Top 10 Best Essays Analyzing the Realistic Values in the Short Story 'The Abandoned Wife'

Rural life and farmers have long been a familiar theme in short stories, both past and present. Regardless of how we categorize literary works, the genre of rural literature cannot be overlooked. Many famous writers have contributed to this genre, producing valuable works. For example, before the August Revolution, there were works like *Lights Off* by Ngo Tat To, *Chi Pheo* by Nam Cao, and *The Buffalo* by Tran Tieu...

These works, though simple in content, carry profound philosophical ideas. Among the writers who focused on rural life, one stands out—although he wrote fewer works and published them later, when his piece was released, it was immediately loved and celebrated. That writer is Kim Lan, with his short story *The Abandoned Wife*.

In *The Abandoned Wife*, Kim Lan portrays reality with stark honesty and keen insight, leaving a deep impression on readers. Usually, a work stands out when a writer offers something new in content and expression. *The Abandoned Wife* by Kim Lan is one such example.

At first glance, even the title *The Abandoned Wife* carries layers of meaning, catching readers’ attention before they dive into the story. Throughout history, people have spoken of “picking up this or that,” but never has someone said they picked up a wife. Furthermore, marriage is one of the three hardest tasks in a man’s life: “buy a buffalo, marry a wife, build a house.” Marriage is often considered a grand event.

Yet, in an unexpected twist, Tràng finds himself with a wife—an extraordinary, fascinating occurrence. This surprising development fits perfectly with the title. Through this unique title, Kim Lan reveals the plight of peasants during the devastating famine of 1945, where a man can casually “pick up” a wife like picking up a blade of grass or a straw.

Another significant aspect of the story’s success is its narrative technique. As we read *The Abandoned Wife*, vivid scenes unfold in our minds, like a painting of peasants struggling under the weight of famine in a quarter of the country. We see the suffering of laborers, their desolate and pitiable conditions.

Nothing is more painful than witnessing the sight of children, weak from hunger, “sitting listlessly, not moving a muscle.” Starving, adults drift from place to place. A single vegetable to ease hunger is impossible to find, let alone rice or grains… This is why the sight of hungry people lying “all over the street like fallen straw” is so disturbing, with the “faint stench of decaying bodies” in the air.

Kim Lan builds a reality as bleak as this in the story, yet in another sense, the development of characters and their psychological journey is even more striking. The character Tràng appears in the narrative as a realistic representation of a starving peasant: “His shirt draped over his shoulder, tired, as if the weight of the afternoon was pressing down on his large back.”

That “he” evokes the same familiar feeling in us as “he” does in Nam Cao’s *Chi Pheo*: “He sat crying, then cursed. Who was he cursing? He cursed life, cursed the heavens, cursed the whole village of Vũ Đại, cursed his parents who gave birth to him…” This “he” is short and harsh, but not with disdain or hatred—rather, both Kim Lan and Nam Cao evoke it with sorrow, empathy, and respect. Once you read *The Abandoned Wife*, how can you forget the character of Mrs. Tứ, Tràng’s mother?

Unaware that her son Tràng has “picked up” a wife, the emotional journey of Mrs. Tứ is rich and complex. In those days of famine, she understood the reality. She was very conscious of the importance of finding a good match for her son—“It has to be done this way, that way.” But alas, “the difficult situation stifles any wisdom.” No matter how much she understood, she could only feel “sorry for herself and her fate.”

She felt sympathy not only for her son but also for his new wife. Looking at the young woman, her heart swelled with pity. Who could understand Mrs. Tứ’s feelings? The love and empathy she felt, under the crushing weight of hunger, led her to say, “You two should marry now…” Oh, how tender and profound her words were!

For Mrs. Tứ, Tràng’s marriage was both a source of joy and a cause of worry. What parent doesn’t feel happy when their child grows up and gets married? But there’s also worry, because for so long, it had been just the two of them, and now with the famine, every mouth added to their home only made survival more difficult.

Nevertheless, joy dominated. “The puffed-up face of Mrs. Tứ brightened up,” and “she spoke only of happy things, about the future.” She tried to conceal her worries so that her daughter-in-law could be happy. Yet, she was still “choked” by her concerns. She held on to her faith in her son and in a brighter future.

As Hồ Chí Minh once said, after the rain comes the sunshine, and after hardship, joy will come—that’s how life works. In reality, the image of the red flag waving, with people looting rice from the warehouse, that final scene of the story, made Tràng open his eyes to a new destiny, a path toward revolution and the victories that would follow, like the August Revolution and Điện Biên Phủ.

