depicted with immense emotion: 'Painfully the old mother sits crying for her child, the lamp flickers in the tent; anxiously the weak wife runs seeking her husband, a shadow crawls in front of the door.' The patriots lived bravely to fight and sacrificed gloriously. Their examples of fighting and sacrifice are for us to know that every country deserves independence, autonomy. No one has the right to invade. They are shining examples to be proud of: 'Oh! A cloud of smoke dissipates; a thousand years of dignity.'

The sacrifice of the peasant patriots of Cần Giuộc is a precious lesson they have left behind. Better to die with honor than to live in shame. They are shining examples for the Vietnamese people to follow, illuminating the path for the Vietnamese nation. 'Living fighting the enemy, dying also fighting the enemy, the soul following to aid the homeland, a thousand lifetimes vowing vengeance;...' The contributions of the peasant patriots of Cần Giuộc will forever be in the hearts of every Vietnamese person regarding their heroic image, ready to sacrifice for the solid independence of the homeland. 'The tears of heroes wipe without drying, pity for the sake of the nation; the incense of the patriot lights up even more fragrant, grateful for a royal land.'

In conclusion, 'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc' affirms the sincere love for the people by Nguyễn Đình Chiểu. 'Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc' is the deep pride and gratitude of our people for the peasant patriots of Cần Giuộc who bravely fought against foreign invaders to protect the solid independence of the homeland, where they were born and raised, or it is the country that is 'it' is very important in their lives. The peasant patriots of Cần Giuộc are the epitome of courage, profound patriotism for future generations to follow after reading this eulogy to build a country that grows stronger day by day.

The writing assignment number 3, Literature 11 Volume 1 is an important content that can evaluate the writing ability as well as the scores of students in this semester. To achieve high results in writing assignment number 3, besides question number 3: 'The image of the peasant patriot Cần Giuộc in the Eulogy of the Peasant Patriot Cần Giuộc by author Nguyễn Đình Chiểu,' students can also refer to sample essays for questions 1, 2, 4: 'Comparing the talent and beauty of Thúy Vân and Thúy Kiều as shown in the excerpt: 'The heads of the two beauties, two sisters... The Eastern wall sees the butterfly return, whose?' (Nguyễn Du, The Tale of Kiều), 'Nguyễn Khuyến and Tú Xương have similar heartfelt confessions but their poetic tones differ.' Please clarify the above opinion, 'Profound feelings you (you) have through learning about the life and poetry of Nguyễn Đình Chiểu' that Mytour has introduced.

Impressions of the patriot of Cần Giuộc

3. Depiction of the peasant patriot of Cần Giuộc, model number 3:

Nguyễn Đình Chiểu (1822-1888), a patriotic Confucian scholar, deeply loved his country and harbored intense hatred towards the invaders. His life was marked by numerous tragedies and misfortunes. Perhaps more than anyone else, he keenly felt the pain of losing the country when the French colonialists invaded our land. In 1859, the French invaded Bến Nghé River, capturing Gia Định Citadel. He had to seek temporary refuge in his wife's hometown of Thanh Ba, Cần Giuộc. Following the capture of Gia Định Citadel, the French colonialists began expanding their attacks to neighboring areas. Cần Giuộc quickly fell under French occupation. The clothed peasants, muddy feet, and hands stood up to fight. They joined the patriotic army, ready to sacrifice for the greater cause. Among them, many patriots made fierce sacrifices. These acts of sacrifice stirred great emotions among the people. Đỗ Quang, the provincial governor of Gia Định, assigned Nguyễn Đình Chiểu to write a eulogy to be read at the memorial service for over twenty patriots who perished in the battle on the night of December 16, 1861. With profound admiration and boundless compassion, Nguyễn Đình Chiểu penned the Eulogy of the Patriot of Cần Giuộc. The eulogy not only expresses the author's and the people's infinite compassion for the patriots of Cần Giuộc but also portrays the authentic, heroic beauty of the patriotic peasants fighting the Western invaders.

Oh!
The enemy's guns resound; the people's hearts reveal...

When the motherland is in danger, the sound of guns echoes throughout the country. It is in those moments of crisis and pain that the love for the nation of ordinary farmers is truly expressed, and the real beauty of their souls is revealed to the heavens and the earth.

The hearts and love for the country of humble farmers are even more vividly and deeply expressed when the author continuously employs contrasting techniques in the following sentences.

