flourished that much”. They deeply understood that only then would art have meaning and they always dreamed of creating true works of art: “What must we say about people, what must we do about people, to find a path, a cool, fresh horizon through the days of oil rain, fire sun” [73, p. 474]. Correctly determining the relationship between literature and life shows Nguyen Hong's very progressive point of view compared to other realist writers.
Writing about the petty bourgeois intellectual character before the August Revolution of 1945, Nguyen Hong and Nam Cao both had certain points of convergence, but Nguyen Hong's intellectual character felt the necessity of social change more clearly and strongly than Nam Cao's intellectual character . Nguyen Hong expressed his point of view through a dialogue between the character Quang (a person with a high school diploma) and Tam - a writer (with some reputation) in Blood Puddle: "Brother! Do you know what news is smoldering in the countryside? And what blazing news of the world is being covered up? Revolution! There must be a revolution in which one's own blood is shed, there must be a final battle of the masses to completely overthrow this social regime, otherwise we will suffocate, we will go crazy" [73, p. 623]. Thus, the intellectuals in Nguyen Hong's works have more clearly defined their path, and at the same time expressed their indignation and hatred towards the unjust society of the time. It is worth mentioning that through this type of character, Nguyen Hong has initially shown the writer's reaching for a new ideal - and perhaps through them - Nguyen Hong easily expressed his thoughts and enthusiasm for the communist ideal. "After 1940, especially when participating in the secret cultural organization for national salvation, the polemical nature emerged very clearly in Nguyen Hong's works" [116, p. 131]. Surveying Nguyen Hong's works from Hidden Classroom (1939), Life (1942) to A Sunny Noon (1943) , When the Afternoon Comes Down (1943) , Two Streams of Milk (1943) , The Last Breath (1944), The Abyss (1945 ) , The Flame (1945) , The Piece of Cake (1945)... we see that Nguyen Hong's intellectual character has a positive change in terms of ideology. The petty bourgeois intellectual from feeling deeply his attachment to the poor working people through blood ties (Hidden Classroom) to proactively approaching the people (Life) , which also means coming to his true artistic inspiration "like a silk thread clinging to life " (Two Streams of Milk) . They determined: life
The hard-working life of the working people is the mother's milk that nourishes art, nourishes their trust in humanity. The character Sinh (Last Breath ) had a new ideal when he really participated in manual labor with his fellow workers, with the urban poor - that was the place to train his willpower so that even when his "last breath" was gone, he could still overcome difficulties and challenges. Likewise, the characters of the petty bourgeois Tuyen ( Life), Minh (Iron Net) really participated in the revolution, attached to the revolution, " Minh's only joy was to be close to them, work with them, explain to them their concerns, their sufferings. Encourage them to work, organize, and fight during the times when they were terribly terrorized by the French rulers; and enthusiastically believed with them in the liberation revolution later on" [73, p. 664]. Nguyen Hong's poor petty bourgeois intellectual characters are not pessimistic at all. The author has revealed a vision that will later become reality: the characters Tuyen, Minh,... are living in the stormy days of the great revolution - the revolution to liberate the nation. The intellectual only needs to have faith in the people, he will have an inevitable position in the life-changing of the whole nation. Thus, through the poor petty bourgeois intellectual characters, the writer has raised the issue of youth ideals and conveyed his passionate, excited thoughts about the current situation that is leading to new hopes with a promising future (Life, Piece of Cake, Two Streams of Milk...) .
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In short, writing about the character of petty bourgeois intellectuals before the August Revolution in 1945, Nguyen Hong had certain successes. The writer described in detail and touchingly the tragedy of their spiritual and material lives, especially their cognitive process: from feeling deeply the miserable life of the poor working people to proactively reaching out to the people. When building this character, Nguyen Hong also conveyed his concept of art through thoroughly exploiting the contrast between living conditions and the desire to live, the desire to create of intellectuals. Writing about them, Nguyen Hong added a voice to demand the right to a true life, the right to freedom for people, contributing to the struggle for social change, a society full of injustice and inhumanity at that time.
3.1.4. Degenerate human characters
In his rich and diverse world of characters, Nguyen Hong also focuses especially on portraying the type of degenerate character . Seeing people as victims.