With his unique narrative style and his delicate portrayal of character psychology, Kim Lan achieved remarkable success with *The Abandoned Wife*. Through the characters and storylines, he opened the door to a new consciousness, one that would later ignite revolutionary awareness. Although only briefly mentioned, terms like “red flag” and “Việt Minh” showed that Kim Lan had succeeded in avoiding the tragic, hopeless fates of earlier characters like Chí Phèo, Tư Bền, and others.

Kim Lan is a gifted writer, especially known for his works that depict the simple, yet profound, lives of those facing hardship. One of his most iconic works, *The Abandoned Wife*, gives readers a raw and honest portrayal of rural life during a time of extreme poverty and famine. The story presents a deeply realistic picture of these struggles.

As a writer who understands rural life firsthand, having lived through the horrific famine, Kim Lan captures the essence of those years in *The Abandoned Wife*, presenting a vivid, impactful, and precise portrayal of the suffering experienced by the people.

The story paints a clear picture of the devastating famine of 1945, with images of the starving wandering through the streets: “they carried their children in their arms, their faces ashen, like ghosts, lying scattered all over the marketplace,” “the haunting figures of the starving shuffling silently like ghosts,” and later, “the dead lying in the streets like fallen straw,” with “the stench of rotting bodies” lingering in the air and “the acrid smell of burning flesh from the homes of the deceased.” This imagery conveys the terror of hunger spreading across the community, enveloping the family of Tràng, threatening their survival without mercy.

The work also portrays the harsh fate of those on the brink of starvation: “hollowed-out faces reflecting the darkness of their ‘starving lives,’” “no home had light or warmth,” and even children sat “motionless in the corners, too weak to move.”

In Tràng’s family, Mrs. Tứ, the elderly mother, is unable to contribute, while her son Tràng earns a meager living by pushing a cart, and his wife’s condition is dire, with her clothes torn, her body emaciated, her eyes hollow, and her chest sunken... Their fate is mirrored in their dilapidated house, “standing alone on a patch of land overrun with wild weeds,” and their meager meal of porridge made from broken rice, “bitter and thick in the throat.”

*The Abandoned Wife* also captures the intense desire for a family, for a home, even in the most desperate circumstances. This longing is evident in the character of Tràng, who, despite his doubts and concerns about his ability to care for his new wife, still decides to bring her home. Though he initially worries about how he can provide with so little, he resolves to “leave it all behind” and take his wife in.

In the story, Tràng experiences both shame and pride as he walks through the village with his new wife, feeling “something new and unfamiliar rising up within him, a warmth spreading across his skin.” In the first moments of his married life, Tràng feels an overwhelming sense of change: “He felt an unexpected bond with his home,” “a sudden joy and excitement filled his heart,” and “for the first time, he felt like a man, realizing he had a duty to care for his wife and children in the future.”

This passage beautifully conveys the author’s deep empathy and understanding of his characters’ inner worlds. Tràng’s desire for a family drives him to appreciate the simple things around him, showing how the need for love and belonging makes us cherish what we have.

In *The Abandoned Wife*, the realistic value of the story becomes most apparent in its final moments, through Tràng’s thoughts: “The image of the poor and starving masses marching along the Sộp dyke, with a large red flag waving in front.” The group of people, leading the charge to seize the rice storage from the Japanese, carries the flag of the Việt Minh. This scene is both a reality and a dream for those like Tràng, symbolizing hope for a brighter future.

The story ends with an open ending, leaving readers with a sense of reflection and contemplation. Through Kim Lan’s masterful writing, we are immersed in this poignant space, appreciating the timeless value of the story.

