What are the sample essays analyzing the realistic value in the short story "Hai đứa trẻ"? What are the assessment criteria for the learning results in Literature of students in Vietnam under Circular 32?
What are the sample essays analyzing the realistic value in the short story "Hai đứa trẻ"?
Below are 02 sample essays analyzing the realistic value in the short story "Hai đứa trẻ":
Sample 1
| Thach Lam is one of the representative writers of Vietnamese literature during the 1930-1945 period, noted for a style rich in lyrical quality and profound humanistic philosophy. "Hai đứa trẻ" is one of his outstanding works, lacking dramatic events or tensions, yet leaving a deep impression on readers due to its realistic, touching depiction of the impoverished life in a small-town setting. The realistic value of the work is not only illustrated through the dark, monotonous lives of the poor but also reflects their deadlock and fragile aspirations. Firstly, the story realistically reflects the poor and confined life in the small town prior to the August Revolution. The setting is described with twilight, the croaking of frogs in the fields, red clouds in the west, creating a gloomy scene, signaling a repetitive, weary life. The small town emerges with small, flickering lives, living in the dark, exemplified by the siblings Lien and An – two young children forced to work early, tending a small store to make a living. They do not have a joyful childhood like other children but must face the monotony and destitution of life. Not only Lien and An, but other people in the small town also appear with lives full of hardship and deadlock. There is Mrs. Ti and her children, catching crabs and shrimps by day, and setting up a drink stall by night, but no one buys. There is Mr. Sieu with his pho cart, a "luxury snack" that the poor locals hardly dare to touch. There is the mad old woman Thi laughing eerily in the night, and the musician's family living off dismal tunes at the market corner. All are pushed by life into a state of existence without an exit. The realistic value is also expressed through the contrast between light and darkness in the story. Darkness envelops the small town from dusk until late night, symbolizing the impoverished, stagnant life of its inhabitants. Meanwhile, light – whether it be the faint lamp of Mrs. Ti, the small fire from Mr. Sieu's kitchen, or the flickering sparks from fireflies – is weak and flickering, representing fragile hopes and dreams that seem unattainable. However, amidst this dim reality, Thach Lam conveys a sliver of hope through the image of the night train. The train from Hanoi speeds through the small town like another world entirely, bringing with it bright lights, the distant sound of a whistle, and brightly lit carriages. For Lien, the train is not just a beautiful scene but a symbol of a bustling, affluent world, completely contrasting with the monotonous life of the small town. Although the train passes by in a fleeting moment, it becomes the hope and longing of the small people there. This reveals a harsh truth: they yearn for change but have no opportunity, only able to hope in vain. Thus, the short story "Hai đứa trẻ" carries profound realistic value by vividly portraying the poor and confined life of the small town residents before the Revolution. Thach Lam not only reflects their hardship and deadlock but also expresses sympathy and compassion for these small lives forgotten by life. With a delicate, richly lyrical writing style, "Hai đứa trẻ" is not only a vivid picture of reality but also a work rich in humanistic meaning, touching the reader's soul. |
Sample 2
| The short story "Hai đứa trẻ" by Thach Lam is a representative work of the realistic literary movement before the August Revolution. Unlike Nam Cao or Ngo Tat To, who depict reality more sharply and directly, Thach Lam chooses to portray the reality of life through simple life scenes, small human destinies in a poor small town. The realistic value of the work is not only illustrated through the confined, impoverished life depicted but also reveals the writer's deep sympathy for the feeble lives caught in an endless cycle with no way out. Firstly, the story reflects the harsh reality of the lives of the people in the small town. The story begins with a monotonous, melancholic twilight scene: “Evening, evening comes. An evening as soft as a lullaby, the distant croaks of frogs carried in by a gentle breeze from the fields.” The sun setting, the market fading, the smell of trash, the sound of the drum signaling the end of the day... all create a serene yet sorrowful space. This is not only the twilight of nature but also the twilight of life, where people live in mundane confinement, repetitively cycling as if in a closed loop, with no way out. In that picture, small, toil-weary individuals stand out, living day by day. There is Mrs. Ti and her children - catching crabs and shrimps by day, setting up a drink stall roadside by night with only a few passersby as customers. There is Mr. Sieu with his aromatic pho cart, but few buy as the dish is too luxurious for the poverty-stricken locals. There is the insane old woman Thi, seemingly left behind by life, only capable of an eerie laugh in the night. And the beggars plodding through the small town, picking up what remains after the market. Each character represents a hidden corner of society, forgotten fates living in dim life, with no light or hope. The realistic value of the work is further represented through the contrast between light and darkness – a familiar technique in Thach Lam’s writing. In the story, darkness covers the small town, from alleys, poor rooftops to the unfortunate lives. Darkness is not only a natural image but also a symbol of the stagnant, directionless lives here. In contrast to the darkness is light – the small, flickering light from the lamp in Mrs. Ti’s stall, from Mr. Sieu’s stove, or the fireflies flickering in the night. Those are weak lights, just enough to illuminate a small corner in the thick darkness, like fragile fates waiting for change, but can never escape harsh reality. Perhaps the image with the deepest realistic value in the work is the night train – a symbol of contrast between two worlds. The train, with its bright lights, lively sounds, rushes through the small town like a different world, dynamic and full of life. It is what Lien and An anticipate each night, a rare light that the small-town people aspire to. However, the train only appears briefly and then disappears, returning the quiet darkness to the town. This stark contrast highlights the affluent life elsewhere and the confined poverty of the small town's people. They yearn to change their lives, but reality remains a wait in vain, as the train is unattainable, not belonging to them. In summary, "Hai đứa trẻ" is a haunting realistic painting of the stagnant, impoverished life of the small town before the Revolution. With a delicate narrative blending reality and lyricism, Thach Lam not only reflects the confining life of small people but also shows profound empathy towards them. Therefore, the work contributes to showcasing the writer's humanitarian perspective while condemning the old society that suffocated human destinies, forcing them to live dismally without an escape. |
Note: The sample essay analyzing the realistic value in the short story "Hai đứa trẻ" is for reference only!
What are the sample essays analyzing the realistic value in the short story "Hai đứa trẻ"? What are the assessment criteria for the learning results in Literature of students in Vietnam under Circular 32? (Image from Internet)
What are the assessment criteria for the learning results in Literature of students in Vietnam under Circular 32?
According to the General Education Program in Literature issued with Circular 32/2018/TT-BGDDT, the assessment criteria for the learning results in Literature of students in Vietnam under Circular 32 are as follows:
- For Literature, teachers assess general traits, common competencies, specific capabilities, and students' progress through activities in reading, writing, speaking, and listening.
- Assessment of reading activities: Focus on the requirement for students to understand the content, theme of the text, the writer's viewpoints and intentions; identifying characteristics related to the mode of expression, especially in terms of text type, genre, and language used; answering questions at various cognitive levels; reasoning, explaining their understanding; evaluating the value and impact of the text personally; expressing emotions about issues raised in the text; relating, comparing between texts and text with life.
- Assessment of writing activities: Focus on the requirement for students to create text types: narrative, descriptive, expressive, argumentative, explanatory, and practical. Assessment of writing skills should be based on main criteria such as content, text structure, expression, argument ability, language form, and presentation,...
- Assessment of speaking and listening activities: Focus on the requirement for students to speak on topic and goal; speaker's confidence and activity; awareness of listeners; ability to argue and persuade; appropriate speaking techniques; use of non-verbal communication and technological support. For listening skills, students should grasp the content spoken by others; understand and evaluate the speaker's viewpoint and intentions; know how to question, raise issues, discuss to verify unclear information; have a positive listening attitude and respect for the speaker; know how to listen and respect differing opinions.
- Assessment of main traits and common competencies in Literature: Focus on behaviors, actions, manners, expressions of emotion, and feelings of students when reading, writing, speaking, and listening; mainly performed qualitatively through observation, note-taking, commenting,...
What are the regulations on teaching equipment for Literature in Vietnam?
Under Section 8 of the General Education Program in Literature issued under Circular 32/2018/TT-BGDDT, there are regulations on teaching equipment for Literature in Vietnam as follows:
The minimum teaching equipment for the Literature subject is a reference library, sufficiently stocked with major text types: literary texts, argumentative texts, informational texts; various forms of storybooks, and comics.
In each major text type, there are sufficient subtypes: literary texts include stories, poetry, plays, memoirs; argumentative texts include literary argumentation and social argumentation; informational texts include expository texts and practical texts.
Some pictures such as portraits of major authors in the curriculum; illustrations for the content, art of major works like "Nam quốc sơn hà", "Hịch tướng sĩ", "Bình Ngô đại cáo", 'Truyện Kiều", "Văn tế nghĩa sĩ Cần Giuộc", "Tuyên ngôn Độc lập",...
Schools with conditions should connect to the Internet, have computers, screens, and projectors; additionally equip some Vietnamese language teaching software; CDs, video clips with content introducing scenic spots, historical sites of the country, homelands of authors (for teaching and learning expository texts);
Additionally, there should be some animated films, movies adapted from literary works or CDs, video clips recording some plays from literary scripts; CDs recording music from selected poems used as learning texts or other reading text corpus, topic lectures by authors, literary researchers, critics; electronic versions of Language textbooks, literary books, and literature education documents.
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