Ôn thi tốt nghiệp Cử nhân Anh văn môn Văn Học Mỹ

Môn Văn học Mỹ:
các bài học
- ROMAN FEVER
- ROSE FOR EMILY
- IN ANOTHER COUNTRY
ROMAN FEVER
(CƠN SỐT THÀNH ROME)
1. Tóm tắt truyện : Summary of story :
“Cơn sốt thành Rome” là một truyện ngắn của nhà văn Edith Wharton. Câu
chuyện xoay quanh các nhân vật trong gia đình của bà Ansley và bà Slade, mà cụ thể
nhân vật chính là Grace Ansley và Alida Slade. Đây là một truyện ngắn tập trung vào
mối quan hệ của hai người phụ nữ. Câu chuyện bắt đầu với hai người phụ nữ trung
niên người Mỹ từ hành lang của nhà hàng Roman. Grace Ansley và Alida Slade đã là
bạn với nhau một thời gian dài. Họ gặp nhau lần đầu tiên tại Rome với gia đình khi họ
còn là những phụ nữ trẻ tuổi. 25 năm sau, họ gặp nhau một lần nữa tại Rome cùng với
con gái của họ : Jenny Slade và Barbara Ansley. Họ cùng nhau nhắc lại chuyện ngày
xưa, về gia đình, con cái và về thời điểm diễn ra cuộc tình tay 3 giữa bà Slade, Ansley
và Delphine.
"Roman Fever" is a short story written by Edith Wharton. The story revolves
around characters in Mrs. Ansley’s and Mrs. Slade’s family, specifically the main
character is Grace Ansley and Alida Slade. This is a short story focuses on the
relationship of two women. The story begins with two middle-aged American women
from the lofty terrace of a Roman restaurant. Grace Ansley and Alida Slade have
been friends for a long time. They first met in Rome with their families when they
were young women. After 25 years, they meet again in Rome with their daughters :
Jenny Slade and Barbara Ansley. Together they reminded their old stories, their
family, their children and the time when there was a love between Slade, Ansley and
Delphine.
Khi đó, cả hai người phụ nữ là bạn thân của nhau. Delphine là vị hôn phu của
Alida Slade nhưng đồng thời Delphine và Grace Ansley yêu nhau. Từ tình bạn thân
thiết, họ đã trở thành tình địch vì cùng yêu một người đàn ông. Bà Slade đã biết được

tình yêu đó của họ. Bà trở nên ganh tị và ghen tuông với Grace Ansley trong suốt 25
năm. Vào cuối buổi chiều hôm đó, bà Slade nhắc lại về cơn sốt thành Rome vào 25
năm về trước, nhắc lại cho bà Ansley nhớ đến việc đã bị bệnh nặng như thế nào sau
khi đi đến đấu trường Colosseum vào một buổi tối mùa đông năm ấy – mùa đông mà
bà Slade và Delphine đính hôn với nhau. Bà Ansley thì có vẻ như né tránh, cố gắng
không nhớ đến sự kiện năm đó. Nhưng bà Slade thì lại luôn cố tình khơi gợi, nhắc nhở
từng chi tiết của câu chuyện năm xưa. Sự ghen tuôn lại trổi dậy trong long bà Slade.
Bà tiết lộ cho bà Ansley rằng bà biết vì sao Ansley đã đi đến đấu trường Colosseum
vào đêm hôm đó. Đồng thời tiết lộ bức thư mà Ansley nghĩ rằng của Delphine hẹn với
cô 25 năm trước là do chính tay bà viết. Bởi vì bà muốn giành chiến thắng trong tình
yêu với Delphine. Bà Slade sợ rằng Ansley sẽ có được tình yêu của Delphine. Bà hy
vọng Ansley bị bệnh thì sẽ không thể ở bên Delphine và chỉ như thế trong vài tuần là
đủ.
Meanwhile, the two women were close friends. Delphine was Alida Slade’s
fiance but Delphine also loved Grace Ansley. From close friends, they became rivals
in love because of loving the same man. Mrs. Slade had known their love. She
became envious and jealous with Grace Ansley in 25 years. In that afternoon, Mrs
Slade reminded about the Roman Fever, she reminded of the fever after going back
from the Colosseum arena in a winter night – the winter when Mrs. Slade and
Delphine engaged with each other. Mrs. Ansley seemed to evade it, tried not to
remember the event of that year. But Mrs. Slade intendedly reminded details of the
old story. The envy again rose in Mrs. Slade’s heart. She revealed to Mrs. Ansley
that she knew why Ansley went to the Colosseum arena in that night. At the same
time, she revealed that the letter Ansley thought that it was a letter of date between
Delphine and her in 25 years ago had been written by herself. Because she wanted
to win in love with Delphine. Mrs. Slade feared that Ansley would have the love of
Delphine. She hoped that the illness of Ansley would prevent him from visiting
Delphine and only a few weeks were enough.
Nhưng kết quả của câu truyện đã không chỉ như thế. Sau những lời tiết lộ của
bà Slade, bà Ansley cũng đã kể lại cho bà Slade về sự tình đêm hôm đó. Ansley đã viết

thư hồi âm lại do Delphine và ông ta đã đến gặp Ansley vào đêm hôm đó. Ansley đã
không chờ đợi như bà Slade đã nghĩ. Mặc dù bà Slade cuối cùng đã cưới Delphine và
sống với Delphine 25 năm. Nhưng đối với Grace Ansley, bà ấy không chỉ có một lá
thư mà sau cái đêm ấy, bà ấy còn có Barbara – đứa con của Delphine và bà Ansley.
But the result of the story was not just like that. After the words revealed by
Mrs. Slade, Mrs. Ansley told Mrs. Slade about the situation on that night. Ansley
wrote a letter to reply Delphine and he had come to meet Ansley in that night.
Ansley hadn’t waited as Mrs. Slade thought. Finally, Slade had married and lived
with Delphine for 25 years though. But for Grace Ansley, she not only had a letter
in that night, but also had Barbara – the child of Delphine and Mrs. Ansley.
2. Phân tích : Analysis:
Tác phẩm này nói về thân phận của người phụ nữ sống trong xã hội nam giới là
người thống trị. Nó phản ánh cuộc sống của giới thượng lưu ở New York vào nửa cuối
thế kỷ 19. Người phụ nữ chỉ là vật sở hữu. Họ phải trau chuốt bản thân để tìm cho
mình người chồng xứng đáng, khi về già thì phải dành tất cả để lo cho con cái. Điều
này đã chi phối toàn bộ đời sống xã hội của họ.
This work focuses on the position of women living in a society where men
dominated. It reflects the upper class life in New York in the second half of the 19th
century. Women are just possessions. They have to refine themselves to seek for a
worthy husband, when they are old, they must care for all their children. This has
affected their entire social life.
- Các nhân vật gồm : Grace Ansley, Horace Ansley, Barbara, Mrs Slade,
Delphine Slade. Họ đều là những người trung niên, giàu có. Câu chuyện xảy ra tại sân
thượng của nhà hàng ở Rome vào giữa năm 1920. Trong khung cảnh: di tích Forum,
đấu trường Palatine.
- Characters are : Grace Ansley, Horace Ansley, Barbara, Mrs. Slade,
Delphine Slade. They are the middle-aged, wealthy. The story happens at the terrace
of a restaurant in Rome in mid-1920. In context : The Forum relic, The Palatine
arena.
Cơn sốt thành Rome mang nhiều ý nghĩa khác nhau. Về nghĩa đen, cơn sốt

thành Rome nói về dịch bệnh sốt rét xảy ra tại Rome trong nhiều thế kỷ. Về nghĩa
bóng, cơn sốt thành Rome tượng trưng cho niềm đam mê, thôi thúc khiến Grace
Ansley dù bệnh vẫn cố gắng đến đấu trường Colosseum để gặp người yêu của mình.
Cơn sốt thành Rome cũng tượng trưng cho lòng thù hận, sự ghen tuông suốt 25 năm
của Alida Slade dành cho Grace Ansley và sự ganh tị dành cho con gái của bà Ansley.
Roman Fever has different meanings. In the literal sense, Rome Fever tells
about epidemic of malaria occurred in Rome for many centuries. In the figurative
sense, Roman Fever symbolizes passion, inspiration, it makes Grace Ansley
overcome her illness and go to the Colosseum arena to meet her boyfriend. Roman
Fever also represents hatred, jealousy of Alida Slade during 25 years against Grace
Ansley and jealousy against Mrs. Ansley’s daughter.
Grace phát triển cơn sốt thành Rome khi cô dành tình yêu nồng nhiệt của mình
cho chồng chưa cưới của Alida Slade – Delphine. Alida phát triển cơn sốt thành Rome
bằng cách viết thư để hại Grace. Và cao trào hơn là sau 25 năm lại ganh tị luôn cả con
gái của Ansley. Cơn sốt thành Rome chính là bí mật của cả 2 người phụ nữ trong suốt
25 năm.
Grace developed Roman fever when she gave her warm love to Alida Slade’s
fiance - Delphine. Alida developed Roman fever by writing a letter to harm Grace.
And more malicious is that 25 years later, she was even envious of Mrs. Ansley’s
daughter. Roman fever is the secret of two women in 25 years.
Tính cách tương phản của 2 nhân vật chính trong câu truyện tạo nên yếu tố mỉa
mai. Rõ ràng, trong cuộc tranh tài giành lấy tình yêu đã là điều không cân xứng. Trong
khi Alida Slade là một người phụ nữ tự tin, trẻ đẹp, cưới được Delphine nhưng kết quả
lại là người thua cuộc. Còn Grace Ansley, một phụ nữ không tin tự tin, cũng không
cưới được Delphine nhưng lại là người thắng cuộc.
Contrary characteristics of the two main characters in the story create ironic
elements. Clearly, in a competition to win the love, it’s unbalanced. While Alida
Slade was a confident, beautiful woman who got married to Delphine but she was
the loser. For Ansley Grace, an unconfident woman, who couldn’t get married to
Delphine but she was the winner.