Kim Lân once shared, "The meaning of the story: in the midst of extreme poverty, in any desperate situation, rural farmers still long to rise above death and despair to find joy and hope" (Revolution, Resistance, and the Life of Literature – NXB Tác phẩm mới, 1985). With such an intent, Kim Lân chose the devastating famine of 1945 as the backdrop for his story, which proved to be a brilliant choice. *Vợ nhặt* (The Picked Wife) primarily addresses the theme of hunger. Just the few words "The hunger surged..." immediately evokes a terrifying memory for the Vietnamese people of a catastrophic event that wiped out nearly one-tenth of the population. As Kim Lân wrote, the danger of hunger "surged" like a violent flood. His depiction is haunting, using two striking images: the famished people and the world they inhabit. He sharply describes the gaunt, deathly faces of the hungry, and the most chilling comparisons come when he likens the starving people to ghosts: "Families from Nam Định, draped in their blankets, stumbled up, pale and ashen like ghosts" and "the shadows of the hungry moved silently, like ghosts." These comparisons convey Kim Lân's grim perception of a time when the boundary between life and death was perilously thin, as if the world of the living and the dead had merged. Amidst the chaos of the living and the dying, the cawing of crows and the scent of decaying bodies heighten the atmosphere of sorrow and despair. Kim Lân’s brief yet powerful sentences capture the fragile line between life and death. The living are barely hanging on, while the dead fall like dry straw. The scene of hunger is deeply etched into the reader's mind due to its horrifying and tragic depiction. Kim Lân does not shy away from this harsh truth but faces it head-on, portraying the destruction hunger wreaks on life. The famine reveals the full extent of its devastating power. In such a grim context, the introduction of a love story is audacious. Just as filmmakers use humor to subvert tension, Kim Lân creates a bitter-sweet moment. When stomachs are empty, even the most human of emotions, love, takes on a distorted form. The absurdity of a love story built on four bowls of rice cake and a wedding feast of rice gruel is both tragic and darkly humorous. Kim Lân’s writing does not avoid the grimness but rather pursues reality to its very core, crafting a setting that is worn-out, bleak, and at times, even cruel. In literature, the heart often takes precedence over talent. Yet without the necessary skill, that heart cannot fully reveal itself. *Vợ nhặt* demonstrates this perfectly: the heartfelt emotion in Kim Lân’s writing touches the reader first through his exceptional storytelling and, just as importantly, his narrative technique. The art of storytelling lies in creating unique situations, and even the title *Vợ nhặt* (The Picked Wife) encapsulates such a situation. Kim Lân once explained, "Nhặt means to pick up, to gather randomly. In the famine of 1945, the poor seemed destined for death. The darkness of it loomed over the villages. In that context, the value of a human being became negligible; a wife could be picked up just by selling some rice cakes at the market" (Văn nghệ magazine, issue 19, May 8, 1993, p. 5). Thus, something sacred (a wife) is reduced to something trivial (picked up). Yet there’s another layer to this narrative: the protagonist Tràng, a poor, unattractive migrant laborer, finds himself unexpectedly married, and even more remarkably, with a wife who follows him. This surprises not only the villagers but also Tràng himself: "Even now, he still feels like he can’t quite believe it. Is he really married?" This situation evokes a delicate emotional state in the reader: a sense of uncertainty—whether this is joy or sorrow, laughter or tears. This duality adds a poetic quality to Kim Lân’s writing. A good plot is not enough. Just as a fuse lights a firecracker, it must be done right to produce the desired effect. The plot must be paired with skilled narration to make the story resonate deeply. Kim Lân excels in this area by using the distinctive language of rural life, making each sentence feel rooted in the reality of the people’s lives. However, the most significant element is his psychological realism. The situation of Tràng and his mother, bà cụ Tứ, who react differently to the same circumstance, is particularly noteworthy. First, Tràng, a lowly character, finds happiness despite his impoverished condition. His happiness creates a psychological shift, beginning with surprise. This sensation of joy envelops Tràng, filling him with both spiritual and physical sensations: "There was a new feeling inside him, as if he were in a dream, something sweet and new." His sense of happiness takes hold of him completely, like a sudden revelation. As he begins to accept this joy, it transforms into a deeper sense of connection to his family. Kim Lân’s realistic writing captures this psychological state so powerfully, immersing the reader in Tràng’s inner experience. His initial amazement quickly shifts to a more tangible form of joy. The happiness that Tràng feels about his family is simple yet profound. Unlike Chí Phèo of Nam Cao, who was robbed of his happiness by the oppressive social system, Tràng is fortunate enough to experience true contentment. Kim Lân’s writing subtly indicates how this newfound happiness impacts Tràng’s sense of self: "He suddenly felt that he now had responsibilities. He was a man now, and he had to take care of his wife and children in the future." Tràng’s transformation is complete, from a man in despair to someone who now has purpose and hope. The ending of *Vợ nhặt* contains an important detail that many overlook: the closing line, "In Tràng’s mind, he still saw the starving people and the red flag waving..." This conclusion adds depth to the story, moving beyond the confines of realistic fiction to enter a more open, optimistic realm. The red flag symbolizes hope and change, a signal that Tràng’s journey toward a better life has only just begun. Kim Lân also explores the more complex emotions of bà cụ Tứ, Tràng’s mother, whose emotional response is more complicated. While Tràng’s psychological development follows a straightforward path, bà cụ Tứ’s journey is marked by hesitation and a deep, motherly concern. Upon realizing what is happening, bà cụ Tứ is initially perplexed: "Why is there a woman in my son’s room?" Her bewilderment is not just a narrative tool but an indication of her emotional turmoil, shaped by the harshness of her circumstances. After processing everything, bà cụ Tứ’s emotions shift from confusion to a bittersweet acceptance. She expresses concern for their future, wondering if they will survive the famine. Her love for her son extends to his new wife, whom she now sees as a part of her family. The final act of kindness she offers—a simple bowl of rice porridge—becomes a symbol of her unwavering care. This humble gesture holds deep emotional meaning, not just as sustenance, but as a manifestation of her belief in the possibility of hope and survival, even in the most dire of circumstances. Kim Lân’s success lies in his ability to convey these subtle emotional nuances, making *Vợ nhặt* a moving, thought-provoking work that resonates with the struggles and resilience of the human spirit in times of hardship.