As a result of the suffocating, deadlocked, and dark living conditions, many realist writers also saw the problem of degeneration as an inevitable consequence of the change in human qualities and personalities under the influence of the environment and living conditions. In the consciousness of these writers, human degeneration is inevitable, because those people are the inevitable products of the unjust and inhumane feudal colonial society of the time. However, in each realist writer, the expression of human degeneration is different. Nguyen Cong Hoan believes that the nature of feudal colonial society is the direct cause of human degeneration, so he often sees characters from the bad and the sensitivity to the bad has become the aesthetic consciousness of the writer (The Boss, Lost the Wallet, Dead End, Ghost Coins, The Owner's Lady Was Stolen...) ; Vu Trong Phung paid attention to the specific causes leading to human degeneration, which were due to people not being able to resist the "bait of materialism", "selfish morality" and "belief in golden power" (Storm, Red Number, Jackpot ...) ; Nam Cao believed that the inhuman environment of contemporary Vietnamese society had pushed honest people to the step of impoverishment, leading to degeneration and hooliganism ( Chi Pheo, Tu cach mo, Nua dem ...). However, Nam Cao still believed in the honest nature of human beings, even though they were destroyed by an unjust society in both their appearance and humanity... Compared to other realistic writers, Nguyen Hong was very successful in writing about degenerate, hooligan characters. It can be said that this is a special type of character of the writer. Many researchers believe that Nguyen Hong was very successful in building this type of character [1, p. 801]. Nguyen Hong was a person with strengths when writing about hooligans in society. “ The hooligan trend in Vietnamese literature has many conditions to flourish strongly … In the scope of literature and from the perspective of dialectical materialism , we can take Nguyen Hong as the official representative of the modern Vietnamese hooligan trend” [156, p. 90]. Right from his first works, Nguyen Hong paid attention to two special subjects in society, people who are degenerate and hooliganized, which are the characters of prostitutes and robbers. Going into the depths of human suffering, Nguyen Hong focused on exploiting the type of characters who are at a dead end, deadlocked in life, having to do low-class jobs in society such as: prostitution, stealing, robbery, hired killing, murder, gambling... to survive. Nguyen Hong used the nature of their profession to name his characters, such as: the character Hai
Golden Teeth, Bay Huu, Tu Choi, Xuan Rong, Hai Beo, Han Ram Che, Ba Den, Suu Nhay, Sau Lem Chin... ( in Bay Huu), Nam Sai Gon, Tam Binh, Chin Hiec, Muoi Khai, Ba Bay, Tu - lap - lo... (in Bi vo ), Chin Huyen (in Chin Huyen ) , Sau
HG (in The Last Troop ) … Those names partly reflected the world of “shell runners” in contemporary society at that time.
They came to this special profession for many different reasons. Most researchers believe that the first reason that "gave birth" to this type of character was the unjust and sinful society of that time. In that society, a large number of farmers had their fields and gardens robbed, or had to mortgage their land, were heavily in debt, and had to flock to the cities to make a living; Workers had to work until they were exhausted, but the wages they were paid were low and not enough to live on; the urban poor had to live a miserable, hungry life, doing hundreds of low-class jobs to make a living... All of them were pushed into the abyss of hunger and disease by society: " French Indochina was only partially industrialized. The few factories could not attract that cheap and abundant labor. Those who could not find jobs in the technology factories or had to work as forced laborers had to cling to the cities to barely survive. Not participating in production, they live a wandering life of parasitism. They are a type of proletarian hooligan. Hooligans, prostitutes, geishas, singers, gamblers, thieves, vagabonds, and beggars are very numerous" [156, p. 87]. Life is extremely miserable, they work until they are exhausted but still cannot support themselves, do not even dare to think about wives and children, people like them who want to survive have no choice but to throw themselves into miserable, humiliating jobs in society. For example: the character Gian (in Moi han ) was born into a decent family, was properly educated, and had a stable job. But looking around him, he only sees scenes: "people work hard all year round until old age, only to become increasingly destitute, extremely poor... and then fall into a life of half-death, and in the end have to sell themselves to work as rubber workers, miners, and use up all their strength to die". Gian did not dare to think about getting married, because “if he had a wife and children and had to carry them around, Gian’s house would become hell. With that salary, with those endless jobs… Gian would not have a single minute to think about resting, having a full night’s sleep and knowing what light, air, and flowers of heaven and earth were other than the three words “wife”, “children” and “hunger ” [73, p. 264]. Gian compared life
