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The The The novel novel novel ““““The The The moon moon moon and and and sixpence sixpence sixpence”””” Charles Strickland, a good, dull, holiest, plain man who is a conventional stockbr

Topic: Topic: The The The theme theme theme revealed revealed revealed in in in the the the novel novel novel ““““The The The moon moon moon and and and sixpence sixpence sixpence””””

Outline:

I Summary about writer and the novel “ The moon and sixpence”

II Two themes revealed in the novel “The moon and sixpence”

1 The revolt of an individual against the well- established conventions ofbourgeois society

2 No rooms for trivial and ordinary pleasures of life in Great Art

III Conclusion

Summary Summary about about about the the the writer writer writer and and and the the the novel novel novel ““““ The The The moon moon moon and and and sixpence sixpence sixpence””””

1 1 William William William Somerset Somerset Somerset Maugham Maugham Maugham (1874-1965) (1874-1965)

W.S Maugham is famous English writer, well-known as a novelist, playwright and shortstory writer In his writings he kept to the principles of Realism, but his method of writing was alsoinfluenced by Naturalism, Neo-romanticism and Modernism

W.S Maugham was born in Paris where his father worked as solicitor for the EnglishEmbassy At the age of 10 Maugham was orphaned and sent to England to live with his uncle, thevicar of Whitstable Before becoming a writer he was educated at King's School, Canterbury, andHeidelberg University, Maugham then studied six years medicine in London

William worked in a hospital of Saint Thomas, which placed in a poor block of London theexperience found its reflection in the 1st novel During World War, Maugham volunteered for theRed Cross, and was stationed in France for a period There he met Gerald Haxton (1892-1944), anAmerican, who became his companion Disguising himself as a reporter, Maugham served as anespionage agent for British Secret Intelligence Service in Russia in 1916-17, but his stuttering andpoor health hindered his career in this field In 1917 he married Syrie Barnardo, an interiordecorator; they were divorced in 1927-8 On his return from Russia, he spent a year in a sanatorium

in Scotland Maugham then set off with Haxton on a series of travels to eastern Asia, the PacificIslands, and Mexico In many novels the surroundings also are international Maugham's mostfamous story such as “Ashenden: or the British agent ’’

Maugham died in Nice, a small French town from pneumonia on December 16, 1965

2 2 The The The novel novel novel ““““The The The moon moon moon and and and sixpence sixpence sixpence””””

Charles Strickland, a good, dull, holiest, plain man who is a conventional stockbroker He isprobably a worthy member of society, a good husband and father, an honest broker, but he

abandoned his wife and two nice looking and healthy children, a boy and a girl A supposition is putforth: Charles walks out upon his wife to run after some woman.

A friend of Strickland is sent to Paris to find out who the woman is and if possible topersuade him to come back to his wife After a long talk with Strickland, the man understands thatthe real reason that inspires him to run away is not woman He decided to be a painter Living inParis, Strickland comes into contact with a Dutch painter, Dirk Strove Strove is presented as anantipode to Strickland Strove is a kind hearted man but a bad painter He is the first to discover thereal talent of Strickland When Strickland falls seriously ill, it is Strove who comes to help Strovepersuades his wife to let him bring the artist home to look after him To his surprise, his wife falls inlove with Strickland who she holds in disgust Later his wife, a housemaid rescued by Strove, killsherself by drinking acid after Strickland leaves her What Strickland wants from Blanche is notsexual relation but the nude picture of her beautiful figure

Leaving France for Tahiti, Strickland is in search of a world of his own In Tahiti, hemarries a native girl Ata and he has about three years of happiness He has two children

Strickland contracts leprosy and later becomes blind He wants to leave the family but Atadoesn’t let him do it His eyesight gets worse but he continues painting Ata couldn’t go to the townand buy canvases; he uses the walls of his house Strickland gets rid of some strong irresistibleobsession imprisoning his soul with the help of those paintings He has achieved what he longs for

on this land He has painted his masterpiece Knowing that he is going to die, he makes his wifepromise to burn down his masterpiece after his death in fear that it will be contaminated by thecommercial world of money

Two Two themes themes themes revealed revealed revealed in in in the the the novel novel novel ““““The The The moon moon moon and and and sixpence sixpence sixpence””””

1 1 The The The revolt revolt revolt of of of an an an individual individual individual against against against the the the well- well- well- established established established conventions conventions conventions of of of bourgeois bourgeois bourgeois society society

In many of his stories, Maugham reveals to us the unhappy life and the revolt against the setsocial order The Moon and Sixpence was written in this line It is a story of the conflict betweenthe artist and the conventional society based on the life of a painter The revolt of an individualagainst the well-established conventions of bourgeois society was shown in the following twoaspects:

1.1 Money Money worship worship worship society society

The bourgeois society with its vices such as: snobbishness money worship, pretense, interest…made their profit of the frailties of mankind To them, money was a useful tool todominate both economics and politics Money also helped the bourgeois maintain their regal lifeand it connected the members in family, on the other hand, husband had obligated to support hiswife and children for whole his life Therefore, the last generations of the bourgeois forced theyoung generation to continue their domination It was mentioned in the conversation betweenStrickland and his friend

self-“I rather wanted to be a painter when I was a boy, but my father made me go into business because

he said there was no money in art”.

In this society, art was non-profitable Therefore, it must be looked down upon In theirpoint of view, art was nothing more than just a job to earn money They did not see the beautiful

things that art brings When Strickland decided to follow in his father's footsteps, his dream andaspiration were hidden on the bottom of his heart After working hard for ages, he became aprosperous stockbroker He is probably a worthy member of society.

However, there is in streets of the poor quarters a thronging vitality which excites the bloodand prepares the soul for the unexpected

It was actually happened in Paris, because Strickland gave up the luxury life and gotacquainted with hard life just only wanted to fulfill a long-cherished dream He had to give up hisdream to follow his father’s wishes

“I want to paint.”

“I’ve got to paint.”

The brief answer expressed his willingness to get out of ideology ties which were imposed

by his father And his hand and mind would express his big dream by painting masterpieces

“I couldn’t get what I wanted in London Perhaps I can here.”

“I tell you I’ve got to paint.”

The author said that “I seemed to feel in him some vehement power that was struggling within him, it gave me the sensation of something very strong, overmastering, that held him”

And Strickland cannot have a comfortable life any more “I haven’t any money I’ve got about a hundred pounds.”

We could probably see it through Strickland’s appearance when he came to Paris

“Sitting there in his old Norfolk jacket and his unnourished bowler, his trousers were baggy, his hands were not clean; and his face, with the red stubble of the unshaved chin, the little eyes, and the large, aggressive nose, was uncouth and coarse.”

