Formula for analyzing the work Xa Nu Forest

1. Composition context

– The work was written in 1965 when the American invaders poured troops into Chu Lai beach – Quang Nam. That was when the writer wanted to write a “Proclamation to the soldiers” during the American war to encourage and motivate the people to join the resistance war against the Americans.

– The story was published in the magazine Literature and Arts of the Central Liberation Army, then printed in the collection On the Homeland of the Heroes of Dien Ngoc.

2. Summary

The story begins with a scene of a vast xà nu forest standing within the enemy's "cannon range" with its large chest out to protect Xôman village. After 3 years of service, Tnú was allowed by his superiors to visit the village for one night. Bé Heng has now become a mature and agile liaison. Dít has now become a party cell secretary and a steadfast commune team political commissar. That night, Mễ told the whole village about Tnú's life. At that time, the US and Diem regime terrorized him severely. With Quyết's guidance, Tnú and Mai participated in hiding revolutionary cadres from a young age. The enemy captured him, and after 3 years he escaped from Kontum prison and returned. At this time Quyết had sacrificed himself, and Tnú married Mai. He continued to sharpen spears and spears with the villagers in preparation for battle. When the enemy heard the news, they returned to the village to sweep and terrorize. The enemy captured his wife and children, brutally torturing them right before his eyes. Burning with anger, he jumped into the middle of the soldiers but could not save Mai and her mother. The enemy captured him, wrapped rags soaked in xà nu resin and burned his ten fingers. Old Met and the young people in the village rose up and killed all the soldiers who saved Tnu. After that, he joined the liberation army. The story ends with Old Met and Dit seeing Tnu off to his unit, before their eyes were the xà nu forests stretching to the horizon.

3. Title

-The title is a unique artistic creation of the writer. The image of the xà nu forest is the soul of the work. The main inspiration and artistic intention of the writer originate from this image.

– The xà nu forest is a central image with its own beauty, closely associated with the material and spiritual life of the Central Highlands people, symbolizing the noble qualities of the Central Highlands people: strong vitality, resilience, indomitability, and desire for freedom.

– The title also suggests the theme and epic inspiration for the short story.

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4. The image of the xà nu tree

* Place of appearance: title, beginning and end of the work, appearing in comparison with the characters in the story.
* Real meaning: This is a real tree in the Central Highlands.
* Symbolic meaning:
– The xà nu tree is closely associated with the lives of the people of the Central Highlands:
+ The xà nu tree is present in the daily life of the people of Xôman village.
+ The xà nu tree participates in important events of the Xoman villagers.
+ The xà nu tree is so closely associated with the lives of the Xoman villagers that it has permeated their thoughts and emotions. Mr. Met talks about the xà nu tree with all the love, closeness and pride that "there is nothing stronger than the xà nu tree of our land". The xà nu tree has become a part of the flesh and blood in the material and spiritual life of this land.
– The xà nu tree symbolizes the fate and qualities of the Central Highlands people during the revolutionary war.
+ The injuries that the xà nu forest suffered from the enemy's cannons symbolize the endless losses and pain that the Xoman villagers in particular (Mr. Xut, Mrs. Nhan, Mai's mother and children...) and the Central Highlands people in general had to go through during the war.
+ The light-loving characteristic of the xà nu tree symbolizes the desire for freedom and belief in the revolutionary ideals of the people of the Central Highlands and the people of the South during the resistance war.
+ The strong growth ability of the xà nu tree reminds us of the continuity of many generations of Central Highlands people (Mr. Met, Tnu, Mai, Dit, Heng) united together in the resistance war against American imperialism.
+ The miraculous existence of the xà nu forest through the enemy's destructive actions symbolizes the immortal vitality, indomitability, resilience and strong rise of the Central Highlands people in the life-and-death struggle with the enemy.
– Descriptive art:
+ Combines specific and general descriptions, when creating an image of the whole xà nu forest, when describing close-ups of some trees
+ Combine multiple senses in describing the xà nu trees with their energetic appearance, full of aromatic resin smell, shining green in the sunlight.
+ The image of the xà nu tree is both realistic and deeply symbolic. The xà nu tree is described in frequent comparisons with humans. Metaphors, personification, and symbols are all used to vividly express the grandeur and vastness of nature while evoking many profound thoughts about humans and life.
+ The image of the xà nu tree appears at the beginning of the work and then at the end of the work, a vast xà nu forest appears. This is a circular structure. That structure allows us to think: the xà nu tree is not only a symbol of a small Xo Man village or a mountainous region of the Central Highlands. It may also be a symbol of the whole South, of the whole Vietnamese people during the years of fighting against American imperialism.

