women); or selfish, superstitious (Giai via); or cruel, colluding, destroying nature ( Dialogue with Immortality ) ; or unscrupulous, irresponsible towards relatives ( Full Moon) ... Society has changed, people's material life has improved. In Muong land too! But along with it is the degradation of morality and dignity of a part of the people in the mountains. This is a truth, a painful reality.
That problem is also reflected in Vi Thi Kim Binh's short stories. Besides people who live with humanity, loyalty, and sacrifice, in Vi Thi Kim Binh's short stories, there also appear images of people who are degenerate, corrupt, and immoral. That shows the author's comprehensive, dialectical view of people. Those degenerate people, those evil and sinister people are one of the obstacles, one of the challenges to the development of this mountainous borderland. Through the short stories: Fragile hope , In the window frame, So it turns out, Baby Loan, Treasure of seven fairies, Things not in the lesson plan, Squint, The sick person is a strange girl, the author wants to condemn the bad, evil, and darkness that still exist inside each person when they cannot overcome the challenges of the market mechanism.
The character of Miss Hai in the short storyFragile Hope is a woman who is very fond of the saying: "With money, you can buy fairies". During the subsidy period, with her beauty, she lured many officials into corruption to make a profit for herself. In the market economy period, with a loose mechanism, she thought that she could use money to bribe officials, to help her ignorant son study in the tax industry. She used bribery tricks and flirtation to bribe the deputy director in charge of approving her son's application. And when her goal was not achieved, she turned her face like a hand, "pushing the chair, standing up suddenly" and did not forget to curse "Fat in the mouth... clearly stupid" [7, p. 437] .
In the short story The Patient is a Strange Girl, the author condemned the head of the supplies department at a district forestry farm. He was a scoundrel, although he had a wife and three daughters, he specialized in seducing gullible girls to have secret affairs. When Miss Dep, one of the unfortunate girls he deceived, became pregnant, he took her to a quack doctor to get an abortion pill. As a result, Miss Dep suffered from a retained placenta infection and died alone in the hospital. Not only was he a flirt with women, he was also "a fame-seeker, a swindler, and unrighteous to his friends" [7, p. 379] . But he was still naturally the head of the supplies department because he "had umbrellas to protect him".
The character of the district secretary in the short story In the window, when he was in office, was a "fiery" person with the flatterers around him. Taking advantage of his position, he did many things that made the people in the district resentful. With the people, he was strict and autocratic. With those who were extremely evil and deserved to be punished, he "saved" them in exchange for the gifts they brought as "bribes" such as: filtered cigarettes, colored alcohol, ironwood, teak, fabrics, clothes, castrated chickens, pig's feet, sticky rice, regular rice, even scabies medicine...
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The district chairman in the short story "So it turns out that's how it is" is also the one who uses many tricks to get promoted and embezzle public funds. After finishing secondary school, he worked in the provincial handicraft department and was almost imprisoned for embezzling public funds. Then he "escaped" to the district because the low level of education there would make it easier for him to carry out his scheme. From a commercial tax officer, he gradually climbed to the position of department head, then vice chairman, then district chairman in a smooth manner. The view of this district chairman in running the work is "to use criminals so that they will fear you and bow down to you" [7] and protecting them is to protect himself. To cover up his embezzlement, he ordered the arrest of an innocent employee, treating him as a "black pawn" to continue his promotion...
In short, with the true, close and simple stories - Vi Thi Kim Binh has portrayed the image of people in the highland border areas during the country's opening period in her works. Most of them are children of the mountains and forests with good qualities, conscious of enriching and beautifying their homeland. Besides those good people, those honest people, there are also bad people, those who have degenerated and changed. Such a rich and diverse system of characters shows that Vi Thi Kim Binh has a more comprehensive and vivid view of the people in the highlands after the war, especially during the period of renovation and opening. That view has partly shown the innovation and movement in Vi Thi Kim Binh's short story writing thinking.
