Top 10 Captivating Short Stories by Nam Cao

'Chí Phèo' by writer Nam Cao is a work belonging to the genre of short stories. It can be said that this is one of his most successful works as it authentically portrays the immense tragedies that a person from the poor peasant class in the old society - a society in decay - had to endure. Besides, the unique storytelling style is one of the main factors that make Chí Phèo remain a remarkable work in the hearts of readers over the years.

Chí Phèo is the masterpiece of Nam Cao as well as of the realistic literature criticizing society before 1945. Originally named Cái lò gạch cũ (The Old Brick Kiln), Chí Phèo was once received as an impressive love story, the story of the guests of “half-human, half-ghost” people: Chí Phèo - the evil demon of Vũ Đại village, and Thị Nở - the ugly woman who insulted the resentful ghost.

However, from a humanistic and profound perspective, Chí Phèo is considered a stern indictment of the semi-feudal colonial society - depicted through the image of Bá Kiến - which pushed the peasants into the path of impoverishment, decay, and delinquency; it is a ballad about the desire to be righteous, the desire for the happiness of a couple. Chí Phèo excels in the art of building typical images, in haunting artistic details like Chí's curses, Thị Nở's onion porridge, and Chí's final poignant, anguished words...

Chí Phèo encapsulates a social phenomenon in rural Vietnam before 1945, a segment of honest peasant laborers pushed onto the path of degradation, delinquency. The central character is Mr. Chí - a typical victim of the fate of honest peasant laborers who had to endure the cruelty of society at that time. That society not only destroyed the body but also tormented and crushed the souls of its people. Eventually, those righteous people were overwhelmed to the point of losing their humanity, their dignity.

The theme of the work criticizes the old feudal society at that time. The characters in the story are human, and humans are the characters. Moreover, writer Nam Cao also elevated, affirmed, and valued the good, noble qualities of Chí Phèo, Thị Nở. Chí Phèo is a work of profound realism and humanistic values, fresh and innovative.

Read the entire work 'Chí Phèo': sachhayonline.com/tua-sach/truyen-ngan-nam-cao/chi-pheo/924

The Surplus Life was born in 1943, asserting that a literary work must transcend all boundaries, it must be a work shared by all humanity, for everyone to read. The Surplus Life belongs to the theme of creative writing about the poor intellectuals before the Revolution by Nam Cao. Nam Cao had previously explored this theme in the famous psychological novel Living In Monotony.

As the title of the work suggests, The Surplus Life tells the story of Hộ - a poor intellectual, a poor writer - living a weary, stagnant life, 'pressed close to the ground' by the burden of livelihood and becoming a 'surplus,' useless person. Hộ passionately embraces the ideal of a literary career, harboring the ambition to write a work for posterity, 'shared by all mankind,' and to make 'people closer to each other.'

Meeting Từ, a girl abandoned by her lover along with a small child and an elderly mother far from home, Hộ fell in love and cared for them. But the noble act for the ideal of love pushed Hộ into a tragic fate with no way out.

The Surplus Life is both a declaration of Nam Cao's art and a page filled with reflections, regrets about human values, and a way out for people in dark social circumstances.

Read the entire work 'The Surplus Life': sachhayonline.com/tua-sach/truyen-ngan-nam-cao/doi-thua/932

Old Hạc is a short story by writer Nam Cao, written in 1943. The work is considered one of the typical short stories of realism literature because its content partly reflects the social situation in Vietnam before the August Revolution.

Reading Old Hạc, surely everyone is impressed by the death of Old Hạc at the end of the work. Living alone in a dilapidated hut with a small garden saved for his son going to work far away, Old Hạc only has his dog Vàng as a companion. In those days of hardship due to crop failure, poor harvests, the poor farmer, not wanting to eat into the money saved for his son and relying on neighbors' charity, had to sell his dog Vàng, eating turnips, radishes until there was nothing left to eat, then chose a gruesome death. Old Hạc would rather die to preserve his human dignity, to fulfill his duty as a father…

Nam Cao's short story Old Hạc conveys a touching content about the fate and soul of the muddy-handed farmers, about a lesson in looking at people: 'Oh! With those around us, if we don't try to understand them, then we only see them as rude, foolish, poor, wicked, mean... all reasons for us to be cruel.'