Compared to the happiness of the “neighbors” , especially the Westerners, Gian found them “happier than fairies ”. Gian wished “to be able to dress, go out, sit in a car and watch a movie for an hour like them. Gian would rather die than die. Gian, an Annamese like Gian, would be satisfied with that” [73, p. 266]. Feeling the injustice in society like that, Gian saw that his life had no choice but to “block the road to stop smuggled goods, guard casinos, and kill people for hire” to live . The result of that choice was that Gian had to go from one prison to another when he was only twenty-six years old! Chin Huyen (in Chin Huyen ) was born as the daughter of a wrestler in Hai Hau district (Nam Dinh), but then "the hard work of trading was the first reason for her to go down the path of crime" "working as a "shell runner" to have enough to spend, knowing happy times", "living the life of a "shell runner" to be active, not suffering from constraints, confinement, or deprivation" [73, pp. 175,176]. These people reacted to society in an extreme way with bad achievements. That is Nam Sai Gon - the gangster boss of the port city with "achievements" that "His criminal record filled up a piece of paper", he had : "A power to let those who live live, to force those who die to die, to tell prisoners to go to prison"... "Nearly two-thirds of his life was taken away by prison... exiled to Con Lon for seven years, in the big prison in Saigon, in Hoa Lo in Hanoi for two years... no wife, children, no siblings, no parents, living a vagrant life day after day " [74, p. 338]; That is Tu Lap Lo, the "Running Boss"; that is Sau Gao Dong, the " leader of those who specialize in luring teachers and staff in "The Flower Garden of People" ; or Chin Hiec, Muoi Khai, also "running bosses" who control the theft gangs along the wharf, along Khach Street, Cam Dau Street and other crowded streets; Thiet Gian (Mội han) specializes in killing for hire to make a living, Gian's whole life is "prison" and "exile" " after serving his sentence with a knife, Gian is now this casino, tomorrow a warehouse gate, another alley. Not even a few months have passed, the chain is locked around Gian's wrist, and here and there, a little further away, behind the dense bushes, that prison again imprisons Gian... Ha Giang, Lai Chau, Con Lon... prison... forever in prison and then exile... and then the end of his life! This year Gian is only twenty-six" [73, p. 264]". Most of them are very young, but all have "seniority" in their profession. Bay Huu (Bay Huu) has been a gangster since childhood, has no parents, no hometown, is only twenty years old but has " been sentenced six times, totaling four years in prison" [73, p. 124]; Tu Choi is "twenty-four years old, been sentenced eight times, totaling seven years in prison" [73, p. 123]; Twenty-one-year-old Suu Nhay "convicted six times, total
four years in prison” ; Hai Rang Vang “ twenty-eight years old, eight times in prison and one time in exile” , and is still serving a sentence of exile. They consciously became “outlaws” - because this was their way of protesting, of opposing society. These people “resolutely resisted all the power of the law and lived a life like an emperor” [74, p. 378] like Nam Sai Gon, or could not “erase the life of a “slut” and return to live an honest life in that society” like the characters Chin Huyen, Tam Binh..., even though they knew that these were dishonest professions, even though they knew that they would have to accept imprisonment, possibly a sentence of exile , of life imprisonment , of living the rest of their lives in brothels... but they had to accept it! The “vile shells” and “running away” spend their entire lives wandering, hiding, living by deceit, killing (even killing each other) and then receiving tragic consequences due to the sins they have committed. These rogue, depraved characters operate under “organizations” of an “underground world” such as: Gangster parties, thieves’ guilds, beggars’ guilds, gamblers’ guilds… to survive. Their operating environments are also diverse and are often in big cities, in markets, bus stations, hidden casinos, opium dens, high-rise buildings, slums, brothels… Due to their wandering lives to make a living, the bonds of these people are not tight, even though they often have to form gangs to make a living, to settle scores, and to kill each other to survive. As outlaws, they are not bound by the law, but they always have to fight against many dangers in society, so the personalities of these people are very complex and violent but also full of chivalry. But on the other hand, through Nguyen Hong's writing, these characters all show themselves to be brave, chivalrous, love - hate, and clear hatred. The society of this low-level gangster class also has its own rules with scenes: drinking blood and swearing, revenge, being willing to die to save each other from danger... and there is also a division of hierarchy between the upper and lower levels in a tight bond between individuals and their own organizations.
