Top 6 Best Preparations for 'But It Must Be Equal to Two' (Literature 10)

Question 1 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

a. Relationship between the two characters

- The relationship between Cải and the judge before the trial was prearranged: Cải confidently thought he would win, but during the trial, the judge unexpectedly sentenced him to ten lashes.

b. The unique and humorous aspect of the story, blending words and actions

- The subtle language of gestures was understood only by the judge and Cải.

- If Cải opened his five fingers and subtly signaled to the judge that it was 'justice,' the judge quickly responded by raising his left hand over Cải's five fingers, symbolizing that 'justice' had been doubled.

Question 2 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1): Humor in the judge's words at the end of the story

- The laughter came from the idea that justice is measured by money.

- The judge didn't deny Cải's righteousness, but lamented that Cải's justice was not as valuable as Ngô's.

Question 3 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

- The characters Ngô and Cải: both pitiful and blameworthy.

+ They are ordinary, pitiable farmers.

+ They are also blameworthy for using money to buy justice.

EXERCISE (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1)

Characteristics of humorous stories

- Content: often satirical, mocking flaws in certain people.

+ The story 'Tam Dai Con Ga' mocks the ignorance of the teacher.

+ 'But It Must Be Equal to Two' criticizes the greed of ancient corrupt officials.

- Techniques for creating humor:

+ Short, concise, logical story structure.

+ Creating unnatural contradictions, pushing them to a climax to generate laughter.

Question 1 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

a. The relationship between Cải and the judge before the trial was prearranged. Cải believed that the judge would rule in his favor, so he remained calm. However, when the trial began, Cải was unexpectedly sentenced to ten lashes by the judge.

b. Verbal language is public and understood by everyone, but the 'language' of gestures is private, only understood by the judge and Cải. When Cải spread his five fingers as a signal to the judge that it was 'just,' the judge quickly responded by placing his left hand over Cải’s right hand, symbolizing that 'justice' had been doubled.

Question 2 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

- When Cải insisted, 'Please reconsider, I am right!' the judge did not deny him but presented his argument: 'I know you are right… but your right must be… double what you say!' Laughter followed. For the judge, justice is measured by money. Money determines what is right. Therefore, five coins represent 'justice,' but ten coins represent 'double justice.'

Question 3 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

- An evaluation of the characters Ngô and Cải: The character who lost the case was Cải. He was caught by surprise and failed to react in time, ending up in a miserable situation (losing both money and being punished). However, the story critiques both characters. The greed of officials will only grow worse if there are people like Ngô and Cải.

=> They are both to be pitied and blamed.

Exercise

Question (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1)

Characteristics of humorous stories:

- Content: Often satirical, mocking the flaws and vices of people, or criticizing societal issues.

+ The story “Tam Dai Con Ga” mocks the ignorance of a scholar who pretends to be knowledgeable.

+ The story “But it must be double yours” critiques the corruption of local officials in ancient society.

- Artistry: Humorous stories often create contradictions that defy logic to provoke laughter.

+ The story “Tam Dai Con Ga” creates a contradiction between the scholar’s ignorance (internal) and the false appearance of being learned (external).

+ The story “But it must be double yours” creates a contradiction by turning the concept of justice into a monetary transaction.

Summary

Cải and Ngô fought and brought their dispute to court. Cải bribed the judge with five coins, while Ngô gave ten. During the trial, Cải was punished with lashes. He quickly spread his five fingers to signal to the judge that he was right. The judge responded by placing his left hand over Cải’s right, saying, 'But… it must be double yours!'

Main Idea

The story highlights the people's attitudes towards the corrupt nature of local officials and the absurd situations faced by the common folk involved in legal disputes in old rural Vietnam.

Question 1 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

Analyze the dramatic elements in the passage: "Cải spread his five fingers... double yours."

Detailed Answer:

- The relationship between Cải and the judge before the trial was prearranged (Cải had already bribed the judge with five coins). Cải believed the judge would rule in his favor, so he remained at ease. However, to his surprise, during the trial, the judge sentenced him to ten lashes. Cải, once in a position of control, was now completely passive and unable to continue speaking.

- The uniqueness of this story lies in the combination of two forms of "language." The spoken language is public, meant for everyone present. But the "language" of gestures is understood only by the judge and Cải. When Cải spread his five fingers to signal to the judge that he was "right," the judge immediately responded by placing his left hand over Cải's right hand, indicating that "right" had been doubled. The charm is in the seamless connection between: justice, fingers, and coins.

The story's critical message is that justice, as seen by the judge, is determined by money. The more money, the greater the justice.

Question 1 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

- The relationship between Cải and the judge was prearranged, as Cải had bribed the judge with five coins. Confident of winning the case, Cải was surprised when the judge sentenced him to ten lashes.

- The story's uniqueness and humor come from the combination of words and actions ("But it must be like two of yours"—the judge spreads his left hand over his right hand) => This creates a logical connection between: justice, fingers, and money, which produces the humor.

=> The story’s message is a critique that justice is bought with money, the more money one has, the more justice belongs to them.

Question 2 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1): The humor in the story’s ending lies in:

- The judge’s words equating "justice" with the bribe he received, making justice measurable (like money).
+ The judge, despite taking the bribe, shamelessly places his left hand over his right, justifying his corrupt act.