Throughout his career, Kim Lan may not have written extensively, but he is one of those authors who has left a deep impression on readers. *The Picked Wife* is one such work. This short story has made a lasting impact on generations of readers due to its profound realism. *The Picked Wife* was adapted from a chapter in Kim Lan's unfinished novel *The Shantytown* written in 1946. The work reflects the lives of those looked down upon by society due to extreme poverty. Yet, in such dire circumstances, the people of the shantytown still hold on to a glimmer of hope and the desire to rise above death and despair. After the war, the manuscript was lost. In 1954, during the commemoration of the August Revolution, Kim Lan revisited the story, writing it into the short story *The Picked Wife*, which was later published in the collection *The Ugly Dog* (1962). What makes *The Picked Wife* exceptional is its unusual story: amidst the catastrophic famine, with people dying like fallen leaves, no one sure whether they would survive, yet Tràng 'picks' a woman to be his wife. Through this event, the author shows deep empathy and warmth for those living in extreme poverty. First, it is important to acknowledge that the famine of 1945 was a subject of great interest to many writers. The tragic consequences and haunting memories of it are still fresh, as in *A Full Meal* by Nam Cao. The famine was so severe that people were willing to abandon all dignity and humanity just to secure a meal, often to die not of hunger, but from the aftermath. Yet, in *The Picked Wife*, Kim Lan creates a different portrayal of the famine through the desolate shantytown. The impression of this place begins with the sounds: 'the cawing of crows in the rice trees outside the market, wailing mournfully' and 'the eerie wails of the dead echoing through the night'. These sounds alone send shivers down the spine, evoking death and sorrow. The atmosphere is further depicted by the smell: 'the air is thick with the stench of garbage and the foul odor of corpses.' This is the atmosphere of a graveyard, filled with the smell of death, chilling and grotesque. What is striking is how the sense of hunger and death permeates even the landscape. Right from the beginning of the story, when describing the road through the shantytown, Kim Lan describes it as 'barren and emaciated'. In this grim setting, the author paints a vivid picture of the impoverished lives during the famine. Corpses 'lay scattered like dried grass; every morning, villagers would find three or four bodies by the roadside'. The living are in equally dire conditions, aware that death awaits them at every corner. The image of families from Nam Định and Thái Bình, carrying their bundles and stumbling in ghostly green hues, sprawled in the market sheds, adds to this sense of despair. Among the survivors of this famine is the character of 'Thị', the woman who would later become Tràng's wife. The first time Tràng meets her, while transporting rice to the province, Thị smiles warmly at him. But when they meet again, Tràng does not recognize her because she is 'so ragged, her clothes tattered like a torn net, and her face has become a grayish mask, with only her two eyes visible'. Desperately hungry, Thị devours four bowls of rice cakes when Tràng greets her. The famine transforms people. Thị disregards everything as long as she can eat. It is hunger that drives her to follow an unknown man without any clear background. This is Kim Lan's unique depiction of the 1945 famine. The image of the shantytown in *The Picked Wife* can be seen as a microcosm of pre-Revolutionary Vietnam, where human dignity was so low it was virtually non-existent. Through the portrayal of the shantytown, Kim Lan aims to deliver a sharp critique of the social reality of the time, which caused a horrific humanitarian disaster for a nation already plagued by many misfortunes. The famine took millions of lives in northern Vietnam. Had the story ended with the tragic lives of these impoverished people with no escape, Kim Lan would have remained a writer of pre-Revolutionary realism, and *The Picked Wife* would have simply been a work of critical realism. However, the perspective of a revolutionary writer does not allow Kim Lan to stop there. He must find a way for the characters to escape their fate, as he does in the narrative. *The Picked Wife* was written to commemorate the success of the August Revolution. The author intended for the story to reflect 'the spirit of the August Revolution,' and so, Kim Lan ends the story with the image of the red flag with a gold star fluttering in the wind. Despite the haunting presence of hunger and death, the first meal for the new bride is painfully sparse: 'in the middle of a torn mat, there is only a bowl of chopped banana leaves and a dish of salt with porridge'. Everyone eats it with gusto, trying to cheer each other up with stories about their family and business. But the meager meal is quickly finished, and the old mother brings out a steaming pot of 'chestnut porridge', but in reality, it is a mixture of rice husks—a food not meant for human consumption. Outside, the sound of a drum beats rapidly, hastily. The drum calls for tax collection on this land already filled with death, causing the crows to scatter, and the sky darkens. From this, the reader is led to the story of the daughter-in-law, who recounts, 'In Bắc Giang and Thái Nguyên, people no longer pay taxes. They even broke into the Japanese rice storage to share with the hungry.' From this story, Kim Lan concludes with a powerful ending: 'In Tràng's mind, the images of the hungry people and the fluttering flag still linger...'. With his artistic talent, Kim Lan has created a remarkable and meaningful narrative situation: the situation where Tràng 'picks' a wife, where the couple walks together in the dimming twilight, accompanied by the wails of the dead. But through this situation, Kim Lan's message to us is clear: faith and hope in life. Love and happiness can be born from the deepest sorrow and despair.

