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...ten points to most helpful!! please proofread my answers. the questions are based on a poem.
Thoughts of Hanoi
The questions below are based on the following poem:
Can you please check my answers for grammatical errors and if need be, please try to spice up my content. If you find any of my answers wrong then please feel free to change my answers up. Thanks!
Thoughts of Hanoi
by
Nguyen Thi Vinh
The night is deep and chill
as in early autumn. Pitchblack,
it thickens after each lightning flash.
I dream of Hanoi:
5- Co-ngu Road
ten years of separation
the way back sliced by a frontier of hatred.
I want to bury the past
to burn the future
10- still I yean
still I fear
those endless nights
waiting for dawn.
Brother,
15- how is Hang Dao now?
How is Ngoc Son temple?
Do the trains still run
each day from Hanoi
to the neighboring towns?
20- To Bac-ninh, Cam-giang, Yen-bai,
the small villages, islands
of brown thatch in a lush green sea?
The girls
bright eyes
ruddy cheeks
four-piece dresses
raven-bill scarves
sowing harvesting
25- spinning weaving
all year round,
the boys
plowing
transplanting
in the fields
in their shops
running across
the meadow at evening
to fly kites
30- and sing alternating songs.'
Stainless blue sky,
jubilant voices of children
stumbling through the alphabet,
village graybeards strolling to the temple,
grandmothers basking in twilight sun,
chewing betel leaves'
while the children run-
35- Brother,
how is all that now?
Or is it obsolete?
Are you like me,
reliving the past,
40- imagining the future?
Do you count me as a friend
or am I the enemy in your eyes?
Brother, I am afraid
that one day I'll be with the March-North Army
45- meeting you on your way to the South.
I might be the one to shoot you then
or you me
but please
not with hatred.
50- For don't you remember how it was,
you and I in school together,
plotting our lives together?
Those roots go deep!
Brother, we are men,
55- conscious of more
than material needs.
How can this happen to us
my friend
my foe?
What is the tone of “Thoughts of Hanoi”? Support your answer with details from the poem. 1) The poem is in response to the Vietnam war. The authorization for the splitting of Vietnam into North and South came from Hanoi, which in post-Vietnam War became the capital of Vietnam. In this poem, the author is commenting on the fact that brothers (figuratively speaking) are split by such a trivial matter (the war itself). The speaker’s surroundings are affected as well, in that she worries for the well being of her peers and symbolic buildings within the country. The speaker is lamenting on the things that have been affected by the war and her inner turmoil reflects the mood expressed by the poem. The poem itself is her inner turmoil, in which, as I stated before, is her reflection on the changes that have taken place and her worry about her overall social environment. The tone can be best represented as lamenting.
What might the “frontier of hatred” (line 7) be?
2) The frontier of hatred would be the place where the separation of Vietnam occurred. A frontier is defined as an international boundary or the area immediately inside the boundary.
Why might the speaker want to “burn the future” (line 9)?
3) The speaker wants to "bury" the past" so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated and the future will not be affected. "Burning the future" could be a way of expressing a fear for what the future will hold, and that if the past is buried, then this future will not have to exist.
Why might the speaker be “reliving the past”?
4) The speaker is reliving the past, but not the "recent" past. The speaker remembers how it was "before" the recent past, when neighbours were friends, not foes, when things were simple and the country was whole.
What does the speaker fear most about the war? Why?
5) Throughout the poem there seems to be a re-occurring semantic field of darkness and light, in example - "still I fear the endless dawn", "waiting for dawn", "jubilant blue sky" - which could allude on a less obvious level to the speaker’s fear of the darkness, and the violence that the darkness can bring with it. On a more detonated level, it appears that the speaker’s main concern is meeting the opposing army and having to fire upon them in another war, such as she mentions "I might be the one to shoot you then" and she describes herself of feeling "afraid" at the thought of this. This could show her reluctance to become a part of the violence and murder that tore her life apart.
Applying
(a) What message does Nguyen express in lines 54-59? (b) How can we apply her message in our own lives? Explain.