- The story builds a strikingly funny scenario: Cải bribes the judge but still gets punished, while the judge punishes him despite accepting the bribe.

- The ending delivers a delightful punchline, where both the words and actions of the judge add to the humor:

+ The subtle, sharp irony that mocks the supposed "justice" of the feudal legal system in the rural countryside.

Question 3 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

The characters Ngô and Cải:

+ They are unfortunate and pitiable peasants.

+ They fight but refuse to admit their faults, each blaming the other, and both resort to bribing the judge.

+ Cải: He is both a victim and a figure deserving of criticism—he is pitiable for bribing and still being punished, but he is also to blame for supporting the corrupt system.

+ Ngô: Loses money and gets caught in a lawsuit.

> In short, they are both pitiful and blameworthy.

Practice Exercise

The characteristics of humor in the two stories "But it must be like two of yours" and "Tam Dai Con Ga":

- Content: Usually mocks and ridicules the vices and faults within a segment of society. It creates unnatural contradictions to provoke laughter.

+ "Tam Dai Con Ga" ridicules the ignorant yet boastful teacher who makes excuses.

+ "But it must be like two of yours" criticizes the corruption and bribery in the old feudal system.

- Humor technique:

+ The stories are concise, well-structured, and logical, with conflicts rising to their peak, triggering laughter.

+ The conflict in "Tam Dai Con Ga" is between ignorance covered by false pride and excuses.

+ The conflict in "But it must be like two of yours" revolves around the absurdity of justice being measured by money.

Question 1 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

a. The relationship between Cải and the judge before the trial was arranged in advance (Cải had already bribed the judge with five coins).

b.

- Confident of winning, Cải was caught off guard when the judge sentenced him to ten lashes.

- The judge:

+ Action: The judge spreads his left hand over his right hand.

+ Words: "I know you’re right... but it must be like two of yours."

Question 2 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

The humor in the judge’s words at the end of the story: The judge spreads his left hand over his right hand.

=> This connects: justice, fingers, and money.

=> The story critiques that money determines justice, more money equals more justice, and less money equals less justice.

Question 3 (Page 80, Literature 10 Textbook, Volume 1):

The characters Cải and Ngô:

- They are unfortunate peasants, both pitiable and blameworthy.

- They are victims of the feudal system.

Practice Exercise

The characteristics of humor in the two stories "But it must be like two of yours" and "Tam Dai Con Ga":

"Tam Dai Con Ga" – The humor arises from the teacher’s ignorance paired with false pride and excuses.
"But it must be like two of yours" – The humor arises from the absurdity of justice being measured by money.
=> The content of the humor mocks and ridicules vices and flaws within a segment of society.

=> The humor technique: containing unnatural contradictions, concise, logical structure, with conflicts reaching their peak and sparking laughter.

Question 1 (page 80 of Literature 10, Volume 1):

a. The relationship between Cải and the judge before the trial was one that had been arranged beforehand (Cải had already paid the judge five dong). Cải was confident that the judge would rule in his favor, so he was quite relaxed. However, when the trial began, Cải was unexpectedly sentenced to ten lashes. His initial control turned into complete helplessness as he was forced to endure the punishment.

b. The uniqueness of the story lies in the combination of two forms of "language". One is the spoken language (public language), intended for everyone present. The other, however, is a "language" expressed through gestures, which only the judge and Cải understand.

+ Justice – Cải spreads five fingers.

+ Double justice – the judge spreads his left hand over Cải's right hand.

=> The core message of the story is that justice, in the eyes of the judge, is measured by money. The more money one has, the greater their justice. Moreover, the judge uses his left hand to press against Cải's right hand – a metaphor for how wrongdoing overshadows justice, and truth is hidden.

Question 2 (page 80 of Literature 10, Volume 1):
When Cải stubbornly insisted, "Please reconsider, justice is on my side!", the judge did not deny this but instead presented the argument: "I know you're right... but it’s worth twice as much for you!". Laughter followed. To the judge, justice is measured by money. Money defines what is right. Hence, five dong represents justice, but ten dong represents double justice.

Question 3 (page 80 of Literature 10, Volume 1):

The character who loses the case is Cải. Cải was caught off guard and unable to react in time, leading to his disgrace (losing money and being beaten). However, the story serves as a critique of both characters. The greed of the officials will continue to worsen if people like Ngô and Cải remain. Their negative actions are the root cause of their misery. In this situation, they are both victims and culprits.

Practice

The comedic genre is clearly illustrated through the analysis of the words and actions of characters in both the stories “Tam Dai Con Ga” and “But It Must Be Twice as Much”

a. In the story “Tam Dai Con Ga” (discussed earlier)

b. In the story “But It Must Be Twice as Much”

- Actions of characters Cải and Ngô: both try to bribe the judge without knowing that the other has done the same.

- The judge, greedy, accepts bribes from both.

- The humorous dialogue of the characters: "Please reconsider, justice is on my side!" (Cải says). "I know you're right... but it’s worth twice as much for you!" (the judge’s reply)

c. From these two stories, several common features of the comedic genre can be summarized:

- It exposes the wrongdoings, behaviors, and vices of certain groups within society.

- It includes contradictions that defy natural laws and carries elements that provoke laughter.

- It is short in length, tightly structured, and ends with an unexpected twist.