Realism is one of the key values in literature, achieved through the writer's skill in reflecting and generalizing the real world. To understand the realistic essence of a work, readers often ask questions like: What part of life does the story depict? What does the narrative reveal about the nature of society and the lives of people within it?

In the short story *The Picked Wife*, we encounter many direct references to the 1945 famine – a disaster that claimed one-tenth of the Vietnamese population. The hand of death spread across the land, infiltrating every corner, toppling countless lives, after driving people away from their homes:

"Families from Nam Dinh and Thai Binh, wrapped in their mats, wandered toward the town like ghosts, lying scattered all over the market area. The dead were like fallen leaves. Every morning, villagers going to the market or fields would stumble upon lifeless bodies by the roadside."

The writer doesn’t only describe the 'color' of the famine but also incorporates sensory details to evoke it: "The air was thick with the smell of rotting refuse and the sharp odor of human corpses." "The scent of burning bodies from homes with the dead wafted through the air, pungent and acrid."

There is also an auditory element, capturing a terrifying sound that became symbolic of death: "The crows in the tamarind trees outside the market cawed mournfully." Through these vivid details, the author helps readers experience the devastation brought upon the Vietnamese people by colonial and fascist forces.

The dead have reached the ultimate tragic end, but what about the living? They too seem to be standing on the brink of death. In the past, the village children eagerly awaited Tràng’s return each afternoon, rushing to greet him with joyful laughter. Now, they no longer bother to welcome him and instead sit dejectedly by the roadsides, too weak from hunger to play. If the children are like this, it’s no surprise that the adults' faces are filled with despair and anxiety.

A heavy silence blankets the neighborhood, accompanied by the sound of deep sighs. What else could the characters do in the face of such hopelessness? Truly, in such a dire time, hope had been stripped away, reducing people to mere worthless husks, "burdens of life."

The condition of the 'picked wife' clearly illustrates this. When she met Tràng, she clung to him like a drowning person clutching at a life-saving branch, disregarding all sense of dignity. This is a brutally realistic detail. Equally bitter is the portrayal of the celebration feast at the end of the story. Even though the house could barely afford any food, the rice porridge made from husks was still seen as the best they could have – clearly unfit for human consumption!

But as life’s law dictates, "what is together will eventually change." The years before the August Revolution were not entirely grim, as there were still glimpses of brightness. Since *The Picked Wife* was written after the Revolution, Kim Lân was able to address the revolutionary changes in Vietnamese society brought about by the Communist Party. The brief mention of the red flag with a yellow star at the story’s conclusion serves to leave readers with a more complete impression of Vietnam on the eve of the 1945 General Uprising.

*The Picked Wife* is a remarkable short story by Kim Lân that tackles the 1945 famine. Written after the August Revolution, the story offers deep insights into social issues of the time, using a unique narrative situation, flexible storytelling, and delicate descriptions to convey its powerful message.

*The Picked Wife* is a standout short story from the 1945 collection *The Ugly Dog*, and it's regarded as one of the most exceptional works in the author’s career. It’s also a significant contribution to the genre of rural life stories, clearly reflecting the author's artistic philosophy. The story is deeply soaked in a harshly realistic portrayal of life.

First, the story’s realism shines through in the way Kim Lân successfully recreates the devastating 1945 famine. This famine claimed countless lives, pushing much of the population to the brink of death. Kim Lân focused all his literary strength on establishing the environment and atmosphere of that tragic event. In his writing, hunger and death are not just abstract concepts but terrifying realities that become vivid, almost haunting. The author evokes these sensations using a blend of visual, olfactory, and auditory imagery.

Visually, Kim Lân uses two powerful images to communicate the haunting reality of the famine: alongside the dead, who fall lifeless like withered plants, are the living who wander aimlessly like shadows. The hunger becomes an omnipresent nightmare, blurring the line between life and death.

The famine drained all the vitality of human beings, leaving behind only spectral figures. In terms of smell, Kim Lân’s portrayal of hunger and death isn’t just seen – it can be smelled, too. The air is thick with the stench of decaying bodies and the acrid scent of homes burning piles of human waste. Auditory images add to the grotesque atmosphere, with the cawing of crows punctuating the sorrowful cries of families mourning their dead.

The story’s realism is not limited to the environment; it also extends to the portrayal of the marginalized lives of impoverished farmers. The woman who dies of hunger, emaciated with hollow eyes, agrees to marry Tràng hastily, driven solely by the desperation for food. The hunger strips away her dignity and the modesty typical of a young woman, leaving her to act recklessly, ready to sacrifice her self-respect for a meal.

With just a few bowls of cake and an offhand remark, she accepts to become Tràng’s wife, despite not knowing anything about his character. In the desperate struggle for survival, she clings to anything that promises to sustain her. Kim Lân’s vivid descriptions highlight the tragedy of this woman’s situation: a poor peasant driven to the brink, where her personal integrity and dignity are utterly compromised.

A wedding is a significant rite of passage in any person’s life, but the wedding between Tràng and the picked wife is terribly sparse, even pitiful. Their first meal together is a bowl of bitter rice porridge, with no conversation, just silence hanging heavily in the air.

Through masterful descriptive techniques, Kim Lân paints a stark and grim picture of the 1945 famine, a time when human life was cheapened to the extreme. Yet, behind this dark realism, there is a glimmer of humanity – love, compassion, and solidarity between the suffering souls, offering a beacon of hope amidst the despair.

*The Picked Wife* is one of the finest short stories by Kim Lân and a landmark work in post-1945 Vietnamese literature, first published in the 1962 collection *The Ugly Dog*. Coming from a rural Vietnamese background, Kim Lân wrote *The Picked Wife* with all the soul and emotion of someone deeply connected to the land. The story is filled with striking scenarios that leave a strong impression on readers, but most notably, it reflects a deeply realistic portrayal of life.

The story depicts the fundamental realities of Vietnamese society before the August Revolution in 1945. Through the situation of *Tràng picking a wife*, the narrative paints a grim picture of the devastating famine that struck Vietnam, with “two million people starving from Quảng Trị to Bắc Kỳ.”

The story opens with the haunting image of famine: “Hunger had already reached this village. Families from Nam Định and Thái Bình, their faces green and gaunt like ghosts, stumbled into the village, collapsing on the ground in every corner. The dead lay like fallen straw. Every morning, the villagers would see three or four corpses by the side of the road, a stench of decay and human rot in the air. Under the banyan tree, the starving wandered silently like phantoms. The crows would cry out, adding to the mournful atmosphere.”

Here, readers can also begin to grasp the true nature of the colonialists, fascists, and their collaborators. This bitterness is encapsulated in an angry statement from an elderly mother: “It’s the tax collector’s drum. On one side they’re forcing people to grow hemp, on the other, they’re making us pay taxes. Who knows if we’ll survive this, my children!”

The story also highlights another crucial reality: the people’s desire for revolution and their aspirations for a better future. Amid the sound of the tax drums and the weight of relentless oppression, *Tràng* imagines a powerful image: “A large red flag appeared in front of the poor, hungry people trudging along the Sộp dyke.” This flag symbolizes a new dawn of revolution.

Through *The Picked Wife*, Kim Lân shows us that even in the worst of circumstances, the working people’s love for one another intensifies. Despite the extreme hardships, they still manage to maintain their dignity, upholding the value of “clean in hunger, dignified in poverty.”

Even when life is harsh and dehumanizing, pushing people to live like animals, it cannot fully extinguish the humanity in the hearts of those suffering. Tràng’s family, bound by their suffering, find solace and joy in relying on each other. The love between husband and wife, between mother and child, becomes their strength to overcome this terrible crisis.

Thus, “these people who have overcome the shame of hunger, poverty, and suffering, and who assert their right to life, will surely heed the call of the Việt Minh and fight for their survival in the revolution. Because “Our Party… is the soul of the people.” By choosing the situation of a wife being picked amidst the horrifying famine, Kim Lân’s intent was not to depict the degradation of humanity but to affirm the resilience and dignity of the human spirit.

The love for life of those who stand at the brink of death becomes a shining light, warming their hearts and urging them to save themselves. The revolution, guided by the Party, reached out at the perfect moment to rescue them:

The life of a man, food scattered, food fallen, Who knows where to go, in this vast land, Step by step as the dawn breaks, The red flag of the Party flies high. (Tố Hữu)

Ban-giắc once said: “Art must be a moving mirror along the great road.” This statement emphasizes the importance of realism, one of the essential functions of literature (to reflect and transform society). *The Picked Wife* by Kim Lân is a prominent example of literary realism.