5. Character image of Tnu

- Tnu is an honest, brave, courageous and intelligent person:
+ The enemy killed Mrs. Nhan and Mr. Xut, but Tnu (who was still young at that time) was not afraid. Tnu still volunteered with Mai to go into the forest to hide the cadres.
+ Failing in learning to read and write, Tnu broke the board and hit his head with a rock until it bled.
+ When going to communicate, do not take the trails but "tear through the forest to go", do not wade in calm water but "choose strong waterfalls to cross like a whale". Because according to Tnu, the enemy "does not expect" dangerous places.
+ Ambushed and captured by the enemy, he was brutally tortured but Tnu refused to confess. When the enemy returned to the village and forced Tnu to confess where the communists were, he put his hand on his stomach and loudly said, "The communists are here."
- Tnu is a highly disciplined person, absolutely loyal to the revolution.
+ Joining the armed forces, missing home, missing the homeland but only returning home to visit when permitted by superiors.
+ High discipline in the relationship with the revolution is expressed in absolute loyalty: when the enemy burned his ten fingertips, the fire seemed to burn his liver and intestines, but Tnu did not cry out a word, he always kept in mind the teaching of his brother Quyet: "Communists do not bother to cry out".
– A heart of love and boiling anger
+ Tnu is a very emotional person: Tnu rushed out to save his wife and children with his bare hands. That terrible motivation can only come from a heart burning with love and hatred. Tnu is a person with emotional ties to his village: he grew up in the loving care of the people of Xoman village.
+ Tnu's hatred is imbued with the Central Highlands: Tnu carries three hatreds in his heart: His own hatred; His family's hatred; His village's hatred.
- In Tnu, the image of hands carries personality and the mark of life.
+ When intact: those are honest and loyal hands (the hand holding the chalk to write the words that Quyết taught; the hand holding a rock to hit oneself on the head to punish oneself for forgetting the words...
+ When injured: it is evidence of a painful period, of the moment when hatred boiled over. "He no longer felt the fire in his ten fingertips. He felt the fire burning in his chest, burning in his stomach". It was also the hand of punishment, the hand of retribution when those crippled hands had strangled the enemy commander to death in a battle of the liberation army.
– The image of Tnu is typical of the path of struggle to revolution of the people of the Central Highlands, clarifying the truth of the era of fighting against the Americans: "They have guns, we must have spears".
+ Tnu's tragedy when he had not yet taken up arms was the tragedy of the people of STrá when they had not yet awakened to the truth (Mrs. Nhan, Mr. Xut). Tnu was a man with plenty of personal strength, but he still failed miserably when he had no weapons. With his unarmed hands against the brutal enemy, he could not protect his wife, children, and himself.
+ Tnu was only saved when the villagers of Xoman took up arms and stood up. Tnu's tragic life is proof of the truth: revolutionary violence must be used to destroy counter-revolutionary violence.
+ Tnu's path of struggle from spontaneous to conscious is also the path of struggle to revolution of Xoman village in particular and the people of the Central Highlands in general.
In short, the story of Tnu’s life and path represents the fate and path of the Central Highlands people in the resistance war against American imperialism. The beauty and strength of Tnu is the crystallization of the beauty and strength of the Central Highlands people in particular and the Vietnamese people in general in the era of revolutionary struggle.

6. Old Met, Dit, little Heng

– Cu Met: “Living history” of Xo Man village; The keeper of the traditional fire of the whole tribe, the one who connects the past and present, yesterday and today; the spiritual “leader”, the one who guides the revolutionary path for the whole tribe; a typical character representing the indomitable and indomitable character of the Xo Man villagers in particular, the Central Highlanders in general, and even the whole nation.
If Xoman village is likened to a vast Xanu forest, then Mr. Met is the giant tree.
– Dit: a brave and courageous girl, soon following in the footsteps of previous generations when joining the revolution; typical of the young generation of Xo Man village who grew up during the resistance war; Together with Tnu, Dit is the key force of today's struggle, which is a self-conscious and fierce continuation. Like Tnu, Mai and many other young people in the village, Dit is one of the "mature xà nu trees" of the majestic "Xo Man forest".
– Heng: An innocent, funny and adorable boy; Early participation in the common resistance of the whole village; A typical image of a new generation fighting the Americans, will strongly follow in the footsteps of Tnu, Mai, Dit; In “Rung xa nu”, Heng is one of the “newly sprouted” “baby xa nu trees”.

7. Expression of epic tendencies and romantic inspiration

+ Topic: Writing about the Vietnamese people's war of national liberation in the resistance war against American imperialism; the fate and liberation path of the Xoman villagers) is not only a matter of life and death for a village in the Central Highlands but also for the entire Vietnamese nation.
+ The system of characters, typically Cu Met, Tnu, Dit: are all heroic individuals who highly embody the beauty and qualities of the entire community of ethnic groups in the Central Highlands, even of the Vietnamese people in combat (patriotism, deep hatred of the enemy, bravery, courage, resilience, loyalty to the revolution...
+ Art space: large.
+ Storytelling: The story is told by the fireside through the narration of a village elder. Many villagers, from old to young, are gathered around the fireside to listen. The atmosphere is very solemn.
+ Successfully creating unique artistic images - the image of the xà nu tree and xà nu forest not only expresses the thematic idea, bringing epic quality but also creating a romantic and soaring value for the story.
+ Tone: praising revolutionary heroism; solemn, heroic language.

8. Artistic features

+ Highlighting the atmosphere and colors of the Central Highlands (natural picture; language, psychology, and actions of the characters)
+ Successfully built two lines of fiercely opposing characters: between the enemy (Duc) and the revolutionary force, represented by successive generations with both vivid personality traits and general, typical qualities (Mr. Met, Tnu, Dit, ...)
+ Successfully depicts the image of the xà nu tree, both realistic and full of symbolic meaning, bringing an epic, romantic, and soaring quality to the story.
+ Vivid narrative art (interweaving the story of Tnu's life and the uprising of Xo Man villagers; alternating the time of storytelling and the time of events; coordinating viewpoints,...) creates a tone and resonance suitable for the Central Highlands space.

9. Topic

The Forest of Xà Nu is a story about the process of maturity in revolutionary awareness of a person, as well as of the ethnic people of the Central Highlands. The inevitable truth that they realized was: only by using revolutionary violence can counter-revolutionary violence be crushed.