Remember the old saying:
Cui cút makes a living; worries about poverty and hardship,
Unaccustomed to riding horses, never to the deer field;
Only know the plow, the hoe, the sow, the reap, hands accustomed to work;
Practice shields, practice guns, practice flags, practice banners, eyes yet to see

Previously, they lived, they existed, but only as 'cui cút making a living'. They lived, they existed, but only in silence. In life, they had the simple worry of 'a piece of rice and a change of clothes'; they were only accustomed to doing household chores: plowing, hoeing, planting, harvesting, befriending the buffalo, the fields. They were unfamiliar with 'riding horses', 'deer fields', unfamiliar with 'practicing banners, practicing flags'. The patriots here were just clothed farmers, unaccustomed to battle, untrained, only rising up against the invaders out of love and hatred.

As the 'sound of drums echoes for over ten months', they eagerly await the orders of the court: 'waiting for news is like waiting for rain in drought'.

The tragic irony lies here: the court is feeble, unable to understand the patriotic fervor of the people. The hatred for the enemy among the farmers cannot be contained:

The scent of fried fish sauce has lingered for three years, despising the routine like farmers detest weeds.

...Seeing the white-wrapped rice cakes, one craves to devour them; witnessing the black smoke billowing, one desires to attack.

The portrayal of the peasant, those patriotic warriors, emerges as truly courageous and magnificent. The fervent love for the motherland stemming from their very hearts has rendered them beautiful and radiant.

The beauty of the patriotic peasant warriors shines forth from the seething hatred for the enemy. This hatred has transformed into resolute and heroic uprising.

No waiting for anyone's demand or command, this time we willingly engage in fierce combat:

Without hesitation or retreat, forward and onward, this expedition unleashes the prowess of fierce tigers.

In previous works opposing feudal wars lacking righteousness, when peasants had to become soldiers to defend the king's territory, they departed with feelings and attitudes akin to 'stepping onto a boat, tears like rain.' However, here, the peasants depicted by Nguyen Dinh Chieu are entirely different. They act voluntarily, driven by an intrinsic sense of duty to fight and protect the nation, displaying the most genuine beauty in the actions of the peasant-patriots of Can Giuoc. This not only reflects the beauty of their souls but also vividly portrays the beauty in the actions of these patriotic peasant warriors, as depicted by Nguyen Dinh Chieu. Their self-motivated spiritual drive to shoulder the historical responsibility has endowed them with immense strength. They have acted, risen up against foreign invaders, not waiting idly but 'outside, a shred of cloth waits to carry the gunpowder, a straw fan, a bamboo hat in hand.' The portrayal of peasants in this work evokes both pride and sorrow. These patriot warriors seem to embody the entirety of the nation's strength. Confronted with powerful enemies armed with 'small and large bullets,' 'ironclads and bronze ships,' against which their only weapons are 'a shred of cloth,' 'a straw fan,' 'a bamboo hat,' and only 'a milling knife,' it's akin to walking into death. This harsh reality displayed before us is truly heartbreaking. It's the tragic fate of Can Giuoc's patriot warriors, as well as the tragedy of our nation's life during that harsh era. This prolonged tragedy led to the prolonged catastrophe of losing our country throughout the century.

But it's precisely from this tragedy that the image of the patriotic peasant warriors shines brightly. Through their resilience, fervent patriotism, they accomplished extraordinary feats, composing the epic of the nation's struggle. Despite the dangers, despite the disparities and contradictions of the battlefield, they remained determined to fight and win, with the spirit of sacrificing themselves for righteousness to compensate for their shortcomings and disparities with the enemy. Despite the disparate circumstances of the battle, the warriors fought with the spirit of determined sacrifice, achieving immense effectiveness in combat.

With only rudimentary weapons like:

'Straw flames set alight burned down the missionary's house,
Swords worn as tools chopped off the heads of those corrupt officials.
Those who stabbed sideways, those who slashed upwards, caused the enemy's souls to tremble...

With only rudimentary weapons, but with love for the country, the spirit of the nation has created miracles. The image of the patriotic peasant emerges with a radiant beauty of nationalism, seemingly overshadowing the dark period of our nation's history in the late 19th century.

The eulogy acts as a monument sculpted in words, engraving the heroic image of patriotic peasants, symbolizing the spirit of patriotism and resistance against foreign invaders of our forefathers. This monument marks a significant point, reflecting a great national tragedy - the tragedy of losing our country, signaling a dark period in our history - the one hundred years of French colonization. However, amidst this great tragedy, the indomitable spirit of the people of the South, and of Vietnam as a whole, still shines brightly due to the noble ideals of the Can Giuoc patriots - they are willing to sacrifice for the greater cause, for the nation.

