The Art of Character Portraiture

2.2.2.2. Degenerate character

In Nguyen Bac Son's world of characters, in addition to the characters that represent the beauty of the human soul and personality, there are also characters that reflect the hidden, dark and degenerate parts of humans, those are the degenerate characters.

Degeneration is to change, to become worse or to become something else, opposite to the original self, the community, the origin that gave birth to oneself. It shows the degradation of human beings whose root cause lies in society. The reality of the market economy has changed people, causing them to sink deeper into the temptations of material things, status, and power. The Law of Life and Father and Son and Bitter Fire directly dissect the characters in public agencies and organizations, those who are operating the mechanism but violating the mechanism. These are characters such as Vu San, Tran Duong, Le Viet Bac and some characters mentioned by their titles such as: Head of the Organization Committee of the City Party Committee (new), Head of the Inspection Committee of the City Party Committee, Construction Inspector of Lam Du District, Judge of the Thanh Hoa People's Court. Corruption and degeneration are two burning issues that every citizen with a sense of responsibility to society wants to boycott, wants to clean up the state apparatus by eliminating such corrupt officials.

The market economy has brought about positive changes in life. However, its downside is that it also leaves behind sores and ulcers in society. A typical example of the depravity caused by the temptations of money, status, and titles in the story is the character Vu San. It can be said that Vu San's life is a marathon race for promotion. San is not without real ability, he graduated from university, working in the field of his studies. However, in this market mechanism, there are still loopholes for "money first is smart money" to help people like San to climb to the position of department head quickly and effectively. The position of head of the architectural department that San currently holds is actually an underground race between two marathon runners, deputy department heads San and Ngan. In this race and auction, the opponent does not know how much the price is because it is an underground race and underground auction, so it is extremely fierce. Therefore, athletes can freely show off their talents on occasions such as: "the inauguration of a new house, the Lunar New Year, a birthday... That is the usual custom, the norm" [47, p.241].

Ngan and San used different ways to compete: “In about a year, Ngan’s wine cabinet was completely empty, mainly going to the wine cabinet of the department head. As for how much of San’s safe containing all kinds of money and precious metals was gone, we cannot know” [47, p.244]. Ngan’s final trick was better than San’s, so Ngan won. The position of department head went to Ngan.

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But that matter has not stopped because the defeated opponent is still continuing to conduct an underground struggle to overthrow the winner. The reason San was able to do that is because he had connected with a foreigner who spoke Vietnamese fluently. That foreigner was called "the one who is confused". He invested long-term in San, both in money and in strategies, so that San could climb up to the position of head of the city's architectural department. That person, although a foreigner, understood very well the administrative and organizational mechanisms of Vietnam as well as the psychology of the Vietnamese people: "But why is he so well-versed in all our moves? He understands our people's psychology even better than we do. It proves that he has studied our customs and practices very carefully, read a lot of books and newspapers, and even studied our documents to understand us so well" [47, pp. 335 - 336]. In the end, with the cunning schemes and money of the investor, San sat in the position of head of the Thanh Hoa city's architectural department. Listening and following the words of the investor, San also decided to go to graduate school to get a PhD degree so that he could climb to the position of deputy head of the agency. In fact, to do all the things that the investor had outlined and helped him, Vu San continued to "run". He ran to many people, according to his rough estimate, more than a dozen people had to "travel". He ran to all kinds of things, including a PhD degree, a party committee member position, and then a deputy director position of the agency. During his term, Vu San cleverly took advantage of his position to conduct business deals with many shady relationships. He used a gold ring to buy power but got sparkling diamonds. When the incident was exposed and the press exposed the truth, San hired thugs to kidnap the daughter of the editor-in-chief of Thoi Luan newspaper to threaten and take revenge. However, when the criminal had to face the truth and the crimes he had committed, he became cowardly and afraid of death.

Through Vu San's story, it can be seen that the writer boldly proposed the hot issues of modern Vietnamese society. That is the phenomenon of corrupt officials, degradation of personality and morality; that is the problem of lobbying, bribery, embezzlement, and corruption.

corruption, abuse of power, and influence. At the same time, it is also a warning against the sabotage and encroachment of dark forces from outside on our country's economy.

