Types of lonely characters in contemporary Vietnamese prose through some typical works of Nguyen Huy Thiep, Ta Duy Anh, Chu Lai and Nguyen Danh Lam

"Tone is an aesthetic category that helps us recognize the author, is the distinguishing feature of this writer from other writers, is a "unique voice" that cannot be confused with anyone else, is a factor to determine literary talent. As the Russian writer IX Turgenev said, " Each artist is like a bird. Each type of bird has a different laryngeal structure, so their songs are different. Similarly, each writer must know how to create a unique artistic tone. That tone must be the song that comes from the artist's larynx, containing a concept, an attitude, a form of behavior towards reality of the writer." [13, p.131]. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Bich Thu also affirmed that " Narrative tone is one of the important factors that create the appeal in the writer's narrative works". Therefore, finding the right tone is a difficult problem for every writer.

* Philosophical tone:

In a literary work, the writer can arrange many different tones: It can be a humorous and witty tone, sometimes a contemptuous, sarcastic, mocking, satirical tone; a vulgar and vulgar tone, a skeptical and questioning tone, a sorrowful and sympathetic tone, a cold and cruel tone, a philosophical tone, etc. In life, facing many issues of human significance, people have profound thoughts about people, life, and the times. Writers have always wondered about the principles of life, human love, and above all, always sought and aimed for the truth of life. Therefore, choosing a philosophical and contemplative tone is one of the techniques that contemporary writers are interested in.

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In the polyphonic choir of tones, the philosophical and contemplative tone is deeply expressed with thoughts about people, life, times, etc. The philosophical tone can be placed on any character, regardless of age, status, etc. It can be the philosophical voice of an unborn fetus ( Repentant Angel - Ta Duy Anh) . It can also be the contemplative and reflective philosophy of a person who has passed away.

almost through his life, after witnessing and tasting all the bitterness and hardships of a human life like Lao Kho ( Lao Kho - Ta Duy Anh).

Sometimes just a detail, a small event can be elevated to philosophy, to the law of humanity, of life. Contemplation and philosophy appear a lot in the thoughts and perceptions of the character I - the representative of the future generation in Ta Duy Anh's works, when looking back at the past and the suffering of his ancestors, before the darkness, the persistent hatred of generations. After ten years of exile, "I" had a more mature, experienced and profound view of human life: "Suddenly I felt lonely. Human life is so short. Sometimes I feel like people have not left anything for the world before disappearing into harsh oblivion " [1, p.79]. Likewise, going through almost the end of his life, tired and afraid of hatred and mutual exclusion, Lao Kho realized "A human life is not long", "Life is so short!" . “I” ( The cycle of suffering in this world) soon realized the backwardness and confusion of the people in his village, who were always dark and mired in hatred: “ Humans are truly miserable. One life commits sins in another life; one person commits sins in another…. Creating a cycle of suffering right here on earth.”[ 1, p . 97]

It is also a tone that generalizes into a philosophy about life and death in life: " People can do nothing more than prepare for their own death. Therefore, they must prepare thoroughly " (Repentant Angel - Ta Duy Anh); "It seems that each fate is like a puppet connected to a string controlled by machines hidden in the dark". (Finding the character - Ta Duy Anh). Lao Kho also concluded: " In a certain aspect, life is an exile and death is the first sign of freedom" ( Lao Kho - Ta Duy Anh) . "Human life is very long. But that night for him was even longer than a human life" [29, p.8], "Life is very long but life is also strange! It can make people forget even things that seem impossible to forget" [29, p.40], "Oh my! Life has little joy and much sadness" [29, p.73] , "Life is very long. To go through life, people have to be involved in countless moments of calculation.

"Life is long and infatuated" [29, p.105] ( Life is long - Chu Lai),... Going through life, the character in The Impermanent Wharf deeply feels and philosophizes: " Life is suffering".

Philosophical feelings are also revealed through the contemplations of the character who carries sadness distilled from life. Reading Giua dong chua lac , the writer lets the character "the painter" express many of his philosophical thoughts and experiences about life: "You live like that, you live blandly. There is nothing worse than a bland person" [34, p.72]. He also tells him about the responsibility of marriage: " About your marriage, I will not discuss further, just advise, if you have decided, you must try to preserve happiness. Knowing each other for many years, getting married still cannot avoid shocks, you may have to face the beginning. You have only met him for a few months, and you have already organized a wedding, so you need to be clear-headed and calm. I am very worried about your impulsiveness. Business can change, but if you have decided to enter into marriage, it means you have entrusted your whole life to it. If you miss it once, you will slide down, and you will not be able to get up. Even if you can stand up and look up, everything is already exhausted: days, mind, health. Even the young can't do anything, let alone the old " [34, p.198].

In Nguyen Huy Thiep's short stories, it seems that in every work he sends a few philosophical sentences about life and human destiny. " Human life is full of meaningless uncertainties" (Cun). Through the voice of a carpenter, the reader knows that it is a philosophy about women : "You little brat, you lied again. Those women, you guys, should never put your trust in them. They are cruel in their innocence. They make people hope, desire, wait (...) Therefore, in life, the most miserable man is the man who becomes the property of a woman " ( The Carpenter) . However, Nguyen Huy Thiep is a writer who often reverses or "abandons" the plot in a very artistic way. Therefore, the philosophical voice in Nguyen Huy Thiep's writings is like an aesthetic signal for readers to continue to ponder. Many times the philosophy in his works is revealed naturally: I said: " Only sadness is eternal ". Ms. Phuong said: " Maybe... but don't confirm ..." ( The Water God's Daughter ).

The writer does not seem to affirm, nor consider it the final conclusion about world affairs, human life... That attracts readers to join in to continue contemplating and thinking.

Each work about lonely people seems to be a complex and arduous search for self, so the main tone in the works is often philosophical. It is the philosophical tone that brings a new tone, expressing philosophical generalizations about life, people and many issues in life that have changed a lot.

* Self-questioning tone

With the spirit of "re-awareness", most writers are interested in finding the problem of the self. In that way, along with the use of a philosophical tone, they highlight the concerns, thoughts, perceptions, and assessments of people, life, and the times. Writers also build a type of character who reveals himself in a self-questioning tone. Putting the character in a state of anxious, troubled thoughts, constantly asking questions and searching for answers: "Who am I?". That question is repeated in many works of many characters in Ta Duy Anh's works " Why are we born as humans and then sometimes disappear?" (Searching for a character). Following the journey of Thuc ( Between the siege of the world), because he always has to live in a state of fear and insecurity, the character has asked himself many times: "Am I really still in the human world?, "I no longer see myself existing"

Living in a family but always feeling suffocated, lacking the warmth of love and most of all, lonely, "I" - a seventeen-year-old student always asks myself the question "Who am I? What do I have left?" ( The Wharf of Impermanence).

It is a self-questioning about the lingering, tormenting feelings of the past. A person's whole life is only immersed in the darkness of hatred, accusations, and endless fighting. The character "I" feels: "Human life is so short. Sometimes it feels like people have not left anything for the world before disappearing into harsh oblivion. A whole life is so short, people "are already exhausted to the core in the process of eliminating each other."

[28 p.79], in the end, “the terrible thing about human life is meaninglessness.” Not finding a reason for one’s existence is the biggest mistake of humans. Therefore, humans always live in a state of insecurity, fear, sadness, and loneliness.

* Cold tone

To suit the portrayal of lonely characters, writers also use a cold tone. This tone has really brought out the artistic effect of helping writers build lonely characters that have a deep haunting effect on readers.

It can be said that in most of his short stories, Nguyen Huy Thiep uses a cold tone, without expressive nuances. This is considered the most prominent feature in his short story style. Because he is a writer who likes to "cut" sentence components, the "cold" tone is first created by Nguyen Huy Thiep from short, concise sentences, only listing. " My father's name is Thuan, the eldest son of the Nguyen family. In the village, the Nguyen family is the largest family, the number of male children is probably second only to the Vu family. My grandfather used to study Confucianism, then became a teacher. My grandfather had two wives. The first wife died a few days after giving birth to my father, so my grandfather had to remarry. The second wife worked as a fabric dyer... " ( Retired General ). In other stories, Nguyen Huy Thiep continued to use listing sentences: " Can is the eldest son. Below Can are four younger brothers, one or two years apart. Doai is a civil servant in the education sector, Khiem is a slaughterhouse employee of a food company, Kham is a university student. Ton, the youngest son, is mentally ill, his body is shrunken and deformed. Old Kien's family has six people. All men. ” ( No King ). And it seems that sentences with such cold and indifferent nuances appear throughout Nguyen Huy Thiep's literary pages.