1.2 1.2 Family Family Family and and and social social social responsibilities responsibilities

Painting is not only a ‘dreamy moon’ of Strickland but also of many progressive people inbourgeois society According to bourgeois concepts, all the men have to be responsible for hisfamily and children He’s forced to have a strong connection with what is considered to belong tohim Strickland’s life is tied tightly down to family’s contract However, all that sort of thingsmeans nothing at all to him He doesn’t let those reasons impact on his way chasing his passion anylonger It can be obviously proved through the conversation between two men, Strickland and theauthor, in chapter II of the novel

‘Hang it all, one can’t leave a woman without a bob.’

‘Why not?’

‘How is she going to live?’

‘I’ve supported her for seventeen years Why shouldn’t she support herself for a change?’

‘Let her try.’

‘Don’t you care for her anymore?’

‘Not a bit’

When Strickland talks about his children, his attitude is revealed to be heartlessly scornful

‘They’ve had a good many years of comfort It’s much more than the majority of children have.

Besides, somebody will look after them When it comes to the point, the Mac Andrews will pay for their schooling.’

‘I like them all right when they were kids, but now they’ve growing up I haven’t got any particular feeling for them.’

He totally gives up on his own family, children and thinks that they could live by themselveswithout his care Even if they can’t make arrangement for their life, his relatives might come tohelp Strickland also doesn’t mind what people loathe and despise him

‘Everyone will think you a perfect swine.’

He really doesn’t care any longer.

‘You won’t go back to your wife?’

do everything he ever dreams of in his own ‘dreamy moon’

2 2 No No No rooms rooms rooms for for for trivial trivial trivial and and and ordinary ordinary ordinary pleasures pleasures pleasures of of of life life life in in in Great Great Great Art Art

2.1 Sacrifice Sacrifice everything everything everything to toto to be be be an an an artist artist.

At the beginning, the stockbroker Strickland had a stable life with happy family However,when he started to chase his path as an artist, he had to experience a poor situation Moreover, hewas willing to get rid of everything to be an artist Great art don’t depend on age as long as youhave real passion Even though at the age of forty “the chances are a million to one”, Strickland

still wants to be a painter.“I can learn quicker than I could when I was eighteen”, said he.

He wanted to be a painter when he was a boy but his father didn’t allow him His fatherconsumed that there was money in art Therefore, he had to give up his passion for such a longtime However, his fire for art wasn’t stamped out And this was the perfect time for him toimplement his dream again On his way chasing that dream, he had to sacrifice everything He

passed by the material and the sensual to fulfill spiritual needs He got rid of a happy family with a

comfortable life to go to Paris and lived in destitute life there

Although he knew that his family needed him and they had to suffer difficulties in life withouthim, he didn’t intend to change his mind and he accepted to be considered as a selfish man Heunderstood that his action weren’t highly appreciated; however, he still wanted to pursue art in hisown way Strickland accepted to live in a bad condition, without money, job, food and at last hefound a Shelter at a hotel Afterward, despite the fact that he got a serious disease and becameblinded; he still tried to fulfill his masterpiece on the walls of his house During the first daysstaying in Paris, he only found a cheap hotel to live He appeared with such a miserable, untidyimage “He sat there in his old Norfolk jacket and his unnourished bowler, his trousers were

baggy, his hands were not clean; and his face, with the red stubble of the unshaved chin, the little eyes, and the large, aggressive nose, was uncouth and coarse His mouth was large; his lips were heavy and sensual.”

He desired to paint He repeated his speech many times when answering his friend

“I want to paint.”

“I’ve got to paint”

“I tell you I have to paint”.

2.2 2.2 Strickland Strickland Strickland protects protects protects Beauty Beauty Beauty and and and Art Art.

Art is very pure It can not be measured by the value of money or sexual relation Stricklandstruggled to abandon his appetence for art

“Let me tell you I imagine that for months the matter never comes into your head, and you’re able

to persuade yourself that you’ve finished with it for good and all You rejoice in your freedom, and you feel that at last you can call your soul your own You seem to walk with your head among the stars And then, all of a sudden you can’t stand it any more, and you notice that all the time your feet have been walking in the mud And you want to roll yourself in it And you find some woman, coarse and low and vulgar, some beastly creature in whom all the horror of sex is blatant, and you fall upon her like a wild animal You drink till you’re blind with rage.”

He assumed that as an artist he shouldn’t have trivial fun such as desire of women

For Strickland, woman is like an invisible rope tightening his life It is very hard to escapefrom them Therefore, he tried to avoid it He was willing to give her up as well as hisunsatisfactory painting He did everything to be a true artist even though it made him become acruel man

Finally, he achieved what he wanted He created a masterpiece It was worth what he’dspent He devoted all his life to pursue art As an artist, he didn’t care about fame or wealth Hepainted pictures only to satisfy his love to art He never sold his pictures to get money He did not toaccept his masterpiece to be contaminated by the commercial world of money His dream was verybeautiful

III III Conclusion Conclusion

Based on the life of Paul Gauguin, “The Moon and Sixpence” is W Somerset Maugham'sode to the powerful forces behind creative genius Charles Strickland is a staid banker, a man ofwealth and privilege He is also a man possessed of an unquenchable desire to create art As

Strickland pursues his artistic vision, he leaves London for Paris and Tahiti, and in his quest makessacrifices that leave the lives of those closest to him in tatters Through Maugham's sympathetic eyeStrickland's tortured and cruel soul becomes a symbol of the blessing and the curse of transcendentartistic genius, and the cost in human’s lives it sometimes demands

Topic Topic 2: 2: 2: Impression Impression Impression of of of characteristic characteristic

I,I,I,I, William William William Somerset Somerset Somerset Maugham Maugham Maugham (1874 – 1965)

William Somerset Maugham was born in Paris on 25th January, 1874, the sixth and youngest son ofthe solicitor to the British embassy Maugham learned French as his native tongue At the age of 10,Maugham was orphaned and sent to England to live with his uncle, the Reverend Henry MacDonaldMaugham, in Whitstable, Kent

Educated at King's School, Canterbury, where he developed a stammer that he never outgrew, andHeidelberg University, Maugham then studied six years medicine in London He qualified in 1897

as doctor from St Thomas' medical school, but abandoned medicine after the success of his firstnovels Lizaof Lambeth (1897)

The book sold well and he decided to abandon medicine and become a full-time writer Maughamachieved fame with his playLady Frederick (1907), a comedy about money and marriage By 1908

On the outbreak of the First World War, Maugham, now aged forty, joined a Red Cross ambulanceunit in France While serving on the Western Front he met the 22 year old American, GeraldHaxton The two men became lovers and lived together for the next thirty years During the warMaugham was invited by Sir John Wallinger, head of Britain's Military Intelligence (MI6) inFrance, to act as a secret service agent Maugham agreed and over the next few years acted as a linkbetween MI6 in London and its agents working in Europe

Maugham had sexual relationships with both men and women and in 1915, Syrie Wellcome, thedaughter of Dr Thomas Barnardo, gave birth to his child Her husband, Henry Wellcome, citedMaugham as co-respondent in divorce proceedings After the divorce in 1916, Maugham marriedSyrie but continued to live with Gerald Haxton.

