The secret to making a good literary thesis

Since 2015, the literary essay sentence in the high school graduation exam in Literature usually requires an argument about a poem or a prose excerpt.

Specifically, the 2015 high school graduation exam: “Feeling about the character of a fishing woman through the passage: “The woman suddenly scribbles her mouth, her eyes seem to be watching her whole life… The most fun is when sitting and watching our children eat their fill.” From there, a brief comment on writer Nguyen Minh Chau’s view of life and people in the work The boat is far away.

Topic 2017: Feeling the poem: “The land is where you go to school… You also know how to bow your head to remember the anniversary of the ancestors’ death” in the excerpt Country, thereby, commenting on Nguyen Khoa Diem’s ​​conception of the country; 2019: Feeling about the image of the Perfume River through the excerpt: “Among the beautiful rivers in countries that I often hear about, it seems that only the Perfume River belongs to a single city… has been closed. at the door of the forest and threw the key in the caves at the foot of Kim Phung mountain”. From there, comment on the discovery view of the river of writer Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong.

Exam 2020 (2nd time): Analyzing the majestic scene of the Viet Bac during the resistance war was written by the poet To Huu expressed through the excerpt: “Remember when the enemy came to the enemy… Happy to Viet Bac, De pass, Red mountain”.

Exam exam 2021: Feeling the poem: “In front of all the waves and waves… Even in the dream, I’m awake” in the poem Wave. From there, comment on the feminine beauty in Xuan Quynh’s poetry (1st time); present the feeling of the poem: “The barracks are lit up with torches and flowers… Drifting with water and flowers swaying” in the article. Tay TienThen, comment on Quang Dung’s romantic inspiration in the poem (2nd time).

In the reference exam in 2022, the literary thesis requires analyzing the mood of the old lady Tu through the excerpt in the work. Wife picked up : “The old woman bowed her head in silence… If it was, then your children would come later”, from there, commenting on the humanitarian thought of writer Kim Lan.

In order to do well this literary thesis, students note the suggested marking answers of the Ministry of Education and Training as follows:

First, ensure the structure of the argumentative essay: The opening of the essay states the problem, the body of the essay deploys the problem, and the conclusion summarizes the problem.

Second, students need to identify the right issue to discuss: The content and art of the excerpt, the humanitarian value expressed by the writer through that excerpt.

Third, develop the problem to be discussed: Briefly introduce the author Kim Lan, the work Wife picked up and paragraphs. Students can analyze the character of Mrs. Tu in turn through the following steps:

– Summarize the details and events in the previous paragraph until Trang brought her home and introduced her to her mother.

– The mood of the character of the old lady Tu in the excerpt: Interweaving many complicated emotions, unable to speak.

– Analysis of mood changes: Worry, love for the new bride; encourage and comfort the children.

– Art: How to tell a story naturally, truthfully, attracting the reader’s attention; build unique story situations; the ability to describe the character’s psychological sharpness; Simple language, diverse tones…

– The humanitarian thought of writer Kim Lan is expressed in the following excerpt: Empathy, sympathy for human suffering during the famine; denouncing the French colonialists and Japanese fascists for pushing our people into a miserable situation; praising the beauty of humanity and kindness through the characters…

– Advanced assessment of issues and feelings about the benevolent tradition of the Vietnamese people.

Fourth, students ensure Vietnamese spelling and grammar. If you make a lot of spelling and expression mistakes, points will be deducted depending on each mistake.

Fifth, creative writing will be added 0.5 points, which means thinking deeply about the problem to be discussed, and having a new expression. Creative elements in the writing of high school students can also be ideas, ideas, ways of posing problems, and explaining problems that are new, unique, and meaningful in nature. ideology and aesthetics.

Please refer to the sample exam below, compiled by Mr. Phan The Hoai:

Analyze the character Mi through the following passage, from there, comment on the writer’s humanitarian thought through the passage.

