Note the sub-question in the literary essay

Since 2015, the literary essay sentence in the high school graduation exam in Literature has often added a sub-command next to the main command. For example, in 2021, the sub-command in the title is: “Commenting the feminine beauty in Xuan Quynh’s poetry” (1st time); “Comments on romantic inspiration of Quang Dung in the poem” (2nd time).

The sub-command of literary thesis for the 2022 reference exam requires “commenting on the humanitarian thought of writer Kim Lan through excerpts”.

Students should note the sub-commands for some works in the program Literature Grade 12 is as follows:

* Work Song Da ferryman (Nguyen Tuan)

– Artistic style of Nguyen Tuan:

+ Each page of Nguyen Tuan’s writing shows his uniqueness, talent and erudition in many different fields: Music, painting, cinema, martial arts, military…

+ As a lifelong writer in search of beauty, Nguyen Tuan always describes nature in terms of aesthetics, and people in terms of talent and artists. After the revolution, the national spirit and patriotism were strongly promoted in his works. The beauty of talented people can be found in people in all fields.

+ Nguyen Tuan has made great contributions to the development of the Vietnamese literary language. He has a rich vocabulary, is able to organize prose sentences full of visual value, is rich in music and makes a great contribution to the essay genre.

– Comment on how to build the image of Song Da:

+ To describe the beauty of Song Da, Nguyen Tuan observed from many different perspectives: from above; from the forest to the river; between the riverbed to the two banks.

+ Using many rhetorical devices: comparison, metaphor, personification, alliteration, enumeration, comparison… combined with association and imagination make Song Da as a evocative, sensual being. personalities.

+ The writer combines knowledge of many different fields: music, painting, cinema, military, martial arts… thereby expressing his love for nature in the Northwest region and the country’s homeland.

– The character of the ferryman is “the tenth golden thing that has passed the fire test”:

+ “The tenth golden thing has passed the test of fire” – the word used by Nguyen Tuan – to refer to the beauty of the soul of the people who work and fight on the majestic and poetic mountains.

+ The opinion affirms Nguyen Tuan’s success in discovering and building the beauty of the ferryman’s image in a simple working life.

* Work Who named the river? (Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong)

– Comment on the discovery of the river by writer Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong:

+ The writer discovers that the river is like a girl who has many qualities and beauty in her soul: Both strong and vibrant, loving and gentle at the same time. The writer discovered the river was like a gypsy girl, an alluvial mother of a cultural region of the country.

+ Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong discovers the “part of life” that the river does not want to reveal: Beauty upstream with rich and diverse natural scenery.

+ The river is described with many perspectives from a geographical perspective to a cultural perspective. Associate the waterway of the river with the history of the country’s culture. Must be a person with extensive knowledge of geography, history, culture, especially must have a passionate and intense love for the Perfume River, for Hue city, for the homeland. The new writer has such a new and unique perspective.

* Work String (To Hoai)

– Humanitarian values:

+ To Hoai expressed sympathy for the unfortunate fates of hard work, torture, and deprivation of the right to live, namely Me and A Phu.

+ To denounce the highland lords for trampling on people’s right to life, turning them into slaves no more, no less.

+ Discover, appreciate and cherish the beauty of the soul, the noble qualities of the highland workers.

+ Indicate the path to liberation for characters from spontaneity to self-awareness, helping them rise from darkness to the light of freedom and justice.

* Work Wife picked up (Kim Lan)

– Humanitarian values:

+ Kim Lan has a deep insight and a kind heart towards the aspirations of people: Trang, Grandma Tu, Thi.

+ Denunciation of the heinous crimes of the French colonialists, the Japanese fascists had caused the famine that made our people fall into a miserable situation.

+ Belief that love life will conquer death will change life.

+ The open ending guides people to find the goal of happiness and motivates them to act.

– Comment on the story situation:

+ Works Wife picked up has built a unique story situation with unusual features, revealing many problems that make readers pay attention to learn and think. The situation of the story is shown right in the title of the work: the wife is picked up like one picks up a straw by the roadside. Next is Trang: Poor, ugly, and rude, living in the neighborhood with a wife during the famine, making the neighbors and the old lady Tu, Trang’s mother surprised and even Trang did not believe it was true.

– This situation has made the work valuable in many aspects: The actual value of the work is to denounce the crimes of the colonialists, fascism and henchmen that caused the terrible famine in 1945 with over two million VND. cells starve to death. Under such circumstances, human values ​​are cheap. Deep humanitarian value of the work: Humanity and lust for life, the optimistic nature of workers in dire circumstances.

* Work The boat is far away (Nguyen Minh Chau)

– The writer’s view of life and people:

+ Looking at people and life holistically, in many aspects.

+ After the war, human life still has many difficulties and hardships: poverty and hunger dominate people’s lives. From there, a problem in society is raised: Thoroughly and socially solving the tragedies of human life.

* Work Truong Ba’s soul, butcher’s skin (Luu Quang Vu)

– Comments on the writer’s philosophy of life conveyed through the play:

+ Human’s desire for good and the importance of self-awareness, self-conquest against bad habits, bad habits, and trivial things in life.

+ When people have to live in a vulgar environment, the vulgar will reign, will gradually prevail, overwhelm and destroy what is pure, beautiful and noble inherent.

+ Life is precious, living is a precious thing, but being yourself is the happiest thing. To do so, we must live in harmony between body and soul, between inside and outside, between action and thought.

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