During the war, Maugham's best-known novel, Of Human Bondage (1915) was published This was

followed by another successful book,The Moon and Sixpence (1919) Maugham also developed a

reputation as a fine short-story writer, one story, Rain, which appeared in The Trembling of a Leaf (1921), was also turned into a successful feature film Popular plays written by Maugham

include The Circle (1921), East of Suez (1922), The Constant Wife (1926) and the anti-war play, For Services Rendered(1932).

In his later years Maugham wrote his autobiography,Summing Up (1938) and works of fiction such

asThe Razor's Edge (1945), Catalina (1948) and Quartet (1949).

After the 1930s Maugham's reputation abroad was greater than in England Maugham once said,

"Most people cannot see anything, but I can se what is in front of my nose with extreme clearness;the greatest writers can see through a brick wall My vision is not so penetrating." His literaryexperiences Maugham collected in The Summing Up, which has been used as a guidebook for

creative writing

William Somerset Maugham died in 1965 in a small French town from pneumonia

"I

"I have have have never never never pretended pretended pretended to toto to be be be anything anything anything but but but aaaa story story story teller teller teller ItItItIt has has has amused amused amused me me me to toto to tell tell tell stories stories stories and and and IIII

have have told told told aaaa great great great many many many ItItItIt isisisis aaaa misfortune misfortune misfortune for for for me me me that that that the the the telling telling telling of of of aaaa story story story just just just for for for the the the sake sake sake of of of the the

story story isisisis not not not an an an activity activity activity that that that isisisis in in in favor favor favor with with with the the

intelligentsia intelligentsia In In In endeavor endeavor endeavor to to to bear bear bear my my my misfortunes misfortunes misfortunes with with with fortitude." fortitude." fortitude." (from Creatures of

Circumstance, 1947)

II II THE THE THE INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION OF OF OF WRITING WRITING

“The Moon and Sixpence” is one of the most important and famous novels of William SomersetMaugham It was written in 1919, revealing to us the unhappy life and the revolt against the setsocial order It is a story of the conflict between the artist and the conventional society based on thelife of a French painter, Paul Gauging Like many other works, “The Moon and Sixpence” is

characterized by narrative facility, simplicity of style, and a disillusioned and ironic point of viewthat attract the readers.

The principal character is Charles Strickland, a prosperous stockbroker who is a good dull, holiestplain man He is probably a worthy member of society, a good husband and father, an honestbroker, but “there was no reason to waste one’s time over him” Charles’s wife is a pleasanthospitable woman and they have two nice looking and healthy children, a boy and a girl

Suddenly, Strickland disappeared leaving his wife and children behind A supposition is put forth:Charles walks out upon his wife to run after some woman A friend of Strickland was sent to Paris(where he said to be) to find out who the woman is, and if possible to persuade him to come back tohis wife After a long talk with Strickland, the man understands that the real reason that inspires him

to run away is not woman; it is because that he wants to paint! He does not care for his wife andchildren any longer, they should try to support themselves and his wife can get married again.Strickland has a hard life in Paris where he goes to painting classes People are surprising at a man

of forty like him starting to learn painting without any innate talent for it He does not care for hishardship of life, nor does he care for people and their opinion about him As an artist Stricklanddoes not care for fame or wealth He never “sold a single picture and he was never satisfied withwhat he had done” It seems that he is seeking something new not existing in the world yet in order

to satisfy his love for art

Living in Paris, Strickland comes into contact with a Dutch painter, Dirk Strove, another importantcharacter of the novel Strove is presented as an antipode to Strickland Strove is a kind hearted manbut a bad painter He is the first to discover the real talent of Strickland He cares for the artist andsees it his responsibility to help him in distress When Strickland falls seriously ill, it is Strove whocomes to help Strove persuades his wife to let him bring the artist home to look after him To hissurprise, his wife falls in love with Strickland who she holds in disgust Later his wife, a housemaidrescued by Strove, kills herself by drinking acid after Strickland leaves her What Strickland wantsfrom Blanche is not sexual relations but the nude picture of her beautiful figure

Leaving France for Tahiti, Strickland is in search of a world of his own In Tahiti, he married anative girl and he has about three years of happiness He has two children

Strickland contracts leprosy and later becomes blind He has achieved what he longs for on thisland He had painted his masterpiece Knowing that he is going to die, he makes his wife promise toburn down his masterpiece after his death in fear that it will be contaminated by the commercialworld of money

“The Moon and Sixpence” touches upon another problem of bourgeois society: the fate of theintellectual in a society where the values of man are measured in terms of money As a short storywriter W.S Maugham demonstrates brilliant mastery of the form He exposes the contemporary

society with is vices such as snobbishness, money worship, pretence, self-interest, complacency andabove all, the hypocrisy in the people’s way of life.

The extract we studied is Chapter II in the novel Through the conversation of the two men,Strickland and his friend, the character of Strickland way clearly described, and the bourgeoisconcepts of happiness, responsibility, art and talent were all well revealed by the author

III, THE ANALYSIS OF STRICKLAND CHARACTER

1.

1 Strickland Strickland Strickland as as as an an an ordinary ordinary ordinary man man

1.1 Strickland is irresponsible inconsiderate toward his wife

Strickland used be a good husband to his wife Actually, he owns a happy family and goodeconomic condition For many people, Strickland is good businessman and has good status insociety However, he suddenly abandoned his wife and went another place Strickland leaved hiswife and children behind without a word His leaving makes her very miserable and she had asuspicion that he run away with other women His wife- Army is a pleasant hospital woman.Strickland can’t find any reasons which belong to Arm to leave her When Army sends himmany letters to persuade him to come back, Strickland doesn’t read any letters from her It meansthat he doesn’t concern anything related to his wife

When making conservation with friend sent to persuade him, Strickland expresses a coollyattitude to his wife

“I can not describe the extraordinary callousness with which he made this reply”

Although Strickland acknowledged his action, he still does like that

Has she deserved that you should treat her like that?

No

Then, isn’t it monstrous to leave her in this fashion after seventeen years of married life without

a fault to find with her

Monstrous”

Abandoning wonderful wife is faulty However, letting a woman without a bob is more pitiless

He also knows before that his wife and children will have to suffer difficulties in life withouthim But he still leaves them to pursue his aim

“Hang it all, one can’t leave a woman without a bob

support their life and what will wait for them in the future He supposed that he no longer haveany responsibility to his family and all things that he did before be enough.

1.2 Strickland is irresponsible selfish father

Strickland does not want to take any responsibility to his children His children are very youngand innocent They have never done any harm to Strickland

“Damn it all There are your children to think of They’ve never done you any harm They didnot ask to be bought in to the world If you chuck everything like this, they’ll be thrown on thestreet

They have had a good many years of comfort It’s much more than the majority of childrenhave Besides, somebody will look after them When it comes to the point, the Mac Andrewswill pay for their schooling”

How can children live without support from their father? He did not care about his children anymore, even though they could be thrown out in the street For many people, rearing children isvery holly duty and happiness For children, father is the material and spiritual favor It is verypoor for children when he entrusts them to the care of Mac Andrews

Especially, Strickland thought that he did not have any special feeling to his children For manymen, children are always very special and take really important part in their emotional life.Strickland only had special feeling to his children when they were small When they grow up, he

no longer loves them It seems that the nature of a father in Strickland has disappeared Hebecame an unemotional father

1 3 Strickland is ungrateful to his friend

Dirk Strove is a very kind- hearted person Dirk Strove is the person who recognizes the talent

of Strickland and helps him everything in bad days When Strickland falls seriously ill, it isStrove who comes to help Strove persuades his wife to let him bring the artist home to lookafter Strickland must have gratitude all the things that Strove had done for him On the otherhand, Strickland has an adulterous affair with his best friend’s wife Moreover, Strickland justwants to take use of her body for the nude picture and causes the death of Strove

2.

2 Strickland Strickland Strickland as as as an an an artist artist

2.1 Strickland is a really passionate painter.

He compares his passion to paint is like the desire to breath He abandoned his wife andchildren to pursuit his dream of painting He gives up a happy life to go strange place to learn

painting He gets divorced with his wife without any reasons and lets his children alone to devotefor art “I have got to paint” is repeated four times in conservation with the friend It means thatthe desire to paint is full of in his head all the time.

When family’s friend is sent to persuade Strickland, he used all the tactics and arguments tochange Strickland’s decision However, Strickland still expresses a consistent attitude to allarguments Strickland believes that his wife could take care of herself and also is ready toprovide all necessary background for her to divorce His children can grow without his support.Strickland reckons that it is the high time for him to realize his dream

For Strickland, painting is the air of life, an interest The painting is all He does not concernabout all the worst things people can think about him

“Everyone will think you are perfect swine

Let them

Won’t it mean anything to you to know that people loath and despise you?

No”

Short answers contain a terrible determination It seems that the art is the only meaningful thing

to him now The passion of painting is covering all his body and will

Behind the dull appearance, Strickland has the true passion to art Strickland- a man with oldNorfolk jacket, unnourished bowler, his trouser was bagging, his hand were not clean, his facewith red stubble of the unsaved chin, little eye, the large aggressive nose, his mount large and hislip were heavy and sensual On the surface, he was not born for art The rude and sensualappearance is completely contrary to deep passion on art and artist soul The narrator feelspowerful desire to paint in his voice and vehement power There is strong struggle between willand passion inside this man Strickland decides to leave all his family and material values, loveand lust behind to scarify for art

Strickland accepts a poor life to devote for art and passion From a prosperous stockbroker,Strickland became a poor man for only reason of being a painter He can live in cheap hotel withabout hundred pounds to learn painting When coming Tahiti, Strickland marries with a nativegirl and lives in forest far away from town They live in misery “When there was no food to behad, he seemed capable” It seems that he “lived a life wholly of the spirit” All the materialvalues do not have any meaning to him He wants to spend the rest of the life painting He couldsuffer the poorest conditions to draw

Strickland decides to paint at the age of 40

“Do you think it is likely that a man will do any good when he starts at your age? Most peoplebegin painting when they were eighteen

I can learn quicker than I could when I was eighteen”

The age is one of the most important barriers for Strickland to overcome People mainly paintwhen they were eighteen In spite of acknowledging this, Strickland still decides to paint by allmeans In fact, there is no limitation of age in art However, Strickland must have had the trulystrong desire to art because it is very difficult and unusual for people to start learning painting atthis age Strickland had dream of painting when he was very small At his time, the values ofman are measured in terms of money His father said that there was no money in art and obligedhim to do business Obeying his father’s speech, Strickland became a prosperous stockbroker.

He owns a happy family and good social status Strickland does not satisfy with the current life

He feels the life is so boring and not meaningful After 40 years, the dream of childhood stillobsesses him and wins other things It seems that the man is cut for painting At the age of 40,after many years of empty soul, he realizes clearly what he wants, what is important to his life.Panting is the job which he really wishes to do and succeed

2.2 Strickland understands the rotten society and he is very brave man who sacrifices for the real art

When Strickland abandons his wife and spends all the rest of life for painting, many peoplewould think he is not usual His action is different from the normal people in society In thebourgeois society, money is highly appreciated and most of people live for money They supposethat there is no money in art and artists are not highly evaluated in social order In contrary,Strickland can give up everything to pursue art Strickland wishes to paint because of truepassion, but not for money He never sold a single picture and he was never satisfied with what

he had done In the end, Strickland obliged his wife to burn all his picture and house so that allhis products are not survived for commercial purpose He has the great art concept and is acourageous man who devotes everything to art

With the endowed talent and passion, Strickland creates the wonderful pictures which containthe great content and perfect beauty Strickland can go anywhere to find inspiration for hispicture He decides to move from London to Paris, after that he came to Tahiti and live in aforest Strickland is in search of a world of his own When he contracts leprosy, he still draws

As he becomes blind, he continues painting until he died Strickland is worth to be great and realartist

3.

3 Conclusion Conclusion

For Strickland’s family, he is a bad father and husband In term of the normal concepts in thesociety, Strickland is considered to be a selfish person who can abandon all important things topursue his own passion

Strickland is a real artist and brave man in bourgeois society He abandons all the normal thingsincluding family, money, social status, moral values to sacrifice for the real art With deep

enthusiasms, Strickland creates the great product and paints until his the last breaths Hesupposes that the true art should not be contaminated by the commercial world of money He isthe typical artist who can scarify for the real art in the bourgeois society.

We have one key expression including two words We also have 7 sub crosswords Fromthese sub- crosswords, you can find out the key expression Sub- crosswords are used todescribe the characteristics of the main character

The sub- crosswords:

1: Becoming a ……… for many years is so boring and unmeaning to Strickland.(Stockbroker)

2 For children, he is ……… father (Selfish)

3 Strickland is ……… for real artist who can devote for artist (Typical)

4 Strickland has deep ……… on painting (Passion)

5 In ……… society, values of man is measured in term of money (Bourgeois)

6 The Moon and Sixpence reflects conflict between the ……… and conventional society.(Artist)

7 As a normal person, Strickland is considered ………… to his family

(Irresponsible)

Key expression: Charles Strickland

Topic Topic 3: 3: 3: Feeling Feeling Feeling of of of Theme Theme Theme in in in the the the Daffodils Daffodils

I.I.I.I Biography Biography Biography and and and works works

William Wordsworth (1770-1850), British poet, credited with ushering in the EnglishRomantic Movement with the publication of Lyrical Ballads (1798) in collaboration with SamuelTaylor Coleridge

William Wordsworth was born on 7 April 1770 in Cockermouth, Cumberland, in the LakeDistrict, United Kingdom His father was John Wordsworth, Sir James Lowther's attorney

The magnificent landscape deeply affected Wordsworth's imagination and gave him a love

of nature He lost his mother when he was eight and five years later his father The domesticproblems separated Wordsworth from his beloved and neurotic sister Dorothy, who was a veryimportant person in his life

With the help of his two uncles, Wordsworth entered a local school and continued hisstudies at Cambridge University Wordsworth made his debut as a writer in 1787 when hepublished a sonnet in The European Magazine In that same year he entered St John's College,Cambridge, from where he took his B.A in 1791

During a summer vacation in 1790 Wordsworth went on a walking tour throughrevolutionary France and also traveled in Switzerland On his second journey in France,Wordsworth had an affair with a French girl, Annette Vallon, a daughter of a barber-surgeon, bywhom he had an illegitimate daughter Anne Caroline The affair was basis of the poem

"Vaudracour and Julia", but otherwise Wordsworth did his best to hide the affair from posterity

In 1795 he met Coleridge Wordsworth's financial situation became better in 1795 when hereceived a legacy and was able to settle at Racedown, Dorset, with his sister Dorothy

Encouraged by Coleridge and stimulated by the close contact with nature, Wordsworthcomposed his first masterwork, Lyrical Ballads, which opened with Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner."About 1798 he started to write a large and philosophical autobiographical poem, completed in 1805,and published posthumously in 1850 under the title The Prelude

Wordsworth spent the winter of 1798-99 with his sister and Coleridge in Germany, where hewrote several poems, including the enigmatic 'Lucy' poems After return he moved Dove Cottage,Grasmere, and in 1802 married Mary Hutchinson They cared for Wordsworth's sister Dorothy forthe last 20 years of her life

Wordsworth's second verse collection, Poems, In Two Volumes, appeared in 1807.Wordsworth's central works were produced between 1797 and 1808 His poems written duringmiddle and late years have not gained similar critical approval Wordsworth's Grasmere periodended in 1813 He was appointed official distributor of stamps for Westmoreland He moved toRydal Mount, Ambleside, where he spent the rest of his life In later life Wordsworth abandoned hisradical ideas and became a patriotic, conservative public man

In 1843 he succeeded Robert Southey (1774-1843) as England's poet laureate

Wordsworth died on April 23, 1850

II II Wordsworth Wordsworth Wordsworth on on on nature nature nature and and and man man

II.1 II.1 Wordsworth Wordsworth Wordsworth on on on nature: nature:

Wordsworth is a nature poet Wordsworth’s poetry describes scenes of natural beauty Hispoetry charts the effects of this beauty on him His poetry reveals his deeply spiritual and emotionalresponse to nature

•Visual Beauty in Nature

Wordsworth portrays nature’s beauty in his imagery Nature has a tremendous impact onWordsworth’s imagination Wordsworth is a sensual poet He delights in depicting the visual beauty

of various locations

• The impact of Sounds

Sounds have a profound effect on Wordsworth’s moods He responds to aural beauty innature His poetry contains responses to natural and human sounds A solitary girl singing in apastoral scene is beautiful A crowd of people going about daily life makes a depressing ‘din’

• The Spiritual Quality of Nature

Certain times of the day and year give Wordsworth an exalted feeling He experiencesnature’s beauty especially at sunset There is a religious intensity in Wordsworth’s response tosunsets Dawn, even in a city, gives Wordsworth a feeling of euphoria He sees the force of nature

as god-like He also feels a spiritual power in nature in springtime

• The Healing Power of Nature

Nature can heal depression Contemplation of remembered scenes of beauty is a form oftherapy For Wordsworth, nature plays a more comforting role Wordsworth sees nature as aneternal and sublime entity, but rather than threatening the poet, these qualities give Wordsworthcomfort As Wordsworth writes:

I have felt

A presence that disturbs me with the joy

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime

Of something far more deeply interfused,

Whose dwelling is the light of setting sun,

And the round ocean and the living air,

And the blue sky, and in the mind of man (Norton 2, p 154)

Wordsworth was a relatively solid and conservative member of the Church of England.Thus, with the faith of religion to back him up, Wordsworth was able to look at nature and see thebenevolence of God behind it For Wordsworth, the world could be a place of sorrow, but it was notcruel Though suffering surely occurred, Wordsworth comforted himself with the belief that allthings happened by the hand of God, manifesting Himself in the ultimately just and divine order ofnature

II.2 II.2 Wordsworth Wordsworth Wordsworth on on on man: man:

Wordsworth is perhaps not as good at describing the natural landscape as a number of otherpoets As a purely descriptive poet he is highly capable, but his real genius lies in showing whathappens when the innate power of Nature meets the power of perception of human mind, it is as ifthe individual’s perception of Nature, its awe, power and capacity to teach, is what matters, ratherthan nature itself, it is the interaction of Nature and human nature that enlivens and stimulates him.Rather than placing man and nature in opposition, Wordsworth views them as complementaryelements of a whole, recognizing man as a part of nature Hence, Wordsworth looks at the worldand sees not an alien force against which he must struggle, but rather a comforting entity of which

he is a part Wordsworth’s poetry also celebrates the healing influence of nature on the humanspirit Writing poetry became therapy for Wordsworth

-William Wordsworth has chosen the theme of nature to convey the secret longing about abeautiful and glorious world In that place, man and nature as a harmony with the infinite joy that alife of freedom and peace Besides the natural poetry Wordsworth is also the world people who lovefreedom to burning Thus, the journey to look for spiritual freedom, Wordsworth turned to thetheme of Nature and Man as his special style In the beautiful nature pictures, people appear withlove of freedom, love of nature, love of things They also love life, love freedom as his breathingand are portrayed as symbols of freedom desire of simple people

III III The The The writing writing writing situation situation situation of of of ““““The The The Daffodils Daffodils Daffodils””””

“The Daffodils” known as “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” is a famous poem written in

1804 by William Wordsworth “The Daffodils” is one of the most popular poems of the Romantic

Age, unfolding the poet's excitement, love and praise for a field blossoming with daffodils It wasinspired by an April 15, 1802 event, in which Wordsworth and his sister, Dorothy, came across a

“long belt” of daffodils on a walk near Ullswater Lake in England This poem was first published in