Those who come from far away, have to go to the house of the governor, Pa Tra, often see a daughter spinning hemp by the rock in front of the door, next to the horse train. Always, whether spinning yarn, chopping horse grass, weaving cloth, chopping wood or carrying water from a stream, she would always bow her face, her face sad. It is often said: The Pa Tra family is the governor, eats a lot of the people, the Western station gives salt to sell, is very rich, the family has many fields, a lot of silver, and the most opium in the village. Then her daughter will never have to see suffering to know suffering, but be sad. But then it became clear that she was not the daughter of the Pa Tra family: She was the wife of A Su, the son of the governor of Pa Tra.

Miss Mi has been married to the Pa Tra family for several years. From which year, she did not remember, no one remembers. But the poor people in Hong Ngai still tell the story of Me about being a family member of the governor. In the past, my father married my mother and did not have enough money to get married, so he had to borrow money from the governor’s house, the father of governor Pa Tra now. Each year, he pays interest to a creditor for a corn field. Until the couple got old, they still couldn’t pay the debt. The wife died, and the debt has not been paid off.

Until that year when I grew up, I was the first daughter. Governor Pa Tra came to tell my father:

– Give me this daughter as a bride, I will erase all the debt.

The old man thought that he had to pay a corn field every year, so he regretted the corn, but he also loved his son too much. He didn’t know how to say it, so I told him:

– Now that I know how to hoe to make corn, I have to work in the field to fake debt on behalf of my father. Dad, don’t sell me to the rich.

(Excerpt) String, pages 4-5, Literature 12, volume 2, Vietnam Education Publishing House)

Suggestions for homework:

a. Ensure the structure of the thesis: Open the article to state the problem of the thesis; the body of the post deploys the problem; Summarize the problem.

b. Correctly identify the thesis problem: Actions and moods of the character Me through the passage, comment on the humanitarian value in the work.

c. Deploying the proposed problem into arguments: Students can develop it in many ways, but it is necessary to make good use of argumentative manipulations, to closely combine arguments and evidence; ensure the following requirements:

– Introducing To Hoai, the work String and issues to be discussed.

– Analyze the character Mi through the passage:

– The opening paragraph is a confused and lonely image of Me, predicting a miserable and unhappy life of the character.

+ List my work: Spinning yarn, chopping horse grass, weaving cloth, chopping firewood, carrying water under a stream, showing that she worked hard, exhausted from labor.

+ My workspace: “next to the rock in front of the door, next to the horse train”, in contrast to the rich people’s space: “The Pa Tra family is the governor, eats a lot of the people, the West station gives salt to sell, rich the house has the most wives, the most money and the most opium in the village”, thereby revealing the character’s identity.

– The next paragraph, the writer talks about the cause of Mi’s suffering and directly condemns the crime of lending interest to the lord of the mountainous land:

+ I lost all sense of time: “Miss Mi has been married to the Pa Tra family for several years. Since which year, she doesn’t remember, nor does anyone remember”.

+ The reason why I was turned into a daughter-in-law to cheat on debt: “In the past, my father married my mother without enough money to get married, had to borrow money from the governor’s house, the father of governor Pa Tra now. Every year, he pays interest to creditors. a corn field. Even when the husband and wife are old, they still can’t pay their debts. When the wife dies, they still haven’t paid off the debt.”

– The excerpt also shows that Me is a beautiful, beautiful girl, although her life is hard and hard, she is full of vitality: I am rich in self-esteem, filial piety, progressive views on marriage: “I now know how to farm to make corn, I have to work in corn fields to fake debt on behalf of my father. Don’t sell me to the rich.”

– Attractive narrative art, sharp psychological description of characters, vivid storytelling language, tormented and loving voice…

– Humanitarian values: To Hoai sympathizes with Mi’s fate; condemn and denounce the ruling class; discovering and praising the dignity of workers in the Northwest, putting faith in the intense vitality of people…

Conclusion: Summarize real values, moral values, and at the same time state your feelings about what is right and justice in life and take proper and appropriate actions.

d. Spelling and grammar: Ensure Vietnamese grammar and spelling.

e. Creativity: Deeply expressing the proposed problem, with a new way of expressing it.

Phan The Hoai

Teacher of Literature, Binh Hung Hoa High School, Ho Chi Minh City