With the art of character building based on the principle of contrast - opposition, Nguyen Hong has realized that the common characteristics of people who seem to have lost all humanity, are callous, brazen, indifferent, dissatisfied with society are people who value love and loyalty. They can live and die for each other without having to compare or calculate. For example, the characters: Chin Huyen, Bay Huu, Sau HG... this
It is also inevitable, because in a society full of traps and tricks, these people, in order to survive, must rely on each other. “The gangsters also have social aspirations, but they are not clearly formed. Although they are more individualistic, they also know how to unite a society of good people, and deceive good people to be effective… they resent and hate society, but because of their uncertain living conditions… their solidarity is not tight” [156, p. 88]. Writing about the miserable lives of these gangster characters at the bottom, Nguyen Hong has portrayed quite clearly and vividly their thoughts and actions. The complex and contradictory thoughts of the characters (such as Gian, Nam Sai Gon, Tam Binh, Chin Huyen, Hai Rang Vang)… have been analyzed by the writer in a realistic and sharp way. Sometimes Nguyen Hong also wanted to idealize the good qualities of these characters - the absolute sacrifice of the female monk of Am Hon Pagoda for her husband , of Bay Huu for his comrades, of Chin Huyen for her fellow soldiers , of Tam Binh for his loyalty to Nam Sai Gon...
Perhaps, Nguyen Hong is the first modern writer to write about the “bottom” class of thugs, about women living outside the law in a truthful and successful way. With a very realistic and objective writing style, with a deeply sympathetic heart, Nguyen Hong is always conscious of discovering the spiritual beauty of these “miserable people”. While exposing the miserable situation of those people, the writer also expressed his belief in the good qualities of people who seem to be the “scum” of society. Even though their lives are pushed down to the mud, having to live by jobs that the whole society despises, deep in the souls of these people there is still a glimmer of light, that is the desire to live a “peaceful, clean, honest” life. Nguyen Hong has discovered and always consciously cherished every bit of light that shines in their souls.
- Therefore, the realistic value, humanitarian value, and social denunciation value in Nguyen Hong's works become deeper and more specific.
In short, the world of characters in Nguyen Hong's works before the August Revolution in 1945 was a rich, complex and vivid world of characters - the world of working people of the urban class, poor working people at the bottom of society, with unfortunate fates, including: from children
from children to the elderly; from women to young men; from farmers in the countryside to poor people doing all kinds of jobs in the city; from poor petty bourgeois intellectuals to thugs, thieves, prostitutes... Each person has their own situation, their own life, their own fate, but in general, they all have very pitiful fates and are also worthy of sympathy. Writing about them with an objective, truthful attitude and a heart filled with love, the writer of "these miserable people" always makes the reader sob, be moved and sympathize, at the same time also causes the reader a deep and painful indignation at the dark, inhumane feudal colonial social regime. Therefore, the profound realism and noble humanity in Nguyen Hong's works always radiate from his system of characters. At the same time, when writing about these characters, Nguyen Hong expressed his love for his miserable working people. And behind all that, the writer showed his patriotism - that was also the reason Nguyen Hong came to the Revolution very early - This was also the difference between Nguyen Hong and other writers of the same tendency and the same period.
3.2. Some typical artistic techniques in character building
3.2.1. The art of creating circumstances and situations
As we know, one of the principles of realism's life representation is to focus on the dialectical relationship between typical personalities and typical circumstances. In the writer's artistic world, the art of character building plays an extremely important role. In order for characters to be able to "live" and make deep impressions on readers, it is necessary to mention the art of creating situations and circumstances through which characters reveal their personalities and psychology.
According to the Vietnamese Dictionary, Situation is: "The development of a situation in terms of what needs to be dealt with" [149, p. 1275]; and Circumstances are: "The general whole of external objective factors that affect human life, activities, the occurrence or development of a certain event" [149, p. 582]. These two concepts have similarities in meaning: situation is the whole of events that occur in a place, during a period of time, forcing us to think, deal with, act or endure, while circumstances are objective factors that affect people, objects, or phenomena.