1807, and a revised version was released in 1815 Just reading the first verses, we can feel the timeand space William wrote “The Daffodils” The inspiration for this poem may have been drawn from

a walk he took with his sister Dorothy around Lake Ullswater

“I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o’er vales and hills …

… Beside the lake, beneath the trees”

His sister Dorothy later wrote in her journal as a reference to this walk: “When we were inthe woods beyond Gowbarrow Park, we saw a few daffodils close to the water side We fancied thatthe lake had floated the seed ashore and that the little colony had so sprung up But as we wentalong there were more and more and at last under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was along belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road I never sawdaffodils so beautiful they grew among the mossy stones about and about them, some rested theirheads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness and the rest tossed and reeled and danced andseemed as if they verily laughed with the wind that blew upon them over the lake, they looked sogay ever dancing ever changing This wind blew directly over the lake to them There was here andthere a little knot and a few stragglers a few yards higher up but they were so few as not to disturbthe simplicity and unity and life of that one busy highway We rested again and again The Bayswere stormy, and we heard the waves at different distances and in the middle of the water like thesea.” (Extracted from Dorothy Wordsworth, The Grasmere Journal, Thursday, 15 April 1802)

Just the love of nature, especially the love of the beauty of daffodils, and the above noteshelped William Wordsworth write the poem “The daffodils”, which was considered as the mostsuccessful work of William Wordsworth and made strong impressions on many generations ofreaders

IV IV The The The feeling feeling feeling of of of the the the poem poem poem ““““The The The Daffodils Daffodils Daffodils””””

In this poem, the poet describes his experience of the sight “a host of daffodils” during alonely walk, the daffodils delight him with her beauty and “their sprightly dance” He also remarks

on the beauty of the lake nearby, but adds that even its sparkling waves are not as exuberant as theyellow daffodils “dancing in the breeze” Moreover, when he is sad, he thinks of daffodils “and then

my heart with pleasure fills, and dances with the daffodils”, that is to say, when his feelings aredepressed, thinking of daffodils cheers him up Thanks to these glorious daffodils, the emotion ofthe poet changes from the loneliness to the happiness

In the first stanza, the feeling of loneliness of the poet is expressed opposite to the daffodils.The poet was wandering in the forest and enjoying the fascinating nature around him, whensuddenly he saw a crowd of golden daffodils by the lakeside The daffodils appeared so beautifullythat he was compelled to gaze at these flowers playing with pleasure in the wind How glorious andplentiful these daffodils were! Maybe this was also the first time he had come across such animmense field of daffodils along the shore

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

The poet is wandering in the Lake District and he presents us a very huge landscape "over vales and hills", but his thoughts are interrupted by a vision of "a crowd, a host of golden daffodils" He is wandering in a state of loneliness and absent-mindedness “as a cloud”: is a simile,

he compares his lonely to that of a cloud and the cloud symbolizes his integration with the naturalworld

Suddenly, this state of isolation is interrupted by the appearance of these flowers that presenthuman connotations, the words "crowd" and "host" in apposition to the daffodils is a

personification, because they are nouns associated to human beings I agree with the generalthought that the crowd of daffodils can represent the human race, thus the poet is fascinated by themand he watches the flowers, but he has no control over men

Both he and the cloud are floating on high, when he saw a field full of golden daffodils.Both he and the cloud are aspects of the world, which is subjected to the laws of nature but they canstill retain their freedom in spite of this Other images in the poem reinforce this – the 'lake' 'trees' 'cloud' and 'waves' are all natural images and the daffodils give the clear focus of the poem which

predominately makes nature the most important feature throughout the host of golden daffodils Thepoem was inspired by the sight of a field full of golden daffodils waving in the wind Thesedaffodils are located in the countryside near a lake and trees and are also seen to move continually

in a dance Wordsworth expresses feelings for nature through these symbolic objects

He personifies the daffodils as dancers, dancing gaily as part of the beauty of nature toemphasize on their liveliness

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way,

They stretched in a never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

To William Wordsworth, the daffodils appeared to be as continuous as the twinkling stars

on the Milky Way galaxy They were arrayed in a seemingly unending line along the bank of theadjacent bay To the poet, it seemed as if ten thousand daffodils were bobbing in the gentle breezeand he imagined them to be engaged in a lively dance

“Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way…” (Simile)

Though the lake’s sparkling waves danced beautifully, the daffodils seemed to do muchbetter than them, in its pleasure The poet emphasizes the point that there are a whole lot ofdaffodils More daffodils than he has probably ever seen before After all, these are flowers thatusually grow in scattered groups in the wild or in people’s well-tended gardens The flowers stretch

"continuously," without a break, like the stars in the Milky Way galaxy, each one gleaming like astar The comparison to stars provides new evidence that the speaker is trying to make us think ofangels or other heavenly beings

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Like the Milky Way galaxy, the flowers are roughly concentrated in a line that seems tostretch as far as the eye can see "never-ending" The flowers line the shore "margin" of a bay of the

lake, which must be a relatively large lake If you’ve ever seen the Milky Way, you know that thegalaxy appears to be a band that has more stars and a brighter appearance than the night sky around

it It’s not a perfectly clear line, but more like a fuzzy approximation of a line We imagine the sameeffect with the flowers It’s not as if there are no flowers outside the shore of the lake, but most areconcentrated on the shore

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The speaker takes in "ten thousand" dancing flowers at once That’s a lot of daffodils.

Wow, he’s fast at counting if he knows the number after only a quick glance But, of course, thespeaker is not actually counting, but just guessing The flowers "toss their hands" while dancing to

the wind By"heads" we think he means the part of the flower with the petals, the weight of which

causes the rest of the flower to bob

The third stanza describes the effect that the flowers have on the poet, it is the feeling ofglee and friendliness between them

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed – and gazed – but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought.

In this stanza, the poet starts to talk about the waves which are in the lake The waves, likethe daffodils, are dancing They are happy, therefore, they are moving as if they were dancing in thelake besides the daffodils The joy of the waves exceeds the joy of the daffodils The waves and thedaffodils are humanized as they feel joy But, the waves are happier than the daffodils This sceneaffects the poet and makes him happy So, in the company of happy daffodils and waves, the poetshould be happy like them In this contemplation, everything in nature affects him, and makes himhappy

In the third stanza, when describing the effect that the flowers have on the poet, there aremany words associated with happiness as: "glee", "gay", "jocund company", happiness caused by

this experience, which everybody can have In line "I gazed—and gazed" is an act in which the

poetic transformation takes place spontaneously, without full consciousness on the poet’s part ofwhat he is doing and "he little thought" what this show meant to him

Many years later, the images of daffodils came to mind and flashed upon his inner eyes:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

In the final stanza, "the inward eye" reminds him what he has experienced and in the

tranquility he can recollect these thoughts in the solitude of his house, moreover he realizes whatthis show meant and his heart is filled with pleasure The poet is not able at a first sight to interpretthe act, it is only afterwards, that thoughts are understood and described, nonetheless he can

understand this experience, thanks to "the inward eye", which represents feelings of imagination, it

is a metaphor, a special way to see things; the poet is able to interpret the secret language of natureand technical poetry made up of emotions

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude

The memory of the daffodils was etched in the author's mind and soul to be cherished forever,when he was feeling lonely, dull or depressed, he thought of the flowers and cheered up Then hisloneliness and sorrow seemed to vanish; and he desire to dance with the daffodils

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

The full impact of the daffodils' beauty did not strike him at the moment of seeing them,when he started blankly at them but much later when he sat alone, sad and lonely and rememberthem

For off, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

We can point out that his state was changing in a slight way He was not alone any longer, yet

he probably thought that he would be stronger if he made a contrast between a lonely traveler andhappy daffodils This simple but effective way seems to take hold on us, and then each time we readthis poem, we can see the harmonious beauty of the poet and the long belt of the golden daffodilsand enjoy the brightness

The poet presents vocabulary associated to loneliness: lonely, solitude; opposition betweennature and society, vocabulary associated with light: sprightly, stars, golden, shine, twinkle, flash,sparkling Movement is linked to: wandered, floats, fluttering; moreover we have images of earth:vales and hills; images of air: clouds, breeze; images of water: lake, waves Moreover, there is achoice of tense in the poem in the last stanza, the poet returns to the reality, the present records thememories, it is a process of creative imagination, an outstanding experience All of these also revealthe feeling of the poem The lonely feeling of the poet has been changed by his senses of the

liveliness, the glee, and the friendliness with the daffodils to the happy feeling when thinking ofdaffodils

V V Conclusion Conclusion

Wordsworth concentrates on nature in all its forms, without using simple descriptions andconcentrating on the ways in which he responds and relates to the world; in his view, poetry is ameans to look at the relationship between nature and human life and to explore the belief that naturecan have an impact on our emotional and spiritual lives This poem could be seen as what poetrywas and how it might be written, that is to say in solitude, with an "inward eye", imagination,immersed in nature, recollecting all the thoughts and impressions in solitude following the power ofmemory and imagination

Topic Topic 6: 6: 6: MARK MARK MARK TWAIN TWAIN TWAIN writing writing writing style style

OUTLINE

I An introduction about Mark twain and “The advantures of Tom Sawyer”

II Mark Tawin’s writng style revealed in “ The advantures of Tom Sawyer” chapter II.

II.1 Humorous

II.2 Flexible, Varied, Fluid

II.3 The vernacular language

II.4 Realism and optimism

III Comparison

III.1 Mark Twain and Vu Trong Phung

III.2 Mark Twain and Doan Gioi

IV Conclusion

I.An I.An introduction introduction introduction about about about Mark Mark Mark twain twain twain and and and ““““The The The advantures advantures advantures of of of Tom Tom Tom Sawyer Sawyer Sawyer””””

Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910) well known by his pen name Mark Twain, was anAmerican author and humorist Twain is noted for his novels Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876),which has been called “the Great American Novel” Tom was is a friend to presidents, industrialistsand European royalty

Mark Twain was very popular, and his keen wit and incisive satire earned praise from critics andpeers Upon his death he was lauded as “the Greatest American humorist of his age”, and WilliamFaulkner called Twain “ the father of American literature” Mark Twain is a mixture of idealismand skepticism, the sentimentality and cynicism

In 1930s, Hemingway said, "All modern American literature comes from a book

called Huckleberry Finn." Mark Twain said that he was not only the founder of modern Americanliterature, but also invented a new kind of autobiography, the enhancement of individual and

creative

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is going to focus primarily on Tom Sawyer The young native of

St Petersburg, Missouri has a liking for escapades, exploits, deeds of derring-do, or what you mightcall adventures Note that the book is called The Adventures rather than The Adventure of TomSawyer

Little Tom gets up to a lot of trouble by book's end, and his various feats are not all related

Although Mark Twain created his characters with harsh racist ideals, these ideals are exactly whatmade Twain's writing so true to life Twain used realism in his writing to shock and educate hisreaders Before Twains writing, literature was thought to be more of an entertainment rather than aneducation People wanted to hear fantasy depicting a perfect world with a fine line between thegood and the bad Twain paid close attention to detail in his writing With this detail he was able todraw the reader into the book and immerse themselves into the story This also helped to make thestory more realistic Furthermore, Twain wrote in the vernacular of the time.Although this was notgrammatically correct, it gave the characters life and allowed the reader to familiarize themselveswith the characters

II II Mark Mark Mark Tawin Tawin Tawin’’’’ssss writng writng writng style style style revealed revealed revealed in in in ““““ The The The advantures advantures advantures of of of Tom Tom Tom Sawyer Sawyer Sawyer”””” chapter chapter chapter II II.

Mark Twain’s most famous book is “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” so a good place tobegin your analysis of Mark Twain’s writing style is with this book, as it aptly demonstrates his use

of humor, satire, irony, and sarcasm This book also demonstrates a theme that Mark Twain wasconcerned with during his lifetime – abuse of the black man Mark Twain’s other famous workssuch as “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”also contained these same elements of sarcasm, irony, wit, and satire.Furthermore, an analysis ofMark Twain’s writing style should focus on Twain’s upbringing and how this upbringing and thetimes in which he lived significantly influenced his writing style Twain’s writing was controversialand offensive to some because he was so outspoken He also included slang and regional dialect in

his stories These techniques should be described in an analysis of Mark Twain’s writing style aswell.

1.

1.1.1 Humorous Humorous

Mark Twain is a famous satiric(trào phúng) writer of America Characters in his products is

criticism and humor to those vices, hypocrisy, greed in the West American at that time His productsincludes deep ironic Chapter II of this novel also expresses this writer’s style:

- Irony: “But of course you’d druther work- wouldn’t you? – Of course you would!”

- Comparision and contrast : worldly wealth is marbles, bits of toys and trash: “…from being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the morning, Tom was literally rolling in wealth…

- “ They would make a world of fun for him, the very thought of it burnt him like a fire, this dark and hopeless moment”

- “All gladness left him, life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden”

- Humorous reference to himself as the “great and wise philosopher”

- Use big words:glorious, issue, melancholy, expedition

- One of the most impressive aspects of his writing is the dialogue which describe little boy’scharacteristics effectively Their boyishness was described effectively though the humor “ Tomgave up the brush with reluctance in his face, but alacrity in his heart And while the late steam BigMissouri worked and sweated in the sun, the retired artist sat on a barrel in the shade close by,dangled his legs, munched his apple…” Or “ Life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a

burden” When Tom must do his task, he saw everything through black eyes

2.

2.2.2 Flexible, Flexible, Flexible, Varied, Varied, Varied, Fluid Fluid

Twain certainly has a flexible style; he can suit his words quite easily to the situation,whether he is describing the thoughts of Tom or expounding upon some lofty subject.That said, one of the most impressive aspects of his writing is the dialogue Rather thantry to describe it, we'll give you a taste Tom, having just barely survived an encounterwith Injun Joe the night before, goes to talk with Huck:

"Hello, Huck!"

"Hello, yourself."

[Silence, for a minute.]

"Tom, if we'd 'a' left the blame tools at the dead tree, we'd 'a' got the money Oh, ain't it awful!"

"'Tain't a dream, then, 'tain't a dream! Somehow I most wish it was Dog'd if I don't, Huck."

The way Mark Twain used humor was very flexible, its not only criticized butalso reduced the tense

Mark Twain renders the rhythm of the speech beautifully, using contractions and slang

to give life to Tom and Huck's speech Small touches, like the "we'd 'a'" and "dog'd" goalong way toward making them sound like real boys Even that bracketed pause speaksvolumes Without suitable dialogue, all of Twain's observations and remarks would belike a cake without icing: still delicious, but not quite right

3.

3.3.3 Using Using Using the the the vernacular vernacular vernacular language language.

Mark Twain was the first writer to use vernacular language in his own writing, especially

in dialogue Sometimes it is rather hard to understand but it reflects the real life of peoplethere

For examples, when Tom begged Jim to change bringing water for whitewashing thefence, Jim denied:” Oh, I dasn’t, Mars Tom Ole missis she’d take an’ tar de head off’n

me ” ( Ôi tôi không thể cậu Tom à Bà dì cậu sẽ đổ tội lên đầu tôi)

4.

4.4.4 Realism Realism Realism and and and optimism optimism.

- Realism: In his works, Mark Twain always focuses on describing the nature and

character of living space In chapter II:

- “…all the summer world was bright and fresh, and brimming with life There was a song in every heart; and if the heart was young the music issued at the lips There was cheer in every face and a spring in every step The locust-trees were in bloom and the fragrance of the blossoms filled the air…”

Natural scenery is beautiful, but with Tom, hefell “life to him seemed hollow, and

existence but a burden” Here, the author present an ironic laugh again when he

describles nature is opposite to the mood of Tom

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- Optimism:

+ describe beauty of nature( first paragraph…)

III.Comparison

1.Mark 1.Mark Tawin Tawin Tawin and and and Vu Vu Vu Trong Trong Trong Phung Phung

Chapter II of this novel also expresses Mark Twain’s style:

- Irony: “But of course you’d druther work- wouldn’t you? – Of course you would!”

- Comparision and contrast : worldly wealth is marbles, bits of toys and trash:“… from being a poor poverty-stricken boy in the morning, Tom was literally rolling in wealth…

- “ They would make a world of fun for him, the very thought of it burnt him like a fire, this dark and hopeless moment”

- “All gladness left him, life to him seemed hollow, and existence but a burden”

- Humorous reference to himself as the “great and wise philosopher”

- Use big words:glorious, issue, melancholy, expedition

* Vu Trong Phung is also a humor writer of Viet Nam

For a long time, people have considered work “Lucky destiny” of Vu Trong Phung as

a outstanding work of humor nonfiction Of which is a work of art typical of prosehumor in Vietnam With “Lucky destiny”, the readers laugh from beginning to end, agloating smile, comfortable

- Irony: + expressed in the tittle : “Happiness of a funeral family”

+ use the ironic words: “funeral dresses”, call Tuyet’s dress: “innocent”, meanwhile it isridiculous, revealing, “romantic sadness” on her face

- Constract: “funeral is very big, so big that the dead in casket smiles happily”Tuyet is a debauchted girl, but half-debauched

- “ therestpectful descendants are anxious to berry the dead”

- Tu Tan tell each person how to stand, how to express the face, how to make the postures…to take photos… This make the readers fell that it is not a funeral family but a happy family.

- In funeral, everyone talk to each other, but not about the funeral; they talk bout the dresses, houses, a new chest they just bought; others scorn, annoy, flirt each other.

Different: humor in Vu Trong Phung’s works is ironical, bitter about the dark ofrotten society at that time His aim is accusing the uptown person, who greedy formoney

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2.2.2 Mark Mark Mark Tawin Tawin Tawin and and and Doan Doan Doan Gioi Gioi

Mark Twain is also famous about autobiography style In Vietnam, there are some writerswho has the same autobiography style such as: To Hoai (The adventures of Cricket),Nguyen Thanh Long (Quite Sapa), Nguyen Minh Chau (The Picture)…

Comparison “The advantures of Tom Sawyer” by Mark Twain in 1876 to "Southernforests " (Đất Rừng Phương Nam) by Đoan Gioi in 1957

“Southern Forests” is the adventure of a native boy named An in the South of Vietnamwhen the French invaded this country He became a homeless boy after the enemies hadmade an attack on South West That pushed him in a adventure to looking for his father

An and the local patriotic people fought against the French

Comparison Comparison writing writing writing style style.

- Similarity

+ Simplicity: Like Mark Twain, Doan Gioi used simple language to describe the real life

in the Southern area Especially, the work was written in the local language, maybe it’svery difficult to understand but that is the effective way to paint the real Southern picture.Both Mark Twain and Doan Gioi loved the nature in their homeland With Mark Twain,

he love Mississippi river and painted it in his work while Doan Gioi described the river,small canal as one distinguishing characteristic of Mekong Delta where he was born andgrew up

+ Realism and Optimism: Mark Twain’s writing style express both realism and optimism.There is similarity between Mark Twain and Doan Gioi The “Southern Forests” reflectedthe poor life of the people in the war truthfully However, the readers still see the

optimism of the characters and also of the writer There are some paragraphs whichdescribe the beautiful nature of Southern area, especially the great and wild scene of UMinh, virgin forest in Vietnam, and the beauty of Southern villages with endless rowcoconut trees and mangroves

“The surface of canal is bright in the lighting The mangrove and wandering canoes onthe other side is appeared with deeper blue It seems that heaven, ground and trees, andslight ripples on the waves tapping two banks are fluttering in the blue magic”

+ Both Mark Twain and Doan Gioi loved the nature in their homeland With Mark

Twain, he love Mississippi river and painted it in his work while Doan Gioi loved theriver, small canal as one distinguishing characteristic of Mekong Delta where he wasborn and grew up

- Difference:

+ Purpose of humorous writing style:

It is said that Mark Twain succeeded in describing the main character, Tom Sawyer, inchapter II, as a naughty and smart boy by humorous writing style By this style, MarkTwain eased the tense and gave criticism for society

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