With a cold, thorny, somewhat cruel tone, Nguyen Huy Thiep has dug up and stirred up the dark areas and hidden corners of each era and each life. It is Nguyen Huy Thiep's concerns about private life, life and death that always make him leave the ending open. For that reason, his characters always live in a lonely oasis.

lonely, suffering to the end. That is the unique way of expressing humanity in the works of this writer Nguyen. And most of Nguyen Huy Thiep's works have sentences that are cold and insensitive.

Not only Nguyen Huy Thiep but Nguyen Danh Lam also often uses a cold tone. By not letting the characters discuss much about life events. Talking about big issues such as survival, gains and losses in life, Nguyen Danh Lam also uses a cold, indifferent tone as if it were natural. This is a dialogue between the father and daughter (Life Outside the Door) when they heard that the son was arrested:

-“Why do the most terrible things happen all at once?

- Misfortunes never come singly, dad.

- Have you told me about your father and son's situation?

- I didn't have time to say anything. Even if I did, Mom wouldn't listen. All I heard was her screaming and cursing. Cursing my brother, cursing both of us. Mom was going crazy again.

- I love him so much, if anything happens…

- Leave him alone.” [34, p. 147].

When there is a family crisis, it is common for family members to worry and lose their composure. However, through the above dialogue between father and daughter, readers can see that the author has let the character “daughter” express an indifferent attitude, standing outside the situation, without any expression of emotion, concern or worry for her brother. And most of the dialogue of this character in the work is expressed in a cold, indifferent, and concise voice.

After ten years, “I” ( Overcoming the Curse) returned to the place that “marked my bitter childhood”. Sitting across from my father, but the conversation between father and son was like a silent, boring, dry, emotionless, even suffocating interrogation.

“- Where have you been for ten years?

- Sir, I have been almost all over this country.

- Do you find it wide or narrow?

-…

- Haven't crossed the border yet?" [1, p.54]

There is no debate or sharing, each person is an independent entity in a formulaic question and answer session with a cold voice and therefore each character is like a completely lonely individual.

Not participating in the story, letting the dialogue between characters take place objectively, the sentences are short, without any expressive nuances, it is simply a narrative, in many works, writers have made maximum use of a cold tone. With a cold, thorny and somewhat vulgar tone, the writer seems to completely give the right to comment, evaluate, and judge about the characters and the real world to the reader.

Thus, by using many different artistic techniques, writers have highlighted the loneliness of the characters in the midst of a complicated and winding life. In the vast space of the earth and sky, in the infinity of time, in the dizzying changes of life, in a village community, within the family, even in the mind,... regardless of the times, more than ever, people always have to face their own loneliness.

CONCLUSION

1. The fundamental changes in national history since 1975 when the country was unified have led to great changes in social life, including Literature. In particular, the Party's renovation in 1986 and Resolution 05 of the Politburo have had positive impacts on social ideology. More than anyone else, writers have quickly joined in, creating their own creative paths with new and progressive artistic perspectives. In particular, the spirit of democracy and the awakening of individual consciousness are the ideological foundation and main inspiration that pervades literature during this period.

It can be said that human beings are always the central subject of literature. When history turns a new page, in order to promptly reflect reality and human beings in new living conditions, the concept of human beings in literature also changes. Human beings in literature in general, and prose in particular, have been reflected on many coordinates with hidden corners of psychological depth and ontology, no longer unilinear, not ideal like the previous literary period. It is the innovations in artistic concepts of reality and human beings that have led to fundamental changes in prose, especially in terms of inspiration and characters. That is the basis for the formation of the diversity of character types in contemporary Vietnamese prose, including the type of lonely character.

2. Literary history has recorded many works by writers around the world about the type of lonely characters, talking about human loneliness. In the East, including Vietnam, this type of character has also been exploited very early and expressed in many different forms. However, it was only when the great national revolution won, when people entered a democratic and free life, that the type of lonely character was exploited and expressed by writers in a profound and comprehensive way. Not only did writers of the previous generation change their pen to catch up with and integrate with the times, reflecting every corner of life, especially the inner life of people in the new society, but the new generation of writers also quickly expressed the spirit of the times. One of the successes and also

Types of lonely characters in contemporary Vietnamese prose through some typical works of Nguyen Huy Thiep, Ta Duy Anh, Chu Lai and Nguyen Danh Lam - 14

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