Another official who was equally corrupt was Tran Thanh Dinh - Permanent Vice Chairman of the Thanh Hoa City People's Committee. Although he only appeared during the trial of the Than Tien Aquarium case, this official was the one who took bribes and abused his power the most in the case. He signed the document allowing Thien Thai Limited Company to use land on Kim Nguu Peninsula for fifty years to build a water park and aquarium. Then he signed on behalf of the Chairman of the Thanh Hoa City People's Committee, respectfully requesting that the relevant central agencies review the decision. In doing so, he accepted bribes from Pham Tan - Director of Thien Thai Limited Company : a Honda SH motorbike. That was according to the evidenced testimony, but as for things like cash and food and beverage, there was no evidence, so the truth was not known. He was accused of lack of responsibility and accepting bribes. The final sentence for him, although the author left it hanging, according to public opinion, was just scratching the itch, too light compared to his crime,... There are also doubts surrounding this trial: "The newspaper Phap luat voi thoi dai headlined with a question: Did the court judge according to the law or according to the direction of ...?" [51, p.589]. It is true that there was involvement of the leader, the former secretary of the Thanh Hoa city party committee, whom the speaker vaguely called "the alien". Although the alien was not mentioned directly but only through the speaker's words, it was enough for people to see how powerful he was: "The alien's hand here. Only he can do that. Even though he is no longer the head of this city, his influence is still very great. Even after this Congress, when he retires completely, that head will still be able to work for us" [51, p.592]. Thus, through the story of Tran Thanh Dinh's trial, the author not only shows us that officials lack responsibility in their work and accept bribes like Tran Thanh Dinh, but also shows that there are officials who take advantage of their power and influence to give orders to their subordinates like alien characters.

Another character who has degraded in personality and morality is Le Viet Bac - Director of the Department of Transport and Public Works. In order to widen the road on both sides of the school gate, this director asked the vice chairman of Thanh Hoa City Committee to suggest that schools in the district collect a little bit of compensation for workers by having each student spend money.

breakfast. He also instructed the parents to collect it so as not to bring shame to the school. Then, he called the Director of the Summer Road Company to inform them that he had suggested that schools collect allowances for workers so that "the superiors have made you happy, then...don't you dare forget the superiors" [51, p.362]. Then, through his conversation with a young girl named Thuy, we also see that he has a very scientific way of taking state money. That is, he made up scientific research topics with very catchy names but in fact they are useless and not very effective: "Shade trees and pruning of shade trees on Thanh Hoa streets", "Thanh Hoa sidewalk tiles - problems and solutions", "Thanh Hoa water meters - problems and solutions" [51, p.365]. Through the story of this department director's legitimate enrichment, we see that officials seem to not ignore any tricks to embezzle and enrich themselves. And to do that, it is not just one individual but more dangerously, there is a whole network contributing: “The one who approves the topic eats once... When it comes to acceptance, he eats again. And twice the acceptance... The one who provides the funding, of course. The one above these two must also have a share. That is the rule of the game” [51, p.365]. And it is not only Bac who has such a scientific trick of taking state money because he learned this lesson from his friend, the Head of the Propaganda Department. And surely that friend, the Head of the Propaganda Department, also learned this method from another official friend.

Through the analysis of some of the above corrupt characters, we see that corruption and embezzlement are two hot issues of today's society. Faced with this situation, all citizens want to boycott and clean up the state apparatus by eliminating these corrupt, morally and personality-degenerate officials and civil servants.

Thus, the types of characters in Nguyen Bac Son's novels are very rich and colorful. There are good characters, and there are bad characters. It seems that the writer has brought the colorful reality of life into the story through his cast of characters. Through that, the writer wants to convey his thoughts to the readers: " I want to use the characters to express my thoughts about current events, from the fight against negativity in the land sector; the repression and revenge of those who dare to fight against the tricks of the underworld in the press; the work of organizing cadres, the work of the court... Although the novel Bitter Fire continues to expose and criticize many negative aspects of social life, I believe it will not disappoint readers. Because

"Along with the people who are creating stagnation and obstacles... the novel still exudes an optimistic tone from the qualities of officials at all levels" [1].

2.2.3. The art of character building

The world of characters in literary works, especially in novels, is often very diverse and rich. Therefore, how to build a world of characters to convey the full meaning of the work is a process that the writer has pondered and carefully considered. That is the talent, passion and knowledge of the writer.

The appeal of a work depends on the way the writer presents the characters in that work. The writer is the one who organizes and designs to create vivid characters for his work. How to build characters and how to handle character relationships in each work so that the characters truly live in the hearts of readers is important to the success of the work. Therefore, choosing measures and methods to build characters is extremely meaningful. Especially, with novels with a large number of characters such as Law of Life and Father and Son and Bitter Fire , the art of building characters in the work is even more decisive to the success of the novel.

2.2.3.1. The art of character portraiture

The art of character building is one of the factors that shows the talent of a narrative writer and contributes significantly to the success of the work. Because the appearance and appearance of a person sometimes play a role as a sign that helps us recognize their inner nature. Even physiognomic characteristics help us predict the fate and life of the character. In contemporary novels, writers often do not go into detail in describing each specific detail, but with just a few typical and descriptive sketches, the character's portrait and personality appear clearly.

Nguyen Bac Son used traditional descriptive art, paying attention to the characters' faces and eyes (except for some female characters such as Thao Tan, Thanh Dieu... whose appearance was described completely), thereby signaling to the reader about the character's personality. The character's world, even through appearance, has a clear identification of the character.

The central character that the writer first noticed to portray was Mr. Hoe. This character appeared right in the first chapter of The Law of Life and Father and Son . The writer focused on describing his face: a large, stern face, thick eyebrows. That face had the mature, serious look of a propaganda officer, a senior political expert. When talking about this character, the writer specifically described the character's eyebrows because those eyebrows were consistent with the character's personality, expressing the owner's attitude. In the dialogue in chapter one, Mr. Hoe and Mrs. Phung had a dialogue. The wife criticized Mr. Hoe and brought up the resolution to mock him. He showed a very angry attitude because for him, the resolution and the Party's directive were the reason for living. At this time, his thick eyebrows rolled up to show his anger along with the sentence: "I forbid you to touch the resolution" [47, p.7].

Also in this chapter, when recounting the time he was invited to disseminate the resolution to the conference of key officials of the Education and Training sector of the coastal city of Hai An, when the director of the department told him that he had not yet organized to study the resolution, Mr. Hoe was very surprised. And the writer paid attention to the character's eyebrows: "The spear-shaped eyebrows raised. These strange eyebrows only exist in the ancient theater stage, in the role of Truong Phi. I don't understand why they reincarnated into this person? The two spears are big and thick, and at the end of the eyebrows they are raised up 90 degrees. It looks really fierce... The eyebrows make the opponent not dare to look straight at his face" [47, pp. 10 - 11]. Thus, those eyebrows show that Mr. Hoe is a straightforward, honest, and steadfast person, very suitable for a person doing political work like him. That face, those eyebrows, combined with his clear, resonant speech, his engaging and emphatic way of speaking, along with his accompanying gestures, made hundreds, thousands of people sit still to listen and absorb every word he said.

There were many times when the author still intentionally described those eyebrows. Especially in important situations such as when his children asked him for his opinion on something, "His big, stern face with sword-shaped eyebrows raised" [47, p.165]. Or when he was terribly tormented after the day Dai took him for a massage, his face and eyebrows were clearly expressed: "Truong Phi's eyebrows were thick, raised at the end of the eyebrows, not moving, not furrowing, expressionless on the slow eyelashes every time they blinked" [47, p.300]. Or when he expressed his love for

For the poor girl Kieu Linh, the face with the sword-shaped eyebrows revealed very clearly: "the face with the sword-shaped eyebrows raised up affectionately bent down to her" [47, p.365]. Or when curious, the eyebrows also revealed emotions: "The sword-shaped eyebrows raised up at the end, looked up at the daughter-in-law curiously" [51, p.24].