In 1980, Old Hạc, along with two other works by Nam Cao, Living In Monotony and Chí Phèo, was adapted into a film called The Village of Vũ Đại in the Past. The role of Old Hạc was played by actor and writer Kim Lân.

Read the entire work 'Old Hạc': sachhayonline.com/tua-sach/truyen-ngan-nam-cao/lao-hac/938

The work One Full Meal is excerpted from Nam Cao Collection by the current publisher, written in 1943. Remembering this time, it was before the revolution, the country faced many difficulties, constantly suffering from the ravages of foreign invaders, and we also had to endure the torment of hunger and ignorance.

People often die from hunger, but few die from eating too much! However, in the short story One Full Meal, Nam Cao shows us a heartbreaking story of an elderly woman who is starving and dies because of a sumptuous meal at the house of the rich in the province.

One Full Meal tells the story of an elderly woman whose husband died early, and she raised her children all her life. Thinking that when she grows up, it will be her support, but it abandons her. Her son's wife, after mourning her husband, also turns her back and leaves, leaving behind a frail old woman and a small granddaughter. The two of them leaned on each other to live for seven years, but because of the extreme difficulties, the old woman sold her only granddaughter to the Phó family as an adopted child. But even after selling her granddaughter, life was not much easier for her. With all ten silver coins, she spent eight coins for her son and saved two coins as capital. Yet heaven did not spare her; last year, she fell seriously ill. Now her health does not allow her to work as a wet nurse anymore. That day she went to visit the witch, but she was stepped on her dignity by the witch. The fullest meal of her life was also her last meal in her life.

Every word trembled like the hungry belly of the old woman, like Nam Cao's heart for those people who, although consciously know that “food is shameful,” still crave to live, crave to exist. How can the existence of a person go hand in hand with the existence of human dignity? That is a big question that resonates in One Full Meal as well as many other works by Nam Cao.

Read the entire work 'One Full Meal': sachhayonline.com/tua-sach/truyen-ngan-nam-cao/mot-bua-no/933

Moonlight (Draping Light) was born in 1943, telling the tale of the unemployed teacher named Điền. On moonlit nights, he often brings the bamboo chairs that the school trades for teaching salary to the yard to admire the moon and lose himself in literary dreams. Điền yearns to craft mystical literature, dreamy like the moonlight, with the belief that literature must resemble that moonlight, it must “beautify even the scenes that are actually mediocre, ugly.” Điền, worn out and weary from his wife's constant nagging due to the family's poverty and sick children.

But ultimately, the “sounds of life's struggles” become too powerful, they render Điền unable to pursue the type of literature reserved only for pretenders. He deeply understands that: “Art doesn't need to be like the deceptive moonlight, art can simply be the pain, escaping from the mistakes of past lives.”.

Still wielding the pen of sharp psychological analysis, in stories seemingly devoid of plots, in Moonlight, Nam Cao once again proclaims the path of realistic artistry, the “humanitarian” path he pursues.

Read the entire work 'Moonlight': sachhayonline.com/tua-sach/truyen-ngan-nam-cao/trang-sang/929

A Wedding emerged in 1944, amidst the looming hunger creeping into every nook and cranny of the laborers' lives - people who were already impoverished, living in hardship, immersed in destitution and misery.

A Wedding, true to its title, narrates a poor wedding. Growing up in poverty, by the time they returned home, their mother had passed away, leaving their father to raise two young siblings alone. The Dần family struggled during times of low rice and high prices, exacerbated by droughts, and floods causing failed harvests.

They could only strive to survive to avoid starvation. Before heading to the forest to earn some rice, Dần's father agreed to marry off Dần to a long-engaged groom. A modest wedding took place amidst bitterness, sorrow, and regret: “They all trudged through the cold mist and darkness like a silent funeral procession searching for a place to sleep...”.

The short story A Wedding paints a bleak rural picture, with the focal point being the worn faces due to hunger, the heavy burden of livelihood worries. Reading the work, readers are moved by the warmth of father-child relationships, and saddened by the hardships of life in the old society.

Read the entire work 'A Wedding': sachhayonline.com/tua-sach/truyen-ngan-nam-cao/mot-dam-cuoi/928

A Mõ - a lowly, insignificant position in the pre-socialist society - what kind of dignity does it have? And are there people who are born as a kind of “true Mõ”? Lộ, the main character in The Dignity of a Mõ, used to be a gentle, honest farmer, beloved and respected by everyone. Out of respect and promises of tax exemption, he accepted the role of a Mõ.