6(a) The message in lines 54-59 express a plea to a brother's "humanity" to see that they should be more than defenders of land and flag, and wonders how they got so far from the path of peace and asks, "my friend, my foe?" because Vietnam, both north and south, were inhabited by a single nationality. A culture split between communist and nationalist ideals, where, especially in the north (where the speaker once lived) people were pressed into service under the threat of death by the VC and because they all looked the same (because genetically they "were" the same), you couldn't tell a friend from a foe just by looking at them or asking them where they were "from". (b) The message in our own lives is that politics may make us enemies, but we should rise above the desires of those who control or try to control and understand that we are all brothers.
Analyzing literature
Understanding Theme
What is the dominating theme of “Thoughts of Hanoi”? Support your answer with details from the poem.
1) The author is showing the reader that she cannot believe that they are separated, and she seems to be dealing with feelings of loneliness and nostalgia (where she describes the girls--and includes details about their state of dress etc.). The author shows her unhappiness with the rift--in addition to her assertion that things were better in the past--where she states "ten years of separation / the way back sliced by a frontier of hatred. / I want to bury the past /to burn the future "
Additionally, the author shows her discontent, and wish to remain in the past where things were perfect and in an acceptable state in stanza three where she directs specific questions at the reader: "Brother,
15- how is Hang Dao now? /How is Ngoc Son temple? /Do the trains still run /each day from Hanoi /to the neighboring towns? /20- To Bac-ninh, Cam-giang, Yen-bai, /the small villages, islands /of brown thatch in a lush green sea?" These questions may also illustrate how estranged the author feels like from her land. She knew so much about her home, and yet now she knows nothing. She is merely reminiscing, and begging for some clue as to what is happening in her hometown. The imagery also illustrates that she is very familiar with this town, and also helps convey the idea that she misses it (in stanza 4, beginning with "Stainless blue sky...").
However, although she misses her hometown and how life was like before the separation of North and South, she rues the day she will have to fight against "Brother" or another person from the same town/area. She doesn't want to fight her own people--she still thinks of them as her own, and does not think of them as the enemy--and thus is unhappy because of the situations he is forced to be in. ("I might be the one to shoot you then/ or you me /but please /not with hatred.")
State the theme of “Thoughts of Hanoi” as it pertains to the author and to her readers.
2) The author is in shock as to how a mere order of separation of North and South can separate the "deep roots" these people share. She unwillingly must accept these, but she doesn't believe in the separation. She still considers the other side her Brother.
Critical thinking and reading
To which senses does Nguyen Thi Vinh appeal in “Thoughts of Hanoi”?
1) She appeals to all of the senses.
Which image do you believe is her most powerful and effective? Why?
2) The most powerful image was at the beginning of the fourth stanza. It was with such simple eloquence that the speaker described how she remembered the 'stainless blue skies' and the children running about, carefree and young, under their old, wise grandmother's watchful care. It was particularly emotionally wracking when the speaker, clearly pained, said 'Brother, how is all that now? Or is it obsolete?' She is afraid that the way she remembers it- so sweet and blithe, will be gone.
What do you think is Nguyen’s purpose for including images of Hanoi before the war? What is the effect of these images set against her thoughts about the war?
3) Nguyen included images of a pre-war Hanoi to provide a picture of how things have changed. She is pleading with her brother to remember with her when things were simpler, when Hanoi was peaceful. She and her brother seem to be in disagreement about the war, because she is asking him 'am i your friend or your enemy?' She doesn't seem to want to be at war, or at odds with her brother. She doesn't want the war to tear them apart. Even if they end up going to war on opposite sides, she doesn't want their differing views about the war to cause them to hate each other as family. It seems as if Hanoi is not only a place, but a metaphor; when it was peaceful, so was her relationship with her brother. The wistful tone with which she speaks of a peaceful Hanoi makes it seem as though it was long ago, giving the effect that the war (both in Hanoi and between her and her brother) has been going on for a long time, at least in her eyes. The idyllic way she describes Hanoi, and the questions she asks about it now show just how little she is sure of.
Thoughts of Hanoi
The questions below are based on the following poem:
Can you please check my answers for grammatical errors and if need be, please try to spice up my content. If you find any of my answers wrong then please feel free to change my answers up. Thanks!
Thoughts of Hanoi
by
Nguyen Thi Vinh
The night is deep and chill
as in early autumn. Pitchblack,
it thickens after each lightning flash.
I dream of Hanoi:
5- Co-ngu Road
ten years of separation
the way back sliced by a frontier of hatred.
I want to bury the past
to burn the future
10- still I yean
still I fear
those endless nights
waiting for dawn.
Brother,
15- how is Hang Dao now?
How is Ngoc Son temple?
Do the trains still run
each day from Hanoi
to the neighboring towns?
20- To Bac-ninh, Cam-giang, Yen-bai,
the small villages, islands
of brown thatch in a lush green sea?
The girls
bright eyes
ruddy cheeks
four-piece dresses
raven-bill scarves
sowing harvesting
25- spinning weaving
all year round,
the boys
plowing
transplanting
in the fields
in their shops
running across
the meadow at evening
to fly kites
30- and sing alternating songs.'
Stainless blue sky,
jubilant voices of children
stumbling through the alphabet,
village graybeards strolling to the temple,
grandmothers basking in twilight sun,
chewing betel leaves'
while the children run-
35- Brother,
how is all that now?
Or is it obsolete?
Are you like me,
reliving the past,
40- imagining the future?
Do you count me as a friend
or am I the enemy in your eyes?
Brother, I am afraid
that one day I'll be with the March-North Army
45- meeting you on your way to the South.
I might be the one to shoot you then
or you me
but please
not with hatred.
50- For don't you remember how it was,
you and I in school together,
plotting our lives together?
Those roots go deep!
Brother, we are men,
55- conscious of more
than material needs.
How can this happen to us
my friend
my foe?
What is the tone of “Thoughts of Hanoi”? Support your answer with details from the poem. 1) The poem is in response to the Vietnam war. The authorization for the splitting of Vietnam into North and South came from Hanoi, which in post-Vietnam War became the capital of Vietnam. In this poem, the author is commenting on the fact that brothers (figuratively speaking) are split by such a trivial matter (the war itself). The speaker’s surroundings are affected as well, in that she worries for the well being of her peers and symbolic buildings within the country. The speaker is lamenting on the things that have been affected by the war and her inner turmoil reflects the mood expressed by the poem. The poem itself is her inner turmoil, in which, as I stated before, is her reflection on the changes that have taken place and her worry about her overall social environment. The tone can be best represented as lamenting.
What might the “frontier of hatred” (line 7) be?
2) The frontier of hatred would be the place where the separation of Vietnam occurred. A frontier is defined as an international boundary or the area immediately inside the boundary.
Why might the speaker want to “burn the future” (line 9)?
3) The speaker wants to "bury" the past" so that the mistakes of the past are not repeated and the future will not be affected. "Burning the future" could be a way of expressing a fear for what the future will hold, and that if the past is buried, then this future will not have to exist.
Why might the speaker be “reliving the past”?
4) The speaker is reliving the past, but not the "recent" past. The speaker remembers how it was "before" the recent past, when neighbours were friends, not foes, when things were simple and the country was whole.
What does the speaker fear most about the war? Why?
5) Throughout the poem there seems to be a re-occurring semantic field of darkness and light, in example - "still I fear the endless dawn", "waiting for dawn", "jubilant blue sky" - which could allude on a less obvious level to the speaker’s fear of the darkness, and the violence that the darkness can bring with it. On a more detonated level, it appears that the speaker’s main concern is meeting the opposing army and having to fire upon them in another war, such as she mentions "I might be the one to shoot you then" and she describes herself of feeling "afraid" at the thought of this. This could show her reluctance to become a part of the violence and murder that tore her life apart.
Applying
(a) What message does Nguyen express in lines 54-59? (b) How can we apply her message in our own lives? Explain.
6(a) The message in lines 54-59 express a plea to a brother's "humanity" to see that they should be more than defenders of land and flag, and wonders how they got so far from the path of peace and asks, "my friend, my foe?" because Vietnam, both north and south, were inhabited by a single nationality. A culture split between communist and nationalist ideals, where, especially in the north (where the speaker once lived) people were pressed into service under the threat of death by the VC and because they all looked the same (because genetically they "were" the same), you couldn't tell a friend from a foe just by looking at them or asking them where they were "from". (b) The message in our own lives is that politics may make us enemies, but we should rise above the desires of those who control or try to control and understand that we are all brothers.
Analyzing literature
Understanding Theme
What is the dominating theme of “Thoughts of Hanoi”? Support your answer with details from the poem.
1) The author is showing the reader that she cannot believe that they are separated, and she seems to be dealing with feelings of loneliness and nostalgia (where she describes the girls--and includes details about their state of dress etc.). The author shows her unhappiness with the rift--in addition to her assertion that things were better in the past--where she states "ten years of separation / the way back sliced by a frontier of hatred. / I want to bury the past /to burn the future "
Additionally, the author shows her discontent, and wish to remain in the past where things were perfect and in an acceptable state in stanza three where she directs specific questions at the reader: "Brother,
15- how is Hang Dao now? /How is Ngoc Son temple? /Do the trains still run /each day from Hanoi /to the neighboring towns? /20- To Bac-ninh, Cam-giang, Yen-bai, /the small villages, islands /of brown thatch in a lush green sea?" These questions may also illustrate how estranged the author feels like from her land. She knew so much about her home, and yet now she knows nothing. She is merely reminiscing, and begging for some clue as to what is happening in her hometown. The imagery also illustrates that she is very familiar with this town, and also helps convey the idea that she misses it (in stanza 4, beginning with "Stainless blue sky...").
However, although she misses her hometown and how life was like before the separation of North and South, she rues the day she will have to fight against "Brother" or another person from the same town/area. She doesn't want to fight her own people--she still thinks of them as her own, and does not think of them as the enemy--and thus is unhappy because of the situations he is forced to be in. ("I might be the one to shoot you then/ or you me /but please /not with hatred.")
State the theme of “Thoughts of Hanoi” as it pertains to the author and to her readers.
2) The author is in shock as to how a mere order of separation of North and South can separate the "deep roots" these people share. She unwillingly must accept these, but she doesn't believe in the separation. She still considers the other side her Brother.
Critical thinking and reading
To which senses does Nguyen Thi Vinh appeal in “Thoughts of Hanoi”?
1) She appeals to all of the senses.
Which image do you believe is her most powerful and effective? Why?
2) The most powerful image was at the beginning of the fourth stanza. It was with such simple eloquence that the speaker described how she remembered the 'stainless blue skies' and the children running about, carefree and young, under their old, wise grandmother's watchful care. It was particularly emotionally wracking when the speaker, clearly pained, said 'Brother, how is all that now? Or is it obsolete?' She is afraid that the way she remembers it- so sweet and blithe, will be gone.
What do you think is Nguyen’s purpose for including images of Hanoi before the war? What is the effect of these images set against her thoughts about the war?
3) Nguyen included images of a pre-war Hanoi to provide a picture of how things have changed. She is pleading with her brother to remember with her when things were simpler, when Hanoi was peaceful. She and her brother seem to be in disagreement about the war, because she is asking him 'am i your friend or your enemy?' She doesn't seem to want to be at war, or at odds with her brother. She doesn't want the war to tear them apart. Even if they end up going to war on opposite sides, she doesn't want their differing views about the war to cause them to hate each other as family. It seems as if Hanoi is not only a place, but a metaphor; when it was peaceful, so was her relationship with her brother. The wistful tone with which she speaks of a peaceful Hanoi makes it seem as though it was long ago, giving the effect that the war (both in Hanoi and between her and her brother) has been going on for a long time, at least in her eyes. The idyllic way she describes Hanoi, and the questions she asks about it now show just how little she is sure of.