In addition to the portrait of Mr. Hoe, the appearance of other characters when appearing is also described by the writer. When talking about the enthusiastic, brave soldier who always strives and has the will to excel in completing his mission, the writer creates a portrait of Le Hoi with the beauty of a strong body: "Le Hoi has grown up completely. His biceps and calves are firm. His chest is clearly showing off his strong physique... he will soon participate in the military region's sports festival" [47, p.40]. As for the rebellious son of the @ era, Le Cuong, the writer depicts him by emphasizing his way of dressing and his lifestyle as a spoiled brat. Cuong appears wearing "jeans, a T-shirt, and white Adidas shoes" [47, p.97]. The car he drove was a new model @, with a license plate number that was exponentially larger than this number: 9981. The special hobby of this fourth-year English major was going to his friends' birthday parties because he could eat and drink happily, see and get to know the girls. When flirting with girls: "his passionate, wet eyes, piercing their eyes... I don't know where Le Cuong got those sweet words, like bullets that could penetrate all the girls' ears" [47, p.103]. His way of giving his friend a birthday present was also very special: "He took out his wallet and took out a bare dollar bill, meaning there was no envelope. Everyone recognized the number 100 on the bright green color, typical of American money" [47, p.104]. Therefore, he was able to show off his authority as a big guy and, more importantly, a big guy with a lot of money in front of his friends. His way of showing off to win his girlfriend's heart was also very special: "Le Cuong danced alone, showing off his carefully practiced body movements, no less than the trendy singer Ngoc San... everyone around the dance floor focused on him - the center of the game" [47, p.107 - 108]. In that way, he won the hearts of many girls. Then the detail of him taking Kieu Linh to the Chieu Tim hotel to make love with the movements and attitude of a "connoisseur in the art of making love" [47, p.120] clearly shows us how experienced he is in love. This rich kid is exactly like the modern

@ only knows how to have fun, spend money and pay for girls, and "What his grandparents do, he doesn't care. What his father does to make a lot of money for him to spend, he doesn't care either" [47, p.119].

In the Law of Life and Father and Son, the writer also describes women who are beautiful in both appearance and personality. They are Kieu Linh, Thuy Mien, Thao Tan, Thanh Dieu. All four women are beautiful, but their beauty has different appearances. Their lives have different situations.

First of all, Kieu Linh's beauty is that of a country girl, with the scent of the fields and the wind: "an extremely beautiful country girl...a brilliant flower of the scent of the fields and the wind" [47, pp. 103 - 104]. It was that pure beauty that immediately made the young master Le Cuong fall head over heels in love, trying every way to conquer the beauty. However, the love affair with Le Cuong was a bitter fruit. Kieu Linh had to swallow her pride, accept some money and had to abort the fetus in her womb. But that beautiful girl knew how to rise up, pursue her dream. Later, she had a job, married a loving husband, was loved by her husband's family, and lived a happy and prosperous life.

As for Thuy Mien - Le Dai's ex-wife, she had a proud, elegant beauty. The name Thuy Mien itself shows that elegant beauty. As for her face: "I saw the proud, mysterious features of the "strange woman" in the famous Russian painting... a slender body with perfect curves" [47, p.96]. With this description, the author shows us that this is a beautiful woman who knows how to please her husband and take care of her children. That's why, her husband was a soldier, away from home all year round, she took care of the children and managed the house alone. When her husband came home, she wholeheartedly pampered him, scrubbed his back, scratched his itch,... However, this talented and beautiful woman had a short life.

Another equally talented and beautiful woman is Thanh Dieu. She is the Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Lam Du District, praised as the "beauty queen" among the female officials of the district. She has a lovely and pretty face, a slim figure that everyone wants to admire: "She has a good figure, skin, and a thin face with beautiful eyebrows" [47, p.265]. Her way of dressing is both elegant, luxurious and captivating: "A chocolate-colored short skirt that fits below the knee, revealing long, straight legs, wearing thin skin-colored stockings. Cowhide-colored high heels. A collarless shirt, light brown, with half-sleeved, tight

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