CHAPTER 3
SOME ARTISTIC ASPECTS IN VI THI KIM BINH'S SHORT STORIES
In literary creation, the most difficult thing for a writer is to create his own mark. It requires the artist to have talent and tireless efforts throughout the artistic journey. For a work to leave an impression on the reader, sometimes the writer has to spend his whole life on the pages. For writer Vi Thi Kim Binh, artistic creation is a difficult and arduous journey and requires perseverance and effort. The writer's works, whether written in times of war or peace, still have value in today's life, not only because of the human and social issues that the author reflects, but also because of the unique artistic expression, suitable for the understanding and feelings of ethnic minorities. To explore some of the unique artistic aspects in Vi Thi Kim Binh's short stories, we will delve into three basic formal aspects: plot, character and artistic language.
3.1. The art of plot building
3.1.1. The concept of plot in narrative works.
The plot is "a system of specific events, organized according to certain artistic requirements and ideas, forming the most basic and important part in the dynamic form of literary works of the narrative and dramatic genres" [13, p. 99]. According to Le Huy Bac, " the plot is the most important element that cannot be missed in any form of narrative... The plot is an aesthetic arrangement, not following the chronological order of events and strict causal relationships, unified according to the subjective intention of the narrator about the events of a certain story, with the aim of highlighting the thematic idea and creating maximum appeal to the reader" [4, pp. 179-180]. Thus, for a narrative work,
tradition, the plot plays an important role in determining the success of the work. Through the plot, readers can summarize the content of the story that the writer has told. Reality moves in the work in a linear direction, helping readers have a clear orientation when receiving it.
Ethnic minority prose is characterized by its distinct tradition in artistic form and reflective content. Most modern ethnic minority narrative works remain faithful to the story structure according to the traditional law of cause and effect . In terms of time criteria, the most common plot type in ethnic minority prose is the plot that occurs in linear time (narration follows a straight timeline, maintaining causal relationships). The narrative time often coincides with the plot time. Narration in a linear flow will help ethnic minority readers easily follow and grasp the content and meaning of the story (but this is also a limitation of ethnic minority prose).
In terms of character criteria, the plot commonly found in ethnic minority prose is a single-line plot. Most works written about working life, daily activities and other realistic aspects have few characters and if there are sub-plots, they only include two main and evil plots, there are no intermediate plots, the number of events is also small so there is almost no interweaving of many plots. The stories are often monosyllabic, only have the surface part but few hidden layers of meaning and two-sided symbols, so the depth and ability to create multi-dimensional reception for readers are somewhat limited. Many works by ethnic minority writers such as: Nong Minh Chau, Hoang Hac, Trieu An, Vi Hong, Vi Thi Kim Binh, Sa Phong Ba, Ha Thi Cam Anh... have the same plot motif, the same formula: the new struggles with the old ; the new is pioneering, dynamic, searching, bravely overcoming obstacles; The old is affected, shaken, leading to changes in perception or forced to retreat before the new.
According to traditional concepts, the plot includes the following components: knot, development, climax, and resolution . In the above components, the resolution is the characteristic but also the limitation in the plot of ethnic minority prose. The ending in these works is often a happy, easy, arranged, and predictable ending. Building such an ending - on the one hand, the writer helps the reader easily grasp the plot, easily visualize the character, with clear attitudes of love and hate, very suitable for the psychology as well as the ability to receive of the mountain people - but on the other hand, it makes the character become simple in personality, and that is perhaps not completely suitable for the laws of movement and development of life which is as diverse and complex as life in the current market mechanism.
3.1.2. Plot in the short story Vi Thi Kim Binh.
As mentioned, the single-line plot is a familiar structure in the works of ethnic minority prose writers such as: Vi Hong, Trieu An, Hoang Hac, Cao Duy Son, Ha Thi Cam Anh, Ha Trung Nghia, Y Dien, Kim Nhat... Surveying all of Vi Thi Kim Binh's short stories, we found that most of the plots in the writer's short stories are organized and arranged in a traditional way, that is: organizing time in linear order, ending the story happily, having central characters leading, connected by reasonably selected details.
Most of Vi Thi Kim Binh's works originate from real-life situations that the writer knows. Vi Thi Kim Binh's short stories usually have a clear plot, which is developed sequentially according to the flow of events. The main characters are often people who are enthusiastic about life, work hard, always looking towards new things, progress. Although they encounter many difficulties in life, they all know how to rise up, overcome all challenges and obstacles to move towards the future and in the end they all receive a good result, a worthy reward. Through those characters, the writer wants to
affirming the beauty of goodness, belief in truth and respect for the good and genuine qualities of people. That makes Vi Thi Kim Binh's works full of humanity, shining with faith in humanity and especially guiding people towards the Truth, Goodness and Beauty in life. We will encounter this type of plot in the short stories: Joy, Spot of Light, Skin-colored Tape, White Lilies, Late First Love, Torchlight by the Stream, Missed Appointment, Three Ditch Diggers, Magical Dream, Love Conquers All, In the Window Frame....
In the short story The Colored Tape of Fate, the life and constant efforts of pharmacist Minh left many deep impressions in the hearts of readers. When she was young, Minh was a simple, rustic girl. With love and a sincere heart, she agreed to marry a communist soldier who had just been released from prison. After getting married, he was away for several years, only returning home once before he died. The husband she loved so much passed away, leaving her a widow and lonely. Overcoming the suffering and challenges of life, she raised her children alone and always tried her best at work to be worthy of her husband who had heroically sacrificed for her country. When she was a worker at the drug factory in Zone 4, she was the one who bravely crossed the flood to save the entire drug warehouse of the unit. During the fierce years of the resistance war against the US, she was transferred to be the deputy head of the adhesive tape team in charge of technology. At that time, the adhesive tapes produced by her factory were not usable, and the wounded soldiers on the front lines were in great need of adhesive tape. With the responsibility of a party member, she constantly researched, discovered, and experimented, overcoming many difficulties, obstacles, and sacrifices. She researched and successfully produced adhesive tape products for wartime hospitals that met quality standards not inferior to foreign products. With that success, she was promoted to deputy manager of the factory, in charge of nearly two hundred workers. Seeing each car carrying rolls of adhesive tape
The small sign with the words "Manufactured by Pharmaceutical Factory I" on it, an open, simple smile appeared on the lips and joy filled the heart of that strong-willed woman.
Van in the short story Joy is a nurse working at a tuberculosis hospital. With a kind heart and a dream of becoming a doctor to treat the poor, Van has overcome many obstacles from people's awareness of the terrible disease of tuberculosis to the extremely difficult and inadequate physical conditions of the hospital. With the concept that a good doctor is like a good mother, she has spent a lot of time taking care of patients. In addition, she also does laundry, cuts hair, sews, cooks, and cleans the toilets for patients every day. In particular, she also spends time talking, encouraging, comforting, and understanding the thoughts and interests of each patient. The progress of the patients has contributed to creating small, simple but meaningful joys in her life. Van's being in the ranks of the Party is a worthy reward for this doctor with the heart of a "good mother" .
Although she did not have much time to spend with her husband who was away on business trips and only returned home once a year, Nurse Nhin in the short story A Day Off received a worthy reward, which was the affection and trust of the villagers and the encouragement of her husband. Although she regretted that when he came home to visit her, she was busy and could not talk to him, and he had to leave, Nhin was excited because her path to a happy future was and is going up.
In the short story Three ditch diggers, Vi Thi Kim Binh was also deeply influenced by the "Good people are rewarded" plot of folk tales. The story is about three neighbors: Hung, Hac Thang, all middle-aged, all war invalids, each of them has a different situation but they all rely on each other to live. Once, when digging a ditch for the owner of a house