First, in *The Picked Wife*, Kim Lân vividly depicts the tragic lives of farmers during the 1945 famine. At that time, human life had become utterly devalued. Tràng, the farmer, only needed to sing a careless tune and offer four bowls of rice cakes, and a woman followed him as his wife. This woman, in turn, followed a stranger for nothing more than the promise of food. Their strange wedding occurred against the backdrop of a mass funeral.

On the other hand, Kim Lân skillfully conveys the incredibly bleak and somber atmosphere of society during that period. The 1945 famine was not only a historical event but also a deeply spiritual and psychological scar on the people. Living spaces turned into vast graveyards, with “people dying from hunger like fallen straw,” and “three or four corpses lying stiff by the roadside.” Life now seemed to only represent the presence of death. Death was felt in the stench (“the smell of decay” and “the foul odor of corpses”).

Death took shape in images (“people stumbling and clinging to each other, their faces turning green like ghosts”). Death was manifested in colors (“the black of crows,” “the gray faces of those about to die from hunger”). Death was heard in sounds (“the mourning cries of families who had lost loved ones to starvation”). Life was slowly fading as death increasingly dominated, surrounding the living. Hunger spread like a deadly plague, affecting every corner. Death felt inevitable, and humans could not escape its grip.

People could not escape death. Hunger chased them relentlessly. In the image of “people clinging to each other,” followed by “lying in a heap,” these verbs express the struggle to escape hunger, but death remained close, always ready to catch them. Death overshadowed life. The line between life and death was fragile and almost nonexistent.

In conclusion, through Kim Lân’s writing, human existence becomes just a temporary respite in a graveyard shaped by hunger. Wherever hunger spreads, death follows, and human life becomes fragile. The author paints a powerful image of the painful history of the Vietnamese people under Japanese fascists and French colonists who exploited the land for profit, bringing despair to the farmers.

Secondly, through this work, Kim Lân also highlights the people's deep desire for revolution. The loud beating of the tax drums and Tràng’s thoughts about the Việt Minh, “In his mind, he still saw the hungry people and the red flag waving…” reflect a reality: the impoverished workers’ desperate yearning for revolution. They believed that only revolution could free them from hunger and death.

The realism in this work lies not only in depicting what was happening but also in foretelling what was to come. The short story reflects the inevitability of the coming revolution, with the August Revolution set to erupt. Through this depiction, Kim Lân subtly urges the farmers to join the revolution, opening their eyes to a brighter future.

In conclusion, the deep realism in *The Picked Wife* by Kim Lân elevates this short story to one of the finest works in modern Vietnamese literature. This is why the story has such enduring vitality, and why Kim Lân remains an iconic figure in Vietnamese literature and the arts.

It is often said that poverty goes hand in hand with weakness. However, in Kim Lân’s short story *The Picked Wife*, we come to understand that even in the face of overwhelming hunger and poverty, there are still people who live with integrity and righteousness. Not only that, the work also carries profound realistic values that Kim Lân cleverly embedded within.

Coming from a background of poverty himself, Kim Lân was more than familiar with the struggles of the common people. His writings often reflect the lives of peasants who, despite their hardship, hold onto their purity of heart.

In *The Picked Wife*, Kim Lân depicts the dire living conditions of a rural area suffering from the great famine of 1945. At that time, the living and the dead coexisted indistinguishably. The dead lay like scattered straw, while the living wandered aimlessly like lost souls.

Kim Lân describes it in vivid detail: corpses lying bent and twisted by the roadside, the air thick with the stench of rotting waste and decaying bodies, and a marketplace at dusk that looked desolate, with no light or fire in any of the homes. The crows perched on the trees near the market square, crying out mournfully.

The hunger is depicted in a painfully sorrowful manner. Just through a few images, the reader can clearly imagine the sight of starving bodies scattered on the streets and markets, with no thought given to burial or funerary rites.

The famine was so severe that it even made people refrain from considering marriage. Tràng, a man already suffering from the famine, had to “pick” a wife. The first meal for the newlywed couple, which should have been a modest but complete meal, consisted only of four bowls of rice cakes and a joking proposal.

Furthermore, *The Picked Wife* reveals the humiliating reality of the peasant’s plight in that time. This is most poignantly shown through the character of the “picked wife.”

Poverty and hunger had pushed things to such an extreme that after just two meetings, Tràng was able to bring Thị home as his wife, with the wedding feast consisting of nothing more than four rice cakes and a jest. It was hunger and poverty that shaped the destiny of this woman. In this sense, Tràng “picks” a wife as one would pick up an insignificant object from the street.