The beauty of the image of the patriotic peasant in the Eulogy of Can Giuoc Patriots

4. The portrayal of the patriotic peasant of Can Giuoc, model number 4:

Vietnamese farmers who love their country and resist foreign invasion have appeared for a long time, at least for over ten centuries. However, in literature, the image of these farmers truly emerged in the latter half of the 19th century with Nguyen Dinh Chieu's Eulogy of Can Giuoc Patriots. It can be said that with this eulogy, Nguyen Dinh Chieu created the first artistic monument depicting Vietnamese patriotic peasants. It is a very beautiful, very authentic image full of heroic and tragic elements - just like the struggle that the Vietnamese people conducted throughout the latter half of the 19th century, for their lives, for the independence and autonomy of their homeland.

Nevertheless, despite the sorrow, the poet never despairs. With faith in the eternal strength of the homeland, belief in the patriotism of the people; the humble and earnest people, the poet always looks towards a better future. The land will eventually rid itself of the shadows of invading troops, the shame of losing the country will be washed away:

As long as the Divine Emperor's grace penetrates
A gentle rain will cleanse the mountains and rivers.

(Awaiting the winter wind)

It's a touching and powerful belief. Perhaps before Nguyen Dinh Chieu, no poet had written with such a clear consciousness as he did:

Carrying countless boats without sinking
Piercing through countless traitors without faltering.

His doctrine was nothing but the doctrine of patriotism and compassion for the people. That's the origin that gave his poetry great emotional resonance, the origin that elevated Nguyen Dinh Chieu's name to a glorious position in the national literature.

Nguyen Dinh Chieu was very wise, very sharp in beginning his epic:

Oh alas!
The enemy's guns rumble;
The people's hearts reveal.

Indeed, through this battle, through this harsh challenge, their essence, the patriotism of these ordinary farmers, their true beauty of soul, is revealed to heaven and earth. Before, they existed, but no one knew of them. They lived, but lived in the silence of neglect. Nguyen Dinh Chieu, with profound empathy, realized that their lives had been so difficult:

Remembering ancient spirits:
Toiling quietly for a living,
Constantly in poverty and hardship.

How much divine revelation is contained in those eight short hours, telling us vividly about the plight of the farmers of Can Giuoc, the rustic farmers, who were also the farmers of Vietnam at that time. Their figure, small and solitary in life, stooped, weary, silently laboring in the fields, bearing the burdens of life, the harshness and calamities from nature, from society, all come vividly through each word. It seems that their toil and trouble were already more than enough; it seems that they, those toiling farmers, could no longer think of anything else, worry about anything else other than the 'poverty and hardship' that were already too overwhelming.

Yet, the invading army has occupied the land, reaching the villages, reaching their homes. And those people who were bowing down suddenly stood tall, and they became giants like the village boy Gióng a thousand years ago when he heard the words of the messenger. But one fundamental difference from the past is that the call to save the country did not come from the palace of the king but was emanating from the very heart of the farmers of Can Giuộc. It was the boiling hatred for the invaders' actions of usurping the land:

The smell of burning incense has lingered for three years, hating every aspect like a farmer hates weeds.

Seeing the white tents fluttering: wanting to go and devour the liver;
Watching the black smoke billowing: wanting to go and bite the necks

As an inevitable nuclear reaction, the intense hatred for the enemy has given rise to a high desire: the desire to fight the enemy. It is a completely natural and voluntary desire:

No waiting for demands, no waiting for capture, this time we unleash our might to cut through adversity;
Not bothering to hide or flee, this journey thrusts us into the hands of a tiger.

The farmers depicted by Nguyễn Đình Chiểu are truly different from those not long ago who 'Stepped onto the boat, tears like rain' when forced to become soldiers defending distant borders for the king. Volunteering to fight, that is the most intrinsic trait in the actions of true patriots. Perhaps it is the continuation between the Can Giuộc heroes fighting invaders and the valiant Lục Vân Tiên fighting bandits, with the same sole motivation:

Remember the saying, 'Ants can't be heroes', being human is already heroic enough.

In all noble endeavors, there is nothing greater than the act of saving the country. When duty calls, one must act, act freely, without seeking personal gain, without hesitation, without waiting for perfect conditions to act. That is the tragedy of the Can Giuộc farmers, and also the epic of the Can Giuộc patriots. Tragic because:

The sound of drums resounded for over ten months,
Waiting for news like waiting for rain in a drought.