Thanks to his diligence, the economic situation of Lộ's household gradually improved. However, this led to jealousy and resentment from those who once admired and respected him. Out of envy and spite, they conspired to humiliate him, isolating him from the normal society. Hurt, indignant, and ultimately seeking revenge against that cruel community, Lộ transformed himself into a “greedy Mõ”, utterly despicable and contemptible...

The Dignity of a Mõ reflects Nam Cao's profound philosophy: “It turns out that our disdain or respect greatly influences the character of others; many people do not know what self-respect is, just because they are not respected by anyone; humiliating others is a clever way to make people vile...”

Read the entire work 'The Dignity of a Mõ': sachhayonline.com/tua-sach/truyen-ngan-nam-cao/tu-cach-mo/934

Forgetting Moderation tells the story of Hài – a poor teacher struggling in the city. After years of illness in the countryside and unconventional treatments like herbal remedies and child urine, Hài moves to the city to teach. Unfortunately, he suffers from heart and lung diseases. Despite his ailments, he continues to work to avoid starvation and cope with his illnesses through a lifestyle of “moderation”. Hài lives frugally, completely abstaining from life's pleasures (which he cannot afford anyway).

A meeting with Thư, an old wealthy friend, makes Hài realize the difference between them, a poor teacher always calculating every penny, and the affluent. Forgetting Moderation speaks to us about the lives of those who “slowly sell away their lives to avoid death”, living worn-out lives, living just to exist in the dreary “pond of life”.

Read the entire work 'Forgetting Moderation': https://www.dtv-ebook.com/doc-truyen/ebook-tuyen-tap-nam-cao-full-prc-pdf-epub-truyen-ngan_2089.4989.html

The short story Lang Louse tells the tale of a young man who makes a living by selling medicine to cure the children of Mr. and Mrs. Old - a wealthy family in the village (the name Lang Louse is given by Mrs. Old and her sister-in-law, who mockingly call Mr. Old 'louse' as he always has lice). Living around the kitchen of Mr. Old's house and enduring all kinds of 'contempt, sneers, mockery, ridicule, and a hundred other forms of disdain' from the homeowners, with Lang Louse being Mrs. Profit.

If Lang Louse comes from a destitute family earning a living selling medicine, Mrs. Profit has neither husband nor child, living from day to day with temporary jobs. These two misfortunes find empathy in each other. However, due to the cruel intervention of Mr. Old's family, their love story ends bitterly with the death of Lang Louse.

The story of Lang Louse recalls the love of those considered 'inferior beings' as in Chí Phèo, shining light on the longing for affection of fragile, lonely souls.

Read the entire work 'Lang Louse': http://kilopad.com/truyen-ngan-c197/doc-sach-truc-tuyen-lang-ran-b9090/chuong-1-ti1

The story Tears is inspired by a quote from a French writer: 'People only appear wicked and selfish in the fierce light of their own selfishness, and tears are a distorted mirror reflecting the universe.'. The main character is Điền - a familiar name to Nam Cao's readers.

With his storytelling style, seemingly trivial stories become captivating narratives with profound themes that transcend the scope of the subject matter. Tears narrates the resentment and bitterness among people who, overwhelmed by their own suffering, mistakenly believe that their suffering is caused by others. Điền's journey to collect his salary in the province is a tragicomic tale: a clash with the secretary leads to the loss of a silver coin, forcing Điền to skip breakfast and walk home to save money, but he forgets to buy medicine for his child. The argument with his wife makes him feel 'miserable, as miserable as a dog.'. But true to its title, the sound of his sick child's crying makes Điền reflect on life, sighing with weariness for his own and others' fate: 'Now his heart is filled with nothing but compassion. He pities his wife, pities his child, pities all those who suffer. His heart earnestly reaches out to embrace everyone. His eyes brim with tears.'. Tears is a sincere message about empathy and love for those who become cruel due to excessive suffering.

Read the entire work 'Tears': http://www.dtv-ebook.com/doc-truyen/ebook-tuyen-tap-nam-cao-full-prc-pdf-epub-truyen-ngan_2089.4990-1.html