But there was no rice, no vegetables, and no pickled condiments. The only food on the table was a pile of chopped banana stems and a dish of salt to eat with the porridge. Each person could only manage two bowls before it was all gone. Tràng’s mother had to bring out some bitter rice porridge for the entire family. This bitter porridge, despite its taste, became a rare and valuable meal.

The colonialists and feudalists had ruthlessly forced the people to uproot rice and plant flax, which could not be eaten. The harsh taxes further burdened the people. When they could barely eat, how could they afford to pay taxes? These oppressors seemed bent on driving the people to the brink of death.

All of these factors contribute to the deep realism embedded in the story. The horrific famine and the tragic fates of the starving people are the primary elements of the reality Kim Lân captures. His depiction serves as a literary testament to an unforgettable historical event, enhancing the story’s profound realistic value.

Writing about the topic of peasants before the revolution, there have been many works and outstanding authors in Vietnamese literature. However, each writer and their work offer a unique perspective, reflecting their personal style. For example, Nguyễn Công Hoan portrays the painful struggles of peasants through short stories like *Tinh thần thể dục* and *Kép tư bền*, where humor and sorrow intertwine. On the other hand, Ngô Tất Tố's *Tắt đèn* captures the deep agony of people suffering from excessive taxes. Meanwhile, Nam Cao paints a grim, naked reality of the tragic life of Chí Phèo, whose existence is marked by bitterness. Kim Lân, despite having a limited number of works, stands as one of the ten most exemplary authors of Vietnamese realistic literature, especially with his two masterpieces *Làng* and *Vợ Nhặt*. Kim Lân’s success lies in his distinctive writing style and thought process. He uses realism to highlight the virtues of humanity, introducing an optimistic and revolutionary escape through the theme of the Revolution—something that previous writers had not explored. In *Vợ Nhặt*, the harsh reality is conveyed through gentle yet hauntingly somber prose. The setting of *Vợ Nhặt* reflects a period of immense suffering in Vietnam’s history, depicting the severe famine of 1944-1945. The characters Tràng, Thị, and bà cụ Tứ illustrate the dire situation. Tràng, a young man, struggles with poverty and exhaustion, living like a dry twig under a gloomy sky, tirelessly working as a cart puller. The famine leaves him gaunt, slow-moving, and broken. Thị, a woman worn down by hunger, has reached the brink of death, and in desperation, accepts a marriage for a mere four bowls of rice pudding. She is reduced to the status of a “picked wife,” a discarded human being, like refuse thrown aside in a marketplace. Bà cụ Tứ, Tràng’s elderly mother, is frail but continues to work, burdened with the hope that she can somehow secure a wife for her son and survive the famine. The devastating famine not only affects these three characters but also extends to the entire village, where the emaciated people are akin to the living dead. There’s no escaping the death looming over them. Kim Lân’s writing conveys this through powerful imagery: “people dead like fallen straw,” “the stench of decaying bodies,” and the haunting call of crows. The realism Kim Lân offers is stark and bleak, with the villagers’ lives slowly slipping away in the grip of hunger. They struggle to survive, but they have no hope for the future, not even for happiness or family. In contrast to characters like Chí Phèo, who despite his tragic fate still holds out hope for happiness, the people in this village no longer believe they can survive, let alone find joy. The famine’s impact is also evident in Tràng’s family life. Despite the bleakness of their meal—just a small dish of raw banana stalks and a plate of salt with porridge—they eat with a strange joy, for this is the only food they have. Yet the most poignant image is the pot of rice porridge, symbolizing their desperate fight to hold onto life. The bitter taste of the porridge represents the suffering of those days. Kim Lân’s *Vợ Nhặt* also conveys the cruelty of colonialism and Japanese occupation, which contributed to the deaths of over two million Vietnamese. Through this work, Kim Lân reveals the devastating effects of famine and human misery while also reflecting the strength and purity of the people, who, despite the hardships, still maintain their integrity. In this story, *Vợ Nhặt* explores the dehumanizing effects of hunger and poverty. Tràng’s wife, taken out of necessity rather than love, reflects the grim reality of the time. The irony lies in the fact that while people around them starve, the newlywed couple has nothing more than a bowl of rice porridge to call a meal. And yet, in the face of such deprivation, they manage to find some solace in each other’s company. Kim Lân’s work is not just a poignant narrative about famine; it is also a commentary on the human spirit, which, even when starved and destitute, can still cling to dignity and love. His writing captures the heart-wrenching reality of a nation’s suffering, making *Vợ Nhặt* a masterpiece of Vietnamese literature, with a profound historical significance that reflects the brutal conditions of its time.