They commenced the battle at a time when the feudal court and their officials should have long engaged in such combat, yet they remained 'motionless in defense', a baffling circumstance. The tragedy for them is that they were:

Unaccustomed to horseback riding, unfamiliar with the battlefield
Only knowing plowing fields, remaining on foot in the village,
Tilling, cultivating, planting... hands accustomed to,
Practicing shields, practicing guns, practicing spears, practicing banners... eyes never set upon

Entering the life-and-death struggle of the battlefield, these individuals carried only the bare essentials for farming. Confronting fierce enemies armed with 'iron ships and bronze vessels,'' ''small and large bullets,'' they were mere farmers with no knowledge of warfare, possessing only 'a piece of cloth,' 'a bamboo pole,' and 'a machete.' How unequal the battle was! The conclusion of that battle is already clear. It was the tragedy of the Can Giuoc patriots, and also the tragedy of our country's life in that harsh era, a tragedy that led to the prolonged disaster of losing the nation for a century.

But it is precisely within that tragedy, the epic of life was sung. The epic lies firstly in the resilience of those determined individuals to fight, to rise above the fear of failure to achieve victory, to sacrifice themselves for the greater cause, compensating for all their deficiencies and disparities compared to the enemy:

Despite the harsh wind, the enemy's drums resounded; the drums urged them on, trampling over barriers, treating the enemy as if nonexistent;
Unafraid of Westerners firing small and large bullets, breaking down doors and rushing in, risking their lives as if it meant nothing...
They disregarded the iron ships and bronze vessels, the firing guns.

Truly exhilarating, truly heroic, truly resolute. Indeed, they fought like valiant and courageous soldiers. Here, the power of the spirit has been maximized, and to some extent, its effectiveness has been demonstrated against the might of tactics, weapons, and equipment:

Straw torches burning, setting ablaze the missionary's house
Swords hanging, used as machetes, beheading officials

... The attacker pierces sideways, the victim strikes back, making the battlefield fierce and intense...

In Vietnamese literature, until Nguyễn Đình Chiểu, there has never been such a magnificent portrayal of the fighting stance of the cloth-clad soldier. The image of the peasant here is the crystallization and sublimation at the highest level of their essence. In those glorious moments, the peasants of Cần Giuộc entered eternity.

Indeed, Nguyễn Đình Chiểu sculpted a monument of the peasant - patriot Cần Giuộc. But this is not a monument of one person, but of many, of a heroic collective. Without that collective, there would be no such beautiful harmony, no overwhelming spirit conquering poverty, overcoming death, with 'trampling over barriers,' 'rushing through doors,' with 'sideways attackers, victims striking back,' 'the front troops, the rear waves' like that.

Nguyễn Đình Chiểu's monument only bears a common name 'Cần Giuộc Patriots,' while each patriot on it remains anonymous. They lived the lives of nameless masses and died the deaths of nameless masses. They sought nothing for themselves in battle. The only thing they left for the world, which Nguyễn Đình Chiểu articulated as a common philosophy beneath their monument, is this philosophy of life:

Dying with honor is better than living in disgrace.
It's better to die fighting bravely than to live under foreign rule, following their customs and suffering.

Completing his monument, Nguyễn Đình Chiểu reserved the final part for praises, condolences, and lighting sacred incense:

The tears of heroes never dry, mourning for the noble cause. Fragrant incense honors the martyrs, saluting a land of allegiance.

The attack by dozens of patriots on the Cần Giuộc outpost of the French colonialists in 1863 marked the beginning of Vietnam's resistance against France. The damage inflicted by these patriots may not have been significant in numbers, but their true impact on the resistance, on the nation's history, through their fervent patriotism, their selfless readiness to fight, their unconditional courage, was immensely significant. They deserve to be immortalized in monuments. Poet Nguyễn Đình Chiểu fulfilled the noble duty of an artist of the people by sculpting that monument.

Above are some sample pieces illustrating the image of the patriotic farmer in Cần Giuộc, providing readers with a clearer view of the Cần Giuộc uprising and its participants.

In addition to the Representation of the patriotic farmer in Cần Giuộc, students should explore other analytical content, such as Analysis of the Veneration of the Patriotic Farmer in Cần Giuộc or Composition on the Veneration of the Patriotic Farmer in Cần Giuộc, the author, to supplement their knowledge of the Veneration of the Patriotic Farmer in Cần Giuộc.