Đấu trường Colosseum là nơi mà võ sĩ giác đấu tranh tài. Họ chiến đấu 1 thắng,
1 bại. Nhưng từ cái nơi đẹp đẽ ấy đã trở thành một đấu trường độc ác và tàn nhẫn,
bóng tối dần buông xuống cũng tối tăm như chính lòng dạ của con người. Càng về
đêm, những bí mật của họ càng tối tăm. Từ chỗ là hai người bạn, họ trở thành những
đấu sĩ trong cuộc tranh giành tình yêu. Nhưng kết quả thì sao, cũng chỉ còn là một di
tích đổ nát.
The Colosseum arena was the place where Gladiator fought each other. They
fought until there was a winner, and a loser. From the beautiful place, it became a
cruel and ruthless arena, the night gradually fell as dark as the human heart.
Darker the night was, darker their secrets were. From two close friends, they
became gladiators in a competition for love. But how was the result, it was a ruined
relic.
Grace Ansley luôn sống cho tình yêu của mình. Bà ta dùng cách đan (knitting)
để che dấu tình cảm. 25 năm trôi qua là thời gian bà luôn giữ trong lòng tình yêu của
mình dành cho Delphine. Hành động đan tượng trưng cho sự đan xen, rối loạn trong
cuộc sống của Slade và Ansley, tượng trưng cho sự đổ nát của Grace và mối quan hệ
của Alida.
Ansley Grace always lived for her love. She did knitting to conceal her
emotions. 25 years passed was the period when she always kept in her heart her love
for Delphine. Knitting action represents the mix, confusion in the life of Slade and
Ansley, represents the ruin of Grace and the relationship with Alida.
Hai người phụ nữ nghĩ về bản thân và nghĩ về đối phương theo cách của họ. Bà
Slade tự hào khi là vợ của một luật sư có tiếng, hay đi dự các buổi chiêu đãi ở nước
ngoài, trở thành người nổi trội trong giới thượng lưu. Sau khi chồng mất, cuộc sống
của Slade trở nên buồn tẻ. Bây giờ thì bà phải sống cho con cái của mình. Slade nghĩ
trước đây Grace là người phụ nữ thanh tú, xinh đẹp nhưng có cuộc sống chán ngắt.
Cuộc sống chẳng bao giờ thấy thú vị. Trong mắt Slade, Ansley và chồng của bà ta
giống như những mẫu vật trưng bày ở viện bảo tàng của New York.
Two women thought about themselves and about their opponent in their
private way. Slade was proud when she was the wife of a famous lawyer, who

usually attended in abroad parties, became an outstanding person in the upper
class. After her husband died, the life of Slade became boring. Now she had to live
for their children. Slade thought Grace previously was an elite and beautiful woman
but had a dull life. Life was never interested. In view of Slade, Ansley and her
husband just Museum specimens of old New York.
Grace Ansley nhớ hình ảnh Alida Slade trước kia là người con gái sôi nổi,
mạnh mẽ, xinh đẹp và thong minh. Trong khi con gái của Slade thì không thừa hưởng
cá tính mạnh mẽ đó từ mẹ của nó. Bà cảm thấy Slade có một cuộc sống thật buồn bã
và Ansley cảm thấy khá thương hại cho Slade.
Grace Ansley remembered that Alida Slade was formerly a vibrant, strong,
beautiful and smart daughters, while Slade's daughter didn’t inherit a strong
characteristic from his mother. She felt Slade had a boring life and Ansley felt
pretty sorry for Slade.
Alida Slade và Grace Ansley trước đây cùng sống trong một khu phố tại New
York. Họ sống đối lập nhau. Những gì xảy ra trong gia đình Ansley bà Slade đều biết.
Sau đó thì vợ chồng bà Slade đã mua được nhà mới ở đại lộ Park. Vài năm sau đó, họ
đều trở thành góa phụ và nhanh chóng nối lại tình thân giữa hai gia đình.
Alida Slade and Grace Ansley previously lived in a street in New York. They
lived opposite. What happened in Ansley’s family, Mrs. Slade knew clearly. Then,
Slade and her husband bought a new house in Park Avenue. Few years later, they
became widows and quickly reconstructed a relationship between two families.
3. Các nhân vật trong truyện : Characters in the story
– Alida Slade : là góa phụ trung niên người Mỹ, vợ của Delphine – luật sư của
một công ty. Bà có một người bạn là Grace Ansley và trong một buổi ăn tối tại Rome,
bà đã tiết lộ về việc bà biết Grace có tình cảm sâu đậm với Delphine trước khi ông ấy
kết hôn với bà.
- Alida Slade: an American middle-aged widow, Delphine’s wife – a lawyer of
a company. She had a friend who was Grade Ansley and in a dinner in Rome, she
revealed that Grace had a deep love with Delphine before he married her.
– Delphine Slade : chồng của Alida, người yêu của Grace.

- Delphine Slade: Alida's husband, Grace’s love.
– Grace Ansley : là góa phụ trung niên người Mỹ, vợ của Horace Ansley. Khi
bị bà Slade tiết lộ bí mật 25 năm trước, Grace đã thật sự bị sốc.
- Grace Ansley: an American middle-aged widow, Horace Ansley’s wife.
When hearing the secret revealed by Mrs. Slade from 25 years ago, Grace was really
shocked.
– Horace Ansley : chồng của Grace
- Horace Ansley: Grace’s husband
– Barbara Ansley : con gái của Grace. Là người mà Alida rất ganh tị vì cô có ưu
thế hơn hẳn con gái Jenny của bà Alida. Và cô cũng chính là con gái của Delphine –
kết quả của cuộc tình 25 năm trước giữa Delphine và Grace.
- Barbara Ansley: Grace’s daughter. She was the person Alida was very
envious because she had a higher advantage than Alida’s daughter Jenny. And she
was Delphine’s daughter – the result of the love in 25 years ago between Delphine
and Grace.
– Jenny Slade: con của Alida. Tuy xinh đẹp nhưng lại không duyên dáng bằng
Barbara
- Jenny Slade: Alida’s daughter. Though beautiful, she was not charming as
Barbara.
– Harriet : cô cố của Grace. Theo câu chuyện thì Harriet và em gái cùng yêu
một người đàn ông. Và để thoát khỏi chị của mình, Harriet đã lừa em mình đến Forum
sau hoàng hôn để cô em bị bệnh. Sau đó Harriet cũng bệnh mà chết.
- Harriet: Grace’s aunt. According to the story, Harriet and her younger
sister loved the same man. And to get rid of his sister, Harriet had cheated her sister
to go to Forum after sunset in order for her sister to be sick. Then, Harriet had an
serious illness and was dead.
– Headwaiter : giám sát bồi bàn tại nhà hàng Roman.
- Headwaiter: supervising waiter at the Roman restaurant.
========================
- Các nhân vật gồm : Grace Ansley, Horace Ansley, Barbara, Mrs Slade,

Delphine Slade. Họ đều là những người trung niên, giàu có. Câu chuyện xảy ra
tại sân thượng của nhà hàng ở Rome vào giữa năm 1920.
- Trong khung cảnh: di tích Forum, đấu trường Palatine.
- 02 nhân vật bề ngoài tỏ ra rất thân thiết, khi lớn lên họ trở thành tính
địch vì cả 2 cùng yêu Delphine. Bà Slade ganh tị với Ansley và đem lòng ghen
tuông 25 năm.
- Mở đầu truyện, 2 người nhắc lại chuyện ngày xưa. Bà Slade tiết lộ bức
thư viết cho Ansley cách đây 25 năm. Nội dung của bức thư là lới Delphine
nhắn Ansley cần gặp nhau tại đấu trường. Bức thư này do bà Slade viết vì cho 2
người gặp nhau.
- Ansley nói có gặp Delphine. Bà Slade nghĩ không có gì phải tội nghiệp
mình vài bà đã có Delphine trong 25 năm qua. Ansley trả lời đã có Barbara là
con của Delphine.
- Vì sao bà Slade trở thành góa phụ? Nét tương phản của 2 nhân vật tạo ra
yếu tố mỉa mai trong truyện. Cả 2 nhân vật không cân xứng trong việc tranh tài.
Bà Slade là người tự tin nhưng thua cuộc. Ansley là người không tự tin nhưng
thắng cuộc.
- Trong nội tâm của Ansley nuôn bị giằng xé. Bà giữ tình yêu Delphine
trong lòng suốt 25 năm, dùng hình thức đan để che dấu tình cảm.
- Thành Rome tượng trưng cho xã hội lịch thiệp. Đi từ nơi đẹp đẽ đến đấu
trường độc ác, bóng tối cũng dần buôn xuống như lòng tăm tối của con người.
- Trong xã hội nam giới thống trị thì người phụ nữ chỉ là vật sở hữu. Nếu
người đàn ông sở hữu được người nữ xinh đẹp thì người giàu có. Người phụ nữ
phải trau chuốt để tìm người xứng đáng, khi già thì phải lo cho con cái.
- Slade không kìm chế được cảm xúc. Họ không còn là 2 người bạn mà là
đấu sĩ.
- Tác phẩm nói về chuyện tình 3 người : 2 phụ nữ và 1 người đàn ông. 1
người lợi dụng căn bệnh để loại tình địch.
- Roman Fever nghĩa là niềm đam mê, thôi thúc khiến Grace Ansley dù
bệnh vẫn cố gắng đến đấu trường để gặp người yêu của mình. Nó cũng là sự

ghen tuông của bà Slade với bà Ansley.
- Tất cả các nhân vật đều là nạn nhân của Roman Fever.
- Theo bạn thì 2 người bạn có thật sự hiểu nhau không? Thành thật với
nhau không? Tìm dẫn chứng? Họ suy nghĩ về nhau như thế nào?
"Roman Fever" is among Edith Wharton's last writings and caps off her noteworthy
career. "Roman Fever" was first published in Liberty magazine in 1934, and it was
included in Wharton's final collection of short stories, The World Over, in 1936.
Several reviewers of this final collection from newspapers and magazines throughout
the nation called special attention to "Roman Fever." Since then, however, the story
has received little critical attention. The few critics who have written about the story
describe it as artistic, complex, and reflective of Wharton's moral landscape.
"Roman Fever," however, is frequently included in anthologies, both of Wharton's
work and of American literature, and this may be a better indicator of its value as
worthwhile literature than its critical history is. The story, at first, seems to be little
more than a tale about the nostalgic remembrances of two middle-aged women
revisiting Rome. Yet the tone of both the outer and inner dialogue shows a deep-felt
animosity between the two women. The more outgoing Mrs. Slade is envious of Mrs.
Ansley's vivacious daughter and jealous of her past love for Mrs. Slade's husband. The
final sentence of the story reveals that Mrs. Slade has a valid reason for her feelings of
competition with Mrs. Ansley though she only learns of it after years of ill-feeling.
Some readers may find this final sentence to be a trick ending, on par with those of
Saki or O. Henry. But a close reading of "Roman Fever" shows that Wharton carefully
crafted her story to lead up to that exact moment of truth. Wharton's fine construction
indeed makes "Roman Fever" one of her greater works of short fiction.
Here you go with "A Rose For Emily"
The story of “A Rose for Emily” begins with a scene of a funeral when Miss Emily
Grierson died. In your opinion, what does “A Rose” stand for?
Du Thi Minh Chau
Rose, Forever a Symbol of Love
William Faulkner was known as a prolific writer of short stories. His first short story

collection “These 13” (1932) includes many of his most acclaimed and most
frequently anthologized stories, and also “A Rose for Emily”. “A Rose for Emily”
recounts the story of an eccentric spinster, Emily Grierson with the strange
circumstances of her life and her odd relationships with her father, and her lover. After
her death, townspeople discovered that Emily killed her lover and slept with his corpse
through years. Although readers can not find out any rose in this story, it was still
named “A rose for Emily”. In my opinion, “a rose” stands for the love between Emily
and her father, and her lover Homer Barron, and her Negro servant Tobe.
First of all, “a rose” is used as a symbol of the love between Emily and her father.
Emily’s father loved her so much that he did not let her love any man. He had driven
away all the young men that were in love with her. Maybe to Emily’s father, she was
the most precious stone and a noble lady that no men could deserve to be her husband.
That made young beautiful Emily become a spinster when time went by. On the other
hand, Emily also loved her father too much that she could not accept his death. Emily
refused that “her father was not dead” and she did it for three days. Until the doctors
“were about to resort to law and force”, she broke down and let them burry her father.
She was so afraid of being alone that she could not let go of him. For this reason,
“with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which had robbed her”. An odd love
between father and daughter did spoil Emily’s life from her first days.
The second point, which is easy to see, is “a rose” stands for a couple’s love – Emily
and her lover, Homer Barron. Firstly, this love could be considered as an one-way or
unilateral love from Emily to Homer. She met him after her father died and she did not
have any moral support. Homer was also the first man that Miss Emily had a chance to
love. As a result, she wanted to live with him forever. However, Homer did not
because he was attracted to men and was not a marrying type. Secondly, Emily’s love
was selfish and possessive. Although she knew that Homer did not love her and marry
her, she still bought a suit, a night-shirt and a man’s toilet set in silver with the letters
H. B. on each piece. She did anything to prove that they were getting married and also
to cling Homer. Emily just knew that she loved him so that he had to live with her
forever. That led to Homer’s death by arsenic which Emily bought from the druggist.

Once more the blind love of Emily to her lover did spoil the following days of her
poor life.
Finally, “a rose” is a mute love of the Negro servant, Tobe for Emily. Firstly, he took
care of Emily until she died. After the death of Emily’s father, “the only sign of life
about the place” was he, a young man then. The phrase “the Negro men went in and
out with a market basket” was repeated as regualrly, slowly and even softly as his
appearance throughout Emily’s life. Tobe did it day by day, month by month, year by
year without saying a word so that “his voice had grown harsh and rusty, as if from
disuse”. I myself think that Tobe might want to spend all his lifetime to take cae of her
as well as to love her in mute. Therefore, it might be the reason why he did not leave
Emily alone when her family situation fell down. Secondly, Tobe still took care of
Emily after she died. This detail can be see clearly in “The Negro met the first of the
ladies at the front door and let them in, …, and then he disappeared. He walked right
through the house and out the back and was not seen again”. It meant that Tobe loved
Emily so much that he let eveyone in and take care of her when he was too old to do
this, and was about to go away. It was the simple love of the Negro servant that gave a
grain of comfort to the last day of Emily’s life.
In conclusion, readers can see that “a rose” here stands for many kinds of love. It may
be an odd love between father and daughter that spoils Emily’s first days; or a blind
love of a couple that kills Emily’s lover and also spoils her following days; or a simple
love of a servant Tobe for his young mistress that comforts her last day. Morever, the
author did want to describe Miss Emily as a rose – a young lady with her beauty.
Hence he expressed his affection to her, a rose at her funeral at the end of the story.
The story did close but leave the readers filled with compassion for Miss Emily, who
never had a chance to know what a real love is until she dies.
Một bài viết khác!
Truong Thi Bich Ngoc
In the story ‘A Rose for Emily’, we did not see any rose even in a smallest detail, so
the question here is that what ‘a rose’ means or what ‘a rose’ stands for. In my own
feeling, ‘a rose’ is just the symbol and it has many ‘colors’. In general, we all know

that rose is a symbol of love and beauty. It is called the ‘the Queen of flowers’, and it
has many color represent many state and sentiment of people. In this story, the readers
can understand ‘a rose’ as the author’s commemoration to Emily in overall the story;
or through the creation of the author in the details, we can see the symbol of ‘a rose’
was represented as the Yankee named Homer Barron, the old Negro, the mayor
Colonel Sartoris, and the respect of the townspeople to Emily.
The first meaning of ‘a rose’ is the love. The love is also the tragedy in this story.
Emily loved the Yankee named Homer Barron very much, but she did not have a
happy ending. She could not hold the heart of that man, thought she killed him and
kept his body with her for years. In my subjective idea, I think the character Homer
Barron is not a real ‘rose’ in the life of Emily because this man brought the hope also
the big hurt and was the reason for the tragedy ; but I think the author and his Emily
should thought that Homer Barron is a rose, the rose of love. However, the intolerant
love of Emily made this ‘rose’ became the most terrible rose. Barron was a bloody red
rose with many thorns in Emily’s life, a haunted rose.
The second meaning of ‘a rose’ is the old Negro who was always beside Emily and
took care for all her life. He was very loyal and did everything for Emily with all of his
mind and his love. Maybe he was not confident enough to advice Emily to do the
better thing, but he had finished his responsibility excellently. If he did not exist in
Emily’s life, I am sure that she could not live long like that. Somebody think that this
old Negro loved Emily, or he did like that to repay the help from Emily’s family…
Maybe these are right, but I love to think that he is an unusually servant who can do
everything to save his owner. He is like a pure yellow rose always beside Emily in all
circumstances.
The third ‘rose’ in Emily’s life is the mayor Colonel Sartoris. His family and Emily’s
family had a good relationship. He knew clearly that Emily totally depended on her
father. When Mr. Grierson had died, Mr. Sartoris decided to do something to help
Emily. Finally, he created a fabrication that she was spared the tax because that was
the repayment for a loan given to the town by her father. He was generous knew how
to use his power for his purpose effectively. In general, this character was good and

had full of power like a velvety rose that the author brought to Emily’s life.
The fourth ‘rose’ stands for the sentiment of the townspeople. In fact, not all of them
love her, but at least they still respected her as the last state of an old passed time.
They had the breath of the new age, and also had the curiosity about the life and the
house of Emily. When Emily died, they are persons who celebrated the funeral for her.
After a tragedy and lonely life, Emily still had many people attended her funeral. This
is a little strange, but at a side, we can think that it is the intention of the author to
make the life of Emily has something warm at the end. In general, the sentiment of the
townspeople looked like a new orange rose adorned for the life of Emily.
The last meaning of ‘a rose’ is the commemoration to Emily from the author. The
story started with the scene of Emily’s funeral and then back to over early forty years
to tell all the tragedy of Emily’s life. The readers absolutely do not see any rose in this
story, so one of the explanations for the title ‘A Rose for Emily’ is that ‘rose’
represented for the sentiment of the author to Emily. This sentiment of the author is as
a white rose used to respect the deceased person.
In brief, as I express above, there are many ‘roses’ with many colors in Emily’s life. A
haunted rose named Homer Barron, a pure yellow rose old Negro, the velvety rose
Colonel Sartoris, a new orange rose from the townspeople, and a white rose in the
funeral for all her tragedy life. ‘A Rose for Emily’ can be understood by readers in
many ways depend on which ‘rose’ they love. In my opinion, a’ rose’, at last, is the
white; because after many color ‘roses’ she had in life, there was only the white rose in
her funeral. One more reason, the white is said to be the container of all colors, so ‘A
Rose for Emily’, at the end, is the white.
traihoang
21-11-2009, 03:01 PM
Emily’s life seemed to be isolated from the society. In your opinion, who would be
responsible for her “poor characters”?
Pham Thi Nhu Y
William Faulkner is one of the most famous American writers in the American Prose
since 1945. He writes a lot of novels with reality and experimentation which he has

collected from society in his time and from village he has been living in years. “A rose
for Emily” is one of his major works. The story of “A rose for Emily” tells about the
poor life of Miss Emily Grierson, one member of the powerful noble family. She is
living with the huge fame and richness of the family. It is separated her with society
outside. She sometimes contracts with people around her. After her father dies, she
seldom goes out. All time she just lives in her big house with an old man-servant-a
combined gardener and cook. Her life is going by secretly, silently and lonely even
though she is isolated from her society. And all those different things among her
neighbors and she are made by three men in her life. They are responsible for that she
is isolated from society.
The first man responsible for her isolated from society is her father. He brings the
deepest effects to all her life. She lives on her father so much. She makes him decide
all things in her life. She always does what her father tells and does not need to know
if it is right or wrong, “His back to her is very big.” He takes cares of her so close. He
prevents any man from coming with her. The reasons he gives are that they belong to
the lower social classes “None of the young men were quite good enough for Miss
Emily.” With the way of his thought like that, he puts his daughter on too high
position what she really is. So it makes her too proud of her rank. Even after her
father’s death, she has been a thirty-year woman, she has not got married. She just
stays at her house and goes out very little. Every one hardly sees her later. His death
leaves an enormous gap in her life. That loosing is too huge for her to accept it. She
can not believe that her father died so she can not allow people to bury her father’s
body until more three days after. It improves again that her father affects her so much.
It is the way he loves his daughter that makes her be isolated from her society.
The second man is the Mayor Colonel Sartoris. He is a powerful man in the town. He
edicts many statements and official orders in society at that time. One of them is that
he has made a decision to free Miss Emily’s duties since the day of her father’s death,
“Remitted her taxes, the dispensation dating from the death of her father on into
perpetuity.” It means that she has to pay for any tax no longer. And it also means that
one more time, she is again dispossessed the right to take part in social activities and

have relationships with people around her. Mr. Sartoris is duty free for her because he
wants her not to be worried about it after her father’s death. But intentionally, his
action prevents her from having relationships with people. She does not pay her taxes
so she does not also have any reason to go out or talk with the others. She only stays at
her house and does not have to care everything happening outsides because everything
has had other people to do for her.
The last man is an old man-servant-a combined gardener and cook, a Negro. He lives
with her at least ten years. He does everything in her house from a gardener to cook
and a house-keeper. He takes care of her head over heels when she is alive as well as
when she dies. So she does not have to reach her hands into any thing. She is not
worried about anything from the smallest like buying her daily clothes or separate
things to bigger things like keeping all a big house, dealing with difficult things
outsides or unexpected visitors who come her house with any reasons. And she lives as
a noblewoman with its true meaning even at that time her family is not like before and
society changes and modernizes more. But she does not care; it is no meaning in her
life. She makes acquainted with the way of living like that. It seems an undivided part
of her life. His love makes her habits live on others. She has never thought that she
must work everything by herself or live more independently not depend on the others
so much.
In short, Miss Emily is a poor character. She lives a quite and alone life in her house
and is isolated from society almost. She just goes around in her cold house. She often
sits lonely in dark. Her life will not be too unfortunate and sad if three men in her life
do not love and take care of her so close like that. It is the way they love her to make
the habits living on others for her. She always thinks that everything has others do as
well as they must do it for her like their duties with her life. Her thoughts are
unreasonable and it is not her mistakes because she has been forced to believe it. These
thoughts are built and brought into her blood when a child. She has no chance to
choose. So it is!
THE MEANING OF THE TITLE “A ROSE FOR EMILY”
Dang Xuan Thai Ngan

The victory of the American Civil War ends glory days of the South. Many southern
people refused to accept the changed situation and had kept cherishing their precious
memories. They showed a strong attachment to old values and traditions of the faded
past. Miss Emily, who is the main character in the story “A Rose for Emily”, is typical
of those Southerners. Throughout the story, the word “rose” rarely appears, but trying
to interpret it helps readers have a deep understanding about the story.
“A Rose for Emily” is Faulkner’s white rose to Emily, his way of expressing
condolences to Emily’s death. He sympathizes with her loneliness and her imagination
about her status. People in the town respect her but they are one of the main reasons
that make her have too good opinion of herself. They do not dare to force her to pay
taxes, they do not dare to question her when she buys poison, they are more
embarrassed of making remarks about the smell and do not dare to find out the truth
about this terrible smell. I have the feeling that they consider her as “holy” idol. They
treat her as if she was beyond the law If only they forced her to obey the law, she
would be more conscious about her real status and integrated into a new era.
The rose is also a comparison to Emily’s life. She grows up in a comfortable
environment and has everything a child wants. This caused Emily to be very self –
centered and thinks of herself as superior to everyone else in the town even when her
father dies. Like the most beautiful rose in a garden, she is too proud of herself to
leave a normal life as other people and deny her high status which only exists in her
thinking. She refuses to pay taxes, ignores town gossip that she is a fallen woman. In
my opinion, she is a victim of the circumstance because she suffers from a lack of
genuine love and care, and her stubbornness is caused by her father’s overprotective
treatment when she is young.
Rose symbolizes love. In her life, she lacks love and desires to have one. Emily wants
to be loved, and she is determined that Homer is her true love to rescue her from her
fear of being alone. I think Emily sincerely loves Homer, but his feelings about the
relationship are different because he does not like marriage. The only true love she has
ever known now leaves her. Her deepest feelings and hidden longings for love result in
her murdering of Homer Baron. She does not realize that he is not a deserving man but

desperately clings to that blind love. A “rose” is what her searches for in her life but
till the day she die, she never has one.
The rose is Miss Emily herself. In her heyday she was a high – rank beautiful girl,
however when she grows up, she has a lot of “thorns” that can cut and wound. Her
personality prevents everyone from getting close, even to those who are attracted by
the fragrance or beauty of the rose. She frames herself in her house like a rose in a
protected garden far from the reach of outsiders. Emily’s rose only bloomed for Homer
in a short time and then it faded and died as she does.
The rose here refers to the colour of Emily’ life in her viewpoint. Miss Emily herself, I
believe, is completely incapable of realizing what happens outside her closed front
door. She prefers living in her isolated and protected world inside her house and
believes it is a rosy world. She acts like a innocent child because she loses the concept
of time. She is both indifferent and unconscious of the crime she committed. She even
does not bother to conceal her crime. Instead of taking the reality as it is objectively,
she keeps thinking of the past and imprisons herself in her imaginative rosy world.
Sadly, it is the people in the town that make her misperceive the real world around her
and pride too much on her isolation and independence. For example, when she shows
no grief at her father’s death, they interpret her action as an example of pride and
strength, why don’t they talk to her, comfort and sympathize with her true feeling? .
They also make up a romantic story about her relationship with Homer Barron. When
he disappears, they assume that he has left her with a broken heart, and this gives them
another reason to pity the poor lady. However, when they see her walking with even
straighter back and keeping her head even higher with dignity, they seem to admire her
even more. She is a strong woman with a great sense of tradition but at the same time
she is the victim of misperception of the world. The way the town admire her “heroic
characteristics” never rescues her from the imaginative rosy world. As a result, her
misperception about herself and her real world around continue till the end of her life.
“A Rose for Emily” is a commentary on love in her life. The author tells us about her
father’s love and her true love. Her father loves her so much, he protects her and cares
for her, but drives all the men in her life away. Homer, the man she sincerely loves,

does not return the love she gives him. The 2 men she loves most leave her but her
pride keeps her from socializing with other people in the town and reinforces her
loneliness. Her desire for love and companionship never satisfied.
In the story “A Rose for Emily” Faulkner chooses to use town people’s point of view
as a narrator because it gives the readers a positive and objective view on Miss
Emily’s life. While recalling past events taking place in the town, the narrator gives
the reader insights into Miss Emily’s problems, which in turn helps the readers form
their own different but suitable interpretations about the title of the story.
traihoang
21-11-2009, 03:03 PM
EMILY KILLED HER SWEETHEART
Hoang Ngoc Trang
The papers have written so much about lovers who killed one another. People kill their
lovers for such a number of reasons: their lovers cheat them, their lovers have another
man/woman and so fourth. Killing is already a terrible thing. Yet, when the murderer
and the victim are lovers, the action of killing is often more violent and frightening.
Only after Emily died, the townspeople discovered a horrible fact that she had killed
her sweetheart – Homer Barron. It was frightening as well as surprising to her
neighborhood because they used to think that Emily and Homer would get married. I
was at first surprised by her murder too, but later I understood why she did so.
When Emily was young - when she experienced the most wonderful time in a
woman’s life, she like any other woman hoped for an interesting boyfriend, a real love,
and then a happy family. However successful a woman was, a good husband – a
family was always their most wanted thing. That was not a difficult-to-come-true wish
for Emily because she lived in a rich family and she was young. She had enough
confidence to believe that a good man would come to her. In fact, many men wanted to
call upon her and Miss Emily might be very happy. Nevertheless, his father drove
them away because “None of young men were quite good enough for Emily and
such.” Day by day, Emily missed a lot of chances and “when she got to be thirty …
[she] was still single …” The woman wasted her youth so that she lived lonely with

her continually increasing age. Now, the old father was the only one she loved and the
only one loving her. She totally depended on him. Sadly, her only support broke down.
The father died and she was now left alone, no more love, no more money. Emily was
deeply sunk in depression, loneliness, and regret at a last youth. When this woman
seemed to fall down entirely, the God sent a man to her. “Whenever you heard a lot of
laughing anywhere about the square, Homer Barron would be in the center of the
group.” What a man with a sense of humor. It was understandable that she would rely
on him, that she would put all of her expectations on her only man. However,
everything shattered when Homer himself remarked that “he liked men” and “that he
was not a marrying man.” He made her expect too much and later he made her too
disappointed. Love could make Emily or anyone happy but it also turned her into
madness. Any woman in this situation would get crazy and it was merely the God who
knew what they dared to do. Miss Emily chose to kill her beloved. A normal girl
would never do that but she was Emily who lost so many things, her youth, her father,
her wealthy life, and also her final and only happiness – her sweetheart.
The society was another cause of Emily’s murder. Right when people saw her and
Homer driving together on Sunday afternoons, they felt sorry for her. They considered
her love a pity because such a noble woman got married to a Yankee, a black and day
laborer. The whole neighborhood gossiped about their relationships as if her love was
something eccentric, terrible, and against the code and modes of the society. She was
sympathized by the kind neighborhood that was very glad to see her cousins come to
prevent her marriage. They said “Two female cousins were even more Grierson then
Miss Emily had ever been,” and they were very happy about that. When she went with
such a day laborer, she refused her high status and she was no longer among respected
upper class. Miss Emily with her love suffered not only the criticisms of surrounded
people but also the condemnation of her relatives. How could a noble woman married
a low-classed man? How could a South woman married a Northerner? The standards
of the society were a big barrier for her love that she and her sweetheart seemed to be
unable to overcome. He would go to escape from the society’s prejudice. He would go
to make Emily stay in her noble status. He would go because he could not bear the

public’s judgments. If she had no way to keep him by her side, if she had to lose him,
she would sooner kill him than let him go. Again, love and prejudice tormented a
vulnerable woman to madness. Her killing of her sweetheart was resulted from a love
bounded and suppressed by the old standards of the society.
When analyzing a murder, we often seek for wrong things the victim does, which
cause his/her death. Then we blame on the situation, the context, and the society,
which created a cause for the crime. However, it is very important to look at the
murder, to look at his/her inside to see another aspect of the fact. She grew up in the
protection and preservation of her father. He – “the Griersons held themselves a little
too high for what they really were” and he made her daughter think the same. Emily
considered her higher than people surround. She separated herself from the world
outside to be earthless and noble. Many times people thought that she must have felt
down but she always “carried her head high … it was as if she demanded more than
ever the recognition of her dignity as the last Grierson.” Then it was Colonel Sartoris
who gave her a right not to pay the tax. “Only a man of Colonel Sartoris’ generation
and thought could have invented it, and only a woman could have believed it … When
the next generation, with its more modern ideas … this arrangement created some little
dissatisfaction.” This separated her more from the society and gave her a special right
over other people. And then a loyal Negro servant kept silent before her deed, kept
protecting her, and kept covering up her superior thought and her monstrous actions.
For those reasons, Emily developed a view that she could live above the others, she
didn’t need their care or sympathy, and she would vanquished all of them. With this
characteristic, Emily made everyone believe that she and Homer would get married
although he might be a gay man or he didn’t want to marry her. She chose to kill him
rather than let people know that she was a loser. She could vanquish everyone
including the man who did not respond to her love. She could make him hers for good.
He laid there and could never go away.
Also in term of her characteristics, I would like to stress that Emily was a traditional
woman. She lived an old monument, an old ideology which were no longer accepted
by the new generation. The world around had changed much but she was still in her

shell. Nobody wanted to learn painting from her; it was a symbolism for her severe
traditional viewpoint. The society prevented her love or it was herself who couldn’t
accept a marriage with a black laborer. The idea of “noblesse oblige” might ingrain in
her mind so that she killed her sweetheart rather than bravely got married to him. She
represented something of the past which the community was proud of. She was the last
Grierson, a noble class that the whole community looked at and admired. So, she was
the person who was most afraid of the public’ judgments and actually she could never
accept the society’s ordinary judgments and values. She could never bear the ladies’
idea that “it was [her relationship] a disgrace to the town and a bad example to the
young people.” The pride and the dignity of an upper class were so important to her
that she could not go out of the community’s opinions to get her happiness. Being
wavering between love – (she was over thirty) and dignity, Miss Traditionally Noble
Emily decided to kill his lovers to keep him by her side and she didn’t have to lose her
own gracious image. A disappointing lover, a gossiping neighborhood, the
community’s values, her pride, her conscious aristocracy, her refusal to mix with
normal standards of the society, her superior views, and her intentional disconnection
from the real world all contributed a complex, monstrous, and mad psychology in
Emily. This psychology certainly led to an abnormal action, and it was a gruesome
crime. The story did not simply to describe a horror; it was not simply a horror story.
The killing was not an action which frightened the audience, but it said many things
about the society and a person’s awareness of herself and of the world outside.
What are the important roles of the four men in Emily’s life?
Tran Thi Kim Chau
In William Faulkner’s 1930 short story “A Rose for Emily,” the protagonist, Miss
Emily Grierson is a desperately lonely woman. Miss Emily finds herself completely
isolated from other people her entire life, yet somehow she manages to continue on
with her head holds high. What makes her life become a series of sadness and
solitude? It is not herself but, in my viewpoint, the four men including her father, the
mayor, the Negro, and Homer Barron that are to blame. They play an important role in
Emily’s life in terms of her separation. While the mayor and the Negro man keep

Emily from dealing with social life through duty and activity, her father and Homer
Barron dispossess her of loving and being loved. These are the two aspects I would
like to bring into discussion.
The first aspect to be mentioned is the role of the mayor and the Negro man over
Emily’s life. About the mayor, he remitted her taxes for she is of noble descent. He
must make up a story to legalize this issue without knowing that he unintentionally
separates Emily from the outside world. As you know, paying tax is a duty to society
and to community as well. It helps a citizen prove his existence in the community and
the society where she is living. Here in the story, that Emily does not have to care
about the tax means she is remote from the people. About the Negro man, he also puts
his hand in the separation of Emily. He has been such a good servant that he cares
nothing except for being obedient to his master. He lives silently as he goes in and out
with a market basket and takes care of Emily. Even when she is sick, he does not
reveal any information about that. Besides, he is considered the only sign of life about
Emily’s house but he keeps saying nothing about what happens inside the house. In
my opinion, Emily would be more involved in the daily life if the Negro man did not
exist. Without him, she must go out for food and other needs. Without him, she must
do everything on her own. Moreover, if he was not a cold person, he might share her
feelings and help her feel relieved. He also might reveal what has happened to Emily
so that the people around could help her out of bad condition.
The second aspect that strongly influences Emily’s life is the role of her father and
Homer Barron. Talking about Emily’s father, I feel like he is the most to blame for her
daughter’s sorrow. When young, she is loved by many men of the town. But her
deceased father used to force away all the young men that were in love with her. That
is why during the time in which her father is alive, Emily is seen as a figure to be
contemplated but never touched. As a result, she does not have love in her life. Also,
the time he passes is the period she is weakest. Never being able to develop any real
relationship with anyone else, it seems to me that her world completely crumbles
around her. She is lost and tries to hold on to the corpse because he is all she ever
knew. However, it is said that there is a beginning after an ending. Although the death

of her father is a sad moment, she feels a sense of liberation. She cuts off her hair as a
sign of releasing herself from her father’s control. Then with the new found freedom,
she sets out to fulfill her desires of finding love and living her own life. The time when
she at last finds love in Homer Barron is the time she becomes strongest.
Unfortunately, she is not loved. Admittedly, there is nothing more painful than loving
without being loved. To Emily, the pain is greater because she has reached the old age
and she really desire love. This brings her to the last limit of endurance. She is
severely depressed and finally poisons Homer Barron in order to not be jilted. To this
point, the role of her father and Homer Barron towards Emily’s separation has been
clear. It is her father that keeps her away from having a normal relationship with a
man. It is Homer Barron that knocks her down when he has no love for her. These two
men dispossess her of love, a thing which many a woman longs for during her life.
In conclusion, the type of person Emily is wholly due to the men that have left a harsh
impact on her life; particularly her father and Homer Barron. She is made to be
separated from the normal life which she deserves living. I can infer from her
sorrowful life to say that the people and the surrounding play a significant role in one’s
development, especially the time of adolescence. Besides, social prejudice or
judgments has a powerful strength for it can rise people up and get people down at the
same time.
A ROSE FOR EMILY
(HOA HỒNG CHO EMILY)
1. Tóm tắt truyện : Summary of story :
“Hoa hồng cho Emily” là một truyện ngắn của nhà văn William Faulkner. Câu
chuyện kể về một cô gái sinh ta trong một gia đình giàu có nên phải ép mình sống theo
những gì mà người cha áp đặt, không được quyền tự do để quyết định cuộc đời mình,
kể cả trong tình cảm. Emily luôn khát khao có cuộc sống hạnh phúc cho bản thân mình
nhưng không bao giờ có thể thực hiện được bởi những rào cản của gia đình, xã hội và
của chính bản thân Emily.
"A rose for Emily" is a short story written by William Faulkner. The story
tells of a girl who born in a wealthy family so she should forced herself to live

according to what his father imposed, no freedom to decide her life, even in love.
Emily always desired the happy life for herself but never do it because of the
barriers of family, society and Emily herself.
Câu chuyện bắt đầu bằng đám tang của Emily và sau đó là một chuỗi sự kiện kể
về cuộc đời của Emily. Cô là hiện thân của một truyền thống, một bổn phận và một sự
quan tâm. Người dân trong thị trấn xem cô như một "đền đài uy nghi" và cố gắng bảo
vệ cho giá trị ấy. Cha của Emily áp đặt và chi phối toàn bộ đời sống của cô. Chính vì
vậy, cô vẫn sống độc thân khi đã 30 tuổi. Bởi vì hầu như không có chàng trai nào xứng
đáng với Emily. Cô yêu Hormer Barron - một người làm thuê. Và dĩ nhiên điều này là
không thể chấp nhận. Mọi người trong thị trấn tìm mọi cách để ngăn cản tình yêu của
họ bằng nhiều cách khác nhau. Emily không thể đến được với tình yêu của mình. Cô
đã nghĩ ra một việc làm là cho Hormer Barron uống thuốc chuột, để rồi suốt cuộc đời
cô sống với thi thể của người mình yêu trong căn phòng. Bởi cô tin rằng chỉ có như thế
thì cô mới có được Hormer Barron mãi mãi.
The story begins with the Emily's funeral and then there was a series of
events of Emily’s life. She was the embodiment of a tradition, a duty and a care. The
people in town deemed her as a "majestic palace" and tried to protect that value.
Emily's father imposed and dominated her entire life. Therefore, she was still single
even when she was 30 years old. Because most guys didn’t deserve Emily. She loved
Hormer Barron – a foreman. Of course it was unacceptable. Everyone in the town
tried to prevent their love by different ways. Emily was not able to be with her love.
She had thought of a way that to make Hormer Barron drink “Arsenic”, then all
her life she lived with the dead body of her love in the room. Because she believed
that just doing it she could own Hormer Barron forever.
Kết thúc câu chuyện là một sự thật bất ngờ. Người ta phát hiện ra thi thể của
một người đàn ông. Đó chính là Hormer Barron. William Faulkner phê phán một xã
hội đã gây ra sự đau thương cho một người phụ nữ chỉ vì cô ấy là một phụ nữ quý tộc.
Suốt cuộc đời cô ấy đã cố gắng tìm kiếm cho mình một bông hồng - tượng trưng cho
một tình yêu đích thực nhưng mãi mãi không bao giờ tìm kiếm được.
The end of the story was a true surprise. They discovered the body of a man.

It was Hormer Barron. William Faulkner criticizes a society that has causing pains
to a woman just because she was a noble woman. Her entire life was trying to seek
for a rose - symbolizing the true love forever but she has never earned it.
2. Phân tích : Analysis:
* Tiêu đề "Hoa hồng cho Emily" : Title "A rose for Emily"
Miss Emily Grierson là một cô gái thuộc dòng dõi quý tộc, sống cô độc trong
căn nhà do cha cô để lại. Cô luôn khát khao cuộc sống cho riêng mình nhưng mơ ước
đó luôn bị sự áp đặt bởi gia đình, xã hội và ngay cả chính bản thân cô. Cha của Emily
như một bóng đen lớn bao trùm phía trước, quay lưng về phía cô và cầm chặt một cái
roi ngựa. Điều đó tượng trưng cho quyền lực chi phối, áp đặt của ông lên con gái của
mình. Còn Emily là một hình bóng mảnh mai, nhỏ bé trong trang phục màu trắng -
tượng trưng cho sự yếu đuối, ngây thơ - đứng phía sau lưng ông. Với địa vị quý tộc đó
buộc Emily muốn đính hôn thì phải đính hôn với người xứng đáng, mà thực tế thì hầu
như không có một chàng trai nào đủ xứng đáng với cô để đến cầu hôn cô được. Cha cô
chính là cái bóng bao phủ cuộc đời cô. Vì thế mà khi đã 30 tuổi, Emily vẫn còn độc
thân. Suốt cuộc đời cô đi tìm một bông hồng mà vẫn không tìm thấy được.
Miss Emily Grierson was a woman of nobility, living alone in the house left
by her father. She was always longing for her own life but that dream was always
been refused by her family, society and even herself. Emily’s father was as a large
black covering in front of her, turning his back towards her and tightly holding a
horse whip. It symbolized his power dominating, imposing his own daughter. And
Emily was slender figure, in white dress - symbolizing the frailty, innocence -
standing behind him. That noble status forced Emily to get married with deserved
men, in fact, most men didn’t deserve to propose a marriage to her. Her father was
the shadow covering her life. So even when 30 years old, Emily was still single.
Throughout her life, she sought for a rose that has not been found.
Đối với xã hội, cộng đồng thị trấn xem việc bảo vệ cho Emily như là nhiệm vụ
của mình. Bởi vì Emily là dòng dõi quý tộc, là điều mà họ "kính trọng như một đền
đài". Cô là hiện thân của một truyền thống, một bổn phận và một sự quan tâm; một thứ
bổn phận cha truyền con nối. Cô được hưởng nhiều đặc ân. Người dân thị trấn luôn

thua Emily về quyền uy và lý lẽ dù cho những lý lẽ ấy là vô lý. Chẳng hạn như việc bà
không chịu gắn bảng số nhà, không nộp thuế, vẫn để căn nhà mình bốc lên một mùi
hôi thối Và hầu như không một ai có thể làm gì được điều đó cả. Sau khi cha Emily
mất khoảng 2 năm, Emily bắt đầu yêu một người đàn ông. Anh ta là một đốc công
miền Bắc (a foreman Yankee), tên anh ta là Hormer Barron. Dân chúng bắt đầu xầm
xì bàn tán về tình yêu của họ. Họ bắt đầu can thiệp vào đời sống của Emily vì họ
không muốn cái "đền đài" mà họ tôn thờ bấy lâu bị mất đi cái vẻ uy nghi của nó.
Chính vì thế, họ tìm đủ mọi cách ngăn cản tình yêu của Emily và Hormer Barron. Đầu
tiên họ đồn đại Hormer là một người đồng tính, con đường hôn nhân của Emily sẽ là
bi kịch nếu như có tình yêu với anh ta. Họ tìm mục sư đến thuyết phục Emily, sau lại
tìm vợ của mục sư viết thư báo cho người thân của Emily. Họ làm cho Emily không
thể nào đến với tình yêu đích thực của mình.
For society, the community of the town deemed protection of Emily as its
mission. Because Emily was aristocratic, she was "respected as a temple." She was
the embodiment of a tradition, a duty and a care; a hereditary duty. She enjoyed
many privileges. The town people always had lower power and decision than Emily
although it was ridiculous. For example, she refused to install the house number
sign, not paying tax, leaving her house emitting a bad smell and almost no one
else could deal with it. After Emily’s father died about two years, Emily started to
fall in love with a man. He was a foreman Yankee, his name was Hormer Barron.
Everyone started to discuss about their love. They began to intervene in Emily’s life
because they did not want the "monument" that they worshiped in a long time lost
its majestic looks. Therefore, they tried to prevent the love between Emily and
Barron Hormer. At the first time, they told that Hormer was a gay, Emily’s marital
life would be a tragedy if she fell in love with him. They asked the Baptist Minister
for convincing Emily, and then asking the the Baptist Minister 's wife for giving
written notices to Emily’s relatives. They made Emily not able to come to her true
love.
Đối với bản thân của Emily : vì sinh ra và lớn lên trong một gia đình quý tộc
nên phải sống đúng theo những giá trị cao quý đó. Đó chính là rào cản lớn nhất làm

cho cô không thể đến được với người mình yêu. Áp lực từ phía gia đình, xã hội làm
cho bản thân Emily cũng rơi vào vòng lẩn quẩn, nội tâm luôn giằng xé. Cô cũng không
muốn thay đổi quá khứ, tiếp thu cái mới, vẫn muốn vĩnh viễn đeo bám những giá trị
cũ. Để tình yêu của mình tồn tại mãi mãi, cô đã tìm ra một giải pháp. Emily đi mua
thạch tín, trang hoàng căn phòng của mình như một phòng hoa chúc và giết chết người
yêu bằng thạch tín. Suốt cuộc đời cô sống trong căn phòng đó với thi thể người yêu, 40
năm trôi qua là khoảng thời gian Emily năm ôm xác người yêu. Đó cũng giống như
việc cô không muốn mất đi người cha của mình nên đã không cho ai chôn xác cha
mình. Điều đó chứng tỏ cuộc đời của Emily bị điều khiển bởi người cha từ lúc cô sống
cho tới khi chết. Từ một người con gái mảnh mai trong trang phục màu trắng, về sau
Emily trở thành một người phụ nữ trong trang phục màu đen, người nhợt nhạt, nhan
sắc bị hủy hoại dần theo thời gian cũng như cuộc đời bị hủy hoại dần trong cô độc.
For Emily: because she was born and grown in a noble family, she had to
live in accordance with such high and precious value. That was the biggest barrier
that made her unable to get married with the man she loved. Pressure from her
family, society also made Emily fall into confusion; her mind was always confused.
She did not want to change the past, accepted the new; she still wanted to
permanently cling to old values. For her love to exist forever, she has found a
solution. Emily bought arsenic, decorated her room as a wedding room and killed
her lover with arsenic. Throughout her life, she lived in that room with the corpse of
her love, 40 years elapsed was also the time Emily was lying hugging her lover. It
was likely she did not want to lose her father so she didn’t allow anyone burying her
father’s corpse. This demonstrated that Emily's life was controlled by her father
from his lifetime until his death. From a slender girl dressed in white, later Emily
became a woman dressed in black, with pale body, her beauty was destroyed over
time as well as her life was gradually destroyed in aloneness.
Suốt cả câu chuyện, Emily tồn tại như một khái niệm, một giá trị của cuộc sống
- giá trị mang tên "dòng dõi quý tộc", như một pho tượng cho người ta tôn thờ. Hoa
hồng đại diện cho tình yêu của Emily như việc cô cho trang hoàng căn phòng hoa chúc
của mình. Người ngoài có thể cho rằng đây chính là nấm mồ bí ẩn nhưng đối với

Emily, đó chính là một căn phòng ngập tràn hạnh phúc với đầy hoa hồng. Hoa hồng
cũng là sự tôn trọng mà những người khác dành cho cô ấy. Tiêu đề của câu chuyện đã
chứng tỏ rằng người ta đã trả lại cho Emily quyền tự do, quyền sống của một con
người chứ không phải là tình yêu dành cho một khái niệm nào đó.
Throughout the story, Emily existed as a concept, a value of the life - the
value named "aristocrat", liked a statue for people to worship. Roses represented
Emily’s love which was the thing for her to decorate her room. Everyone might
think that this was the mystery grave but for Emily, this was a room filled with
happiness and full of roses. Rose was also the respects everyone gave her. Title of
the story has proved that people has given back to Emily the freedom, right of
having a human life and not a love for a certain concept.
* Cây chuyện mang ý nghĩa tượng trưng cho cuộc nội chiến Nam - Bắc Hoa
Kỳ : (The story symbolizes the internal civil war between South - North America: )
Miss Emily Grierson là một cô gái thuộc dòng dõi quý tộc, tượng trưng cho
tầng lớp thống trị ở miền Nam Hoa Kỳ. Hoàn cảnh xã hội lúc bấy giờ ở Hoa Kỳ, miền
Bắc thì bắt đầu phát triển với những nhà máy phát triển công nghiệp. Miền Nam thì
giới quý tộc thống trị với những đồn điền và những người nô lệ.
Miss Emily Grierson was a woman of nobility, representing the ruling class
in Southern United States. For the social situation in the United States at that time,
the North began to develop with industrial development plants. The South
dominated by the noble class with plantations and slaves.
Những nhân vật và môi trường sống quanh Emily đều có giá trị tượng trưng của
nó. Căn nhà của Emily chính là biểu tượng của giới quý tộc với "a big, squarish frame
house of the seventies". Việc hơn 10 năm không có ai bước vào căn nhà ngoại trừ
người đầy tớ tượng trưng cho chế độ nô lệ, bất công của chế độ cũ. Khi trình độ phát
triển công nghiệp từ miền Bắc xuất hiện, chỉ còn căn nhà của Emily là tồn tại như cố
gắng bám víu vào một xã hội cũ. Trước đây, căn nhà này là một căn nhà sang trọng
nhất. Giờ đây chỉ còn là một đống đổ nát, bốc mùi hôi thối nồng nặc. Những căn
phòng âm u, nghe có mùi bụi bặm và hoang phế. Phải chăng đây chính là sự mục nát
suy tàn của một xã hội cũ.

The characters and environment around Emily had their own symbolic value.
Emily’s home was a noble symbol with "a big, squarish frame house of the
seventies." It has been more than 10 years no one entered the house except servant
stood for slavery, the injustice of the old regime. When the level of industrial
development from the North appeared, only Emily’s home existed like trying to cling
to an old society. Previously, this house was a luxury house. Now it was a broken
one, emitting a very bad stench. There were dark rooms, it was smell of dust and
emptiness. Maybe this was the downfall of a, old society.
Nhân vật chính Emily chính là nhân vật tượng trưng cho quá khứ, cho những
giá trị của giới quý tộc ở miền Nam Hoa Kỳ. Khi còn sống, cô được nhiều đặc ân :
được miễn thuế, từ chối gắn biển số nhà, hộp thư mà chẳng một ai có thể làm gì được
cô cả. Thậm chí cô còn được bao che, như việc đại tá Sartoris đã đưa ra lý do vô lý để
miễn thuế cho cô. Đây là sự phân biệt đẳng cấp trong xã hội cũ. Trong dáng vẻ bề
ngoài của Emily cũng biểu tượng cho quyền lực "with a thin gold chain gold head".
Việc Emily không mời những người đến gặp cô ngồi mà cô chỉ đứng lắng nghe chứng
minh sự uy quyền của cô. Người dân luôn thua Emlily về lẽ sống lẫn quyền uy. Một số
người tại thị trấn vẫn theo lý lẽ của Emily bởi vì họ thuộc về xã hội cũ nên họ luôn tìm
cách bám víu vào nó. Chẳng hạn như có một khoảng thời gian, nhà của Emily bốc lên
một mùi hôi thối nồng nặc, những người dân trong thị trấn - những người đại diện cho
thế hệ cũ lẫn thế hệ mới có một cuộc tranh cãi gay gắt về sự việc này. Thậm chí một số
người đã gửi đơn khiếu nại. Nhưng kết quả họ vẫn sợ cái uy quyền của Emily, chỉ dám
đơn phương giải quyết âm thầm sự việc này.
The main character Emily was a character representing the past, the values
of the nobility in Southern United States. When alive, she was privileged: exempt
from tax, refused to install house number table, having mailbox and no one could
damage her at all. Even she was covered up, as the colonel Santoris has set out
ridiculous reason for her to exempt from tax. This was the distinction between
classes in the old society. The appearance of Emily also symbolized the power "with
a thin gold chain gold head." The thing that Emily didn’t invite her guests to sit
down but she stood to listen also demonstrated her power. People always had lower

reason for living and power than Emily. Some people in town still complied with
Emily's reasoning because they belonged to the old society, so they always tried to
cling to it. For example, in a period, Emily’s home emitted a strongly stench, people
in town - who represented the old generation and new generation had an intense
debate about this. Even someone proceeded against it. But as a result, they still
feared Emily’s power, only unilaterally and quietly resolve this matter.
Emily là một phụ nữ quý tộc, không ai có thể xứng đáng kết hôn với cô bởi
không môn đăng hộ đối. Đây chính là một quan niệm trong xã hội cũ. Nó đã ngăn cản
cô đến với hạnh phúc riêng của mình. Cô là nạn nhân của người cha, nạn nhân của xã
hội vì phải giữ truyền thống, không được cưới người đàn ông nào khác vì không xứng
đôi vừa lứa. Trong tâm lý của Emily có nhiều đan xen phức tạp. Người cha chính là
cái bóng bao phủ cả cuộc đời cô. Cuộc đời của cô bị chi phối bởi cha mình từ lúc sống
đến khi mất. Nhưng Emily luôn bướng bỉnh, cố gắng bám víu vào cái quá khứ bất
công của xã hội thời đó. Cô không phân biệt được đâu là quá khứ và đâu là hiện tại.
Tiếng tích tắc của chiếc đồng hồ trên sợi dây chuyền vàng của cô như báo hiệu cho
một sự tàn lụi của xã hội cũ. Nhưng hình như cô vẫn mặc nhiên với điều đó. Emily tự
cô lập mình trong căn nhà, chỉ sống với người hầu da đen. Khi cha cô mất, cô không
đồng ý cho người ta chôn cất cha mình. Có lẽ trong khoảng thời gia này, cô không còn
phân biệt được đâu là sự sống và đâu là cái chết. Điều đó cũng giống như việc cô
không thể phân biệt được quá khứ và hiện tại, từ giá trị cũ tới sự thay đổi mới.
Emily was a noble woman, no one deserved to marry her due to morganatic
issue. This was an old concept in the old society. It prevented her to reach her own
happiness. She was a victim of the father, a victim of the old society because she
must keep the tradition, not to marry another man because of morganatic issue. In
Emily’s mind, there was complexity. The father was the shadow covering her whole
life. Her life was dominated by her father from his lifetime until her death. But
Emily was always stubborn, trying to cling to the unjust past of the society at that
time. She could not distinguish what was the past, what was the present. The tick of
the watch on her gold necklace was likely a signal for the decline of the old society.
But she was still unconcerned with that matter. Emily isolated herself in the house,

just lived with the black slave. When her father died, she did not agree to burry her
father. Perhaps in this period, she could not distinguish what was life and what was
death. It was likely that she could not distinguish the past and the present, from the
old value to the new change.
Sau khi cha Emily qua đời một thời gian, người ta gặp lại Emily với mái tóc đã
được cắt ngắn như một sự thay đổi bản thân. Nhưng kết quả, người dân vẫn xem cô
như một "thiên thần", không có gì thay đổi. Trong lúc này, Hormer Barron xuất hiện.
Ông ta là sự kết hợp của hai yếu tố: người miền Bắc và người miền Nam. Ông ta thuộc
tầng lớp thấp hơn Emily, chính vì vậy mà người dân trong thị trấn không muốn Emily
kết hôn với Hormer. Điều đó là sự sĩ diện bởi trong chiến tranh họ đã thua miền Bắc.
Đây là sự bảo thủ của tầng lớp cũ đối với Emily. Họ làm cho Emily phải luôn nhớ tới
cái được gọi là "danh giá quý tộc". Tình yêu của Emily bị người đời xầm xì bàn tán,
tạo ra một thứ áp lực cho Emily. Họ tìm mọi cách ngăn cản Emlily đến với hạnh phúc.
Điều đó chứng tỏ rằng người ta vẫn cố tình bám víu những giá trị cũ.
After Emily’s father died in a time, people met Emily with her shorter hair as
a change of herself. But the actual result, people still deemed her as an "angel"
nothing was changed. At that time, Barron Hormer appeared. He was a
combination of two factors: the Northern and the Southern. He was the lower class
than Emily, so that people in the town did not want Emily to marry Hormer / this
was the face because during the war they were defeated by the North. This was the
conservative though of the old class against Emily. They made Emily always
remember the so-called "honorable nobility." Emily's love was discussed by people,
creating a kind of pressure for Emily. They tried to prevent Emily from reaching
happiness. This demonstrated that people still tried to cling to old values.
Ngay cả trong thời điểm này thì Emily vẫn cố chấp, bướng bỉnh duy trì tính
cao ngạo, quý tộc của mình. Thái độ của bà vẫn gây ra sự bất công đối với mọi người.
Emily từ chối không đóng thuế, gắn số nhà, hộp thư trong nhà suy cho cùng là bảo vệ
quyền lợi của giới quý tộc. Cô vẫn ngẩng cao đầu khi ra phố, gặp gỡ mọi người. Chính
vì tính cách đó, Emily đã hy sinh hạnh phúc của mình để làm hài lòng tất cả mọi
người. Cô giết chế Hormer bằng thạch tín với suy nghĩ chỉ có cách này mới có thể giữ

cho Hormer yêu thương cô mãi mãi. Điều đó chứng tỏ sự giáo dục của người cha đã
tác động đến Emily quá lớn. Bản thân Emily cũng tự điều khiển cuộc sống của mình
cho phù hợp với giá trị của giới quý tộc.
Even at this time Emily was still obstinate, stubborn and maintaining her
nobility. Her altitude still caused injustice to everyone. Emily refused to pay taxes,
install the house number table, mailbox in the house with the purpose of protecting
the rights of nobility. She was still lordly when going down the street, meeting
people. Because of that character, Emily had to sacrifice her happiness to please
everyone. She killed Hormer with arsenic with the thought that only this way could
keep Hormer loving her forever. This demonstrated the father's education has
impacted Emily too much. Emily herself also controlled her life to suit the values of
nobility.
Trải qua thời gian, cuộc sống của Emily cũng như hình dáng của Emily cũng
thay đổi theo năm tháng. Emily trở thành một người không còn sức sống, "như một thi
thể lâu ngày ngâm trong nước lạnh", sống cô lập và cô đơn trong căn nhà của mình.
Ngay cả người hầu cô cũng chẳng nói chuyện. Điều đó tượng trưng cho những giá trị
cũ đang tan rã. Chi tiết Emily chết trong ngôi nhà mục nát của mình và sau đám tang
của cô cũng chứng tỏ chế độ nô lệ đã chấm dứt.
Over time, Emily’s life as well as Emily's appearance also changed as the
time passed, Emily became woman with no vitality. “Like a corpse soaking in cold
water in a long time, living isolated and lonely in her house”. Even slaves didn’t
dare to talk to her. It represented the dissolved old values. The details that Emily
died in their decayed house and after her funeral also prove that the slavery was
end.
IN ANOTHER COUNTRY
(Ở ĐẤT NƯỚC KHÁC)
1. Tóm tắt truyện : Summary of story :
“Ở đất nước khác” là một truyện ngắn của nhà văn Ernest Hemingway. Ông
viết câu chuyện này để lên án và chống lại chiến tranh. Câu chuyện xoay quanh những
người lính bị thương sau chiến tranh thế giới thứ 1, mà cụ thể nhân vật chính là người

thuật chuyện, viên thiếu tá và anh thanh niên trẻ tuổi. Đây là một truyện ngắn nói lên
những mất mát do chiến tranh mang lại mà những người lính phải cô độc, chịu sự tách
biệt trong cuộc chiến tranh ấy. Câu chuyện bắt đầu với khung cảnh mùa thu lạnh lẽo.
Tất cả những nhân vật trong truyện gặp nhau tại bệnh viện và mỗi buổi chiều. Đó là
người thuật chuyện – bị thương ở chân, viên thiếu tá – bị thương ở tay và người trẻ
tuổi bị thương ở mặt.
"In another country" is a short story written by Enest Hemingway. He writes
this story to condemn war. The story revolves around the injured soldiers after
World War 1, specifically the main character is the narrator, a Major and a young
man. This is a short story telling losses caused by war that soldiers must be lonely
and separated in that war. The story begins with cold autumn sceneries. All the
characters in the story met at the hospital every afternoon. They were the narrator –
wounded legs, the Major - wounded arms and the young man with his wounded
face.
Họ đến bệnh viện để cho những máy móc chữa trị cho mình nhưng những máy
móc ấy lại không phát huy tác dụng của nó. Họ chịu sự mất mát lớn lao về thể chất
cũng như tinh thần. Họ cũng không thể hòa nhập với cộng đồng bởi họ là những sĩ
quan, bị người đời thù ghét. Chiến tranh không mang lại hạnh phúc cho họ mà chỉ toàn
là những nỗi đau. Ngoài những huy chương được viết bằng những ngôn từ hoa mỹ như
“tình huynh đệ, đức tính dám hy sinh” thì họ chẳng còn lại gì cho bản thân mình. Có
những nỗi đau không gì bù đắp được. Người thuật chuyện sẽ không thể chơi bóng đá,
viên thiếu tá sẽ không thể chơi đấu kiếm và vợ của ông ta cũng đã mất, anh thanh niên
sẽ không thể lập gia đình như mong muốn của mình. Tất cả những gì đẹp đẽ, hoa mỹ
như lời khen của bác sĩ, những bức tranh, nhưng tấm huy chương… thật ra chỉ là
những lời hứa hão huyền.
They came to the hospital for machinery to treat them but those machines
coundn’t operate effectively. They suffered the great physical as well as mental loss.
They also could not integrate into the community because they were the officers,
who were hated by everyone. War did not bring happiness to them but pain. Besides
the medals written by nice words such as "brotherhood, virtue of sacrifice ", there is

nothing for themselves. There are pains that are never healed. The narrator would
not play football, the Major would not play sword fighting, and his wife had been
died, the young man would not marry any girl as his desire. All beautiful, nice
things such as praise of the doctor, paintings, medals in fact they are false
promises.
Kết thúc câu chuyện chỉ là những cảm giác lạc lõng, mất mát, tách biệt hòa toàn
với thế giới này bởi vì thực tế họ đang ở một thế giới khác. Chiến tranh đã tạo ra sự
nghiệt ngã cho những con người ấy, cuộc sống bị tách biệt với mọi người, thân phận
không biết sẽ đi về đâu. Cái cửa sổ trống không mà viên thiếu tá nhìn ra bên ngoài
cũng như cái tăm tối, lạnh lẽo mà cuộc chiến tranh mang lại.
The end of the story was just the feeling of loneliness, loss, completely
separated from the real world because they were actually in a different world. War
has generated harsh for those people, the life was separated from everyone, they
didn’t know where to go. The empty window where the Major looked outside was
similar to the dark, the cold brought by war.
2. Phân tích : Analysis:
Mở đầu câu chuyện, tác giả miêu tả về phong cảnh của mùa thu. Một mùa thu
lạnh lẽo, chiến tranh thì vẫn còn và những nhân vật trong truyện thì không còn tham
chiến nữa. Đây là một sự tuyệt vọng, hình ảnh chiến tranh như ám ảnh trong tâm trí
của con người và không bao giờ kết thúc. Bóng tối và sự giá lạnh không phải chỉ ở bên
ngoài mà còn ở bên trong tâm hồn họ. Bóng tối của chiến tranh bao trùm lên cuộc đời
của những người lính. Con người và những con thú săn được treo bên ngoài dường
như có thân phận giống nhau, chúng giống như những người lính bị thương đang điều
trị bằng những chiếc máy móc vô dụng vậy.
Beginning the story, the author described the landscape of autumn. It was a
cold fall, war still existed and the characters in the story didn’t fight anymore. This
was a desperation, the image of war haunted the human mind and never ended. The
darkness and cold was not only outside but also inside their hearts. The shadow of
war covered up the life of the soldiers. Human and animals hung outside the shops
seemed to have the same life, they were likely wounded soldiers being treated with

such a useless machine.
Chiến tranh làm cho ho phải gánh chịu nhiều nỗi đau và mất mát. Những người
lính nói chung và 3 nhân vật trong truyện nói riêng (người thuật chuyện, viên thiếu tá,
anh thanh niên trẻ tuổi) đều không thể trở lại cuộc chiến vì những vết thương mà chiến
tranh mang đến cho họ sẽ không bao giờ lành. Họ được điều trị tại bệnh viện với một
cảm giác cô đơn, trống vắng. Hầu như cuộc sống của họ giờ đây không thể hòa nhập
với cộng đồng, không được cộng đồng đón nhận. Đi đến đâu họ cũng bị thù ghét, hô to
“Đả đảo bọn sĩ quan” (“A bassogli ifficiali”). Họ khao khát được sống cùng cộng đồng
nhưng họ vẫn không thể cùng tiếng nói chung với mọi người được. Vì vậy, họ nỗ lực
trở lại cùng cộng đồng để có những cảm giác ấm áp, khỏa lấp đi sự giá lạnh bên ngoài
cũng như bên trong tâm hồn họ. Không chỉ tách biệt với cộng đồng, họ còn tách biệt
ngay trong tình bạn nhóm của họ vì chí hướng của mỗi người mỗi khác. Vì vậy mà 3
người lính trẻ khác trong nhóm đã không gắn bó với 3 nhân vật trong truyện nữa.
War made them suffer much pain of loss. The soldiers in general and three
particular characters in the story (the narrator, the Major, the young man) were
unable to fight again because of the wounds that war brought to them would never
healthy again. They were treated at the hospital with an empty lonely feeling. It was
likely that their life was unable to integrate into the community, the community
didn’t welcome them. Everyone hated them; everyone shouted "A bassogli iffciali".
They desired to live with the community but they still could not say the same words
with everyone. So they attempted to return to the community to have the feeling of
warmth, relieve the cold outside and inside their hearts. Not only separated from the
community, they were also separated from their team friendship because of different
ideals. Therefore, 3 other young soldiers in the group were not attached to 3
characters in the story anymore.
Điều mà họ có được phải chăng là những tấm huy chương. Ban đầu người ta
cũng nể nang vì những tấm huy chương ấy. Nhưng thật sự thì khác hẳn. Những tấm
huy chương mà trong giấy tờ được viết bằng những lời hoa mỹ như tình huynh đệ, đức
tính dám hy sinh – những giá trị của thời chiến cũng nhanh chóng tan biến. Bởi lẽ
những vết thương về thể xác của họ chỉ là những rủi ro, bị tai nạn chứ không phải do

lập nên chiến tích. Chính vì vậy, việc được nhận huy chương không thể hiện lòng can
đảm, sự hy sinh hay bất cứ điều gì. Thậm chí, huy chương mà người thật chuyện nhận
được chỉ vì do ông ta là người Mỹ.
Is what they get the medals. At the first time, people respected them for their
medals. But the fact was different. The medals, which were written with flowery
words such as brotherhood, virtue of sacrifice - the value of war was also