INTRODUCTION

1. LReason for choosing topic

1.1.Poetics is the science of artistic form. The starting point itself contains a very basic characteristic of the approach to the subject in this discipline. Poetics needs to discover the laws governing the extremely diverse and rich world of artistic phenomena. In ancient and medieval timesPoeticswithFrom the chapter(Rhétorique) belongs to the study of writing rules, most of which are very detailed, normative, and annoying, almost like literary formulas, which makes people bored. That is why Poetics has been around for thousands of years, has had a time of decline, and today has revived with an unprecedented vitality.

1.2.Poetics in general, and poetics of children's stories in particular, are issues that scholars are interested in and investing in research. The application of poetic theory to the study of specific literary fields is especially enthusiastically responded to by researchers and in fact has achieved many successes. Systemicity as a basic characteristic with methodological significance of poetics is based on the object of this science itself, art forms. Poetics has the task of discovering those connections in the form of laws and in the most obvious cases, forming a system. Poetics is embodied as a science of literary craft, taking the object of study not as literature in general, but as Jakobson said, as "literary quality of literary works”, it explains why a text becomes a work of art. This topic is conducted from the perspective of poetics, which in our opinion is a promising direction and has practical scientific significance for artistic evaluation and creation.

1.3.In the teaching practice at many universities today, poetics and its application to specific scientific research works are no longer strange issues for the collective of lecturers, students and students of the Faculty of Literature as well as related faculties and majors.Poetics of stories written for contemporary Vietnamese childrenIt is also a useful thing for the author himself, who directly teaches the subject of Literature at a high school. This topic not only helps students understand and explore the beauty of literature more deeply, but also helps them get into the habit of analyzing the artistic form of the work, instead of just focusing on understanding the content as before. The topic also aims to analyze some literary works in schools from the perspective of poetics, helping students have the ability to evaluate and teach literary works in high schools.

2. Research object and scope

2.1. Research subjects

- The main research object of the thesis is Poetics and Poetics of stories written for Vietnamese children.

- Prose works on children's topics and poetics of authors, especially of two writers Nguyen Nhat Anh and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan.

  2.2. Scope of research

- The studies used as comparison objects are the works of authors To Hoai, Tran Hoai Duong, Phung Quan, Duy Khan, Vo Quang, Ma Van Khang, Vu Thu Hien, Duong Thu Huong... prose works written about children and the subject of poetics of stories written for contemporary Vietnamese children - also the two genres with the most successful works, attracting many generations of writers in the development process of contemporary literature.

- The thesis researches, surveys, and applies the theory of Poetics, contemporary children's stories, methods of researching literary works, and researches specific subjects, focusing on the main achievements in two genres: short stories and novels, to clarify the problem.Poetics of stories written for children contemporarysuch as the art of character building, narrator and plot organization; Time and artistic space, language and narrative tone in prose on the topic of writing for contemporary Vietnamese children. In particular, we focus on studying typical works on poetics of stories written for children by authors Nguyen Nhat Anh and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan.

3. Research purpose and tasks

3.1. Research purpose

- With the chosen topic, the thesis aims to explore the artistic beauty of children's literature from the perspective of poetics, and at the same time affirm the power of poetics theory in studying specific literary phenomena. The thesis also provides a systematic view, pointing out the distinctive features of short stories written for children by some contemporary writers in the flow of children's literature in our country in general and writers Nguyen Nhat Anh and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan in particular.

- Through the study of children's stories written by writers, we also apply the theory of narrative prose poetics to the study of specific literary phenomena.

3.2. Research tasks

- Sketch the overall picture, generalize the basic categories of poetics to apply to the study of narrative prose poetics, identify the main terms, objects and research methods of poetics.

- Analyze and explain historical sense and typical creative trends in the poetics of contemporary Vietnamese children's stories written by writers in general, especially by writers Nguyen Nhat Anh and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan in particular.

- Analyze the artistic characteristics of Vietnamese prose on the subject of poetics in some aspects: the art of character building and plot organization, narrator, narrator's point of view in children's stories by Nguyen Nhat Anh and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan.

- The thesis aims to explore the unique features of time, artistic space, language and tone of contemporary Vietnamese children's stories, especially in the stories of Nguyen Nhat Anh and Nguyen Ngoc Thuan.

4. Research methods

4.1.During the process of conducting the thesis, we combined the use of several main research methods: - Poetic approach: to clarify the "conceptual form" element of stories written for children.

- Socio-historical method: aims to find out the impacts of Vietnamese historical and social circumstances on the formation, development, inheritance and innovation of stories written for children.

- Typological method: to determine the genre characteristics, features and properties of stories written for children.

- Analytical and synthetic methods: used to delve into a number of authors, works, specific manifestations, and unique aspects, while also having a general, general, and systematic view of the issue being discussed.

4.2.To achieve the scientific objectives of the topic, the thesis also uses interdisciplinary research methods (literature with culture, psychology, linguistics), structural methods, comparative methods, statistical methods... and other research operations.

5. New contributions of the thesis

5.1.The thesis is the first comprehensive and systematic study of the poetics of contemporary Vietnamese children's stories as an independent and complete subject. The thesis has systematized the development process, analyzed typical characteristics and outstanding issues, providing a comprehensive view of the poetics of Vietnamese children's stories and affirming the indispensable position of this genre in the history of Vietnamese literature development.

5.2.The research results of the thesis contribute to affirming the position and contribution to the field of theory and research on children's literature in general, and poetics of stories written for Vietnamese children in particular - a research field that has not really received much attention and has not had many achievements.

From summarizing and evaluating the characteristics and trends of the poetics of stories written for children, the thesis also initially wants to explore and find a new way, based on the existing poetic foundations for the topic of poetics of stories written for contemporary Vietnamese children. The thesis is a useful reference document for teachers, students, pupils, and those who are interested in and love children's literature. The thesis also makes suggestions to make the topic of poetics of stories written for contemporary Vietnamese children more familiar to students by adding some typical works and excerpts in the general education program, contributing to expanding their knowledge, stimulating their interest and passion for the poetics of Vietnamese children's stories.

6. Structure of the thesis

In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion, Appendix and References, the main content of the thesis is developed in 4 chapters:

Chapter 1: Overview of research problem

Chapter 2: An overview of contemporary Vietnamese children's literature and stories written for children.

Chapter 3: The art of character building and plot organization in contemporary children's stories

Chapter 4: Artistic time and space, language and narrative tone in contemporary Vietnamese children's stories.

Chapter 1

OVERVIEW OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

1.1. Overview of research on poetics

In defining poetics and poetics, as well as most of the basic categories of literary studies and many branches of humanities, we encounter a common situation: at the current level of development, these sciences are not yet able to give “univocal” definitions of their research objects. In terms of definition, “the status of poetics is not much different from that of the novel”. In the world, poetics has a history of research of over 2,300 years, starting from ancient times, with the workThe art of poetryof Aristotle andThe Heart of Literatureby Liu Xie. In the early 20th century, Russian formalists warmed up Poetics in the spirit of modernity. In Europe and America, many trends of research on the form of works of art appeared. The concept of poetics is not only understood as a science but also as a critical tendency.

1.1.1.Works introducing and translating poetics abroad     

Poetics is the oldest branch of literary studies. In the ancient Greek West, poetics studied the means of expression, genres, and language. Aristotle's Poetics is the most famous work in contemporary poetics, summarizing Greek artistic experiences (epic, tragedy, hymn), a handbook of compositional rules, and useful advice to teach those who work in literary creation. Aristotle's poetics, due to its philosophical content, had a great influence in Europe throughout ancient times, the Renaissance, and until the end of the 18th and 19th centuries. Authors such as Horace, Psevdo Longinus, Boileau, and Lessing all had famous poetic works.

In China, if poetics is understood as the study of literature as an art, thenThe Heart of LiteratureLiu Xie's Poetics is the earliest work on poetics, because it teaches people the essence of writing. Researcher Vuong Van Hy commented:The Heart of Literatureis “a set of books that guide literary creation, not a type of book like literary theory”. The books “Poetics” have researches on poetry, and the way of writing poetry also belongs to poetics. Authors such as Nghiem Vu, Chu Bat, Khuong Quy, Nguoi Khanh Chi, Tham Duc Tiem all use the term “poetics” to refer to the method of writing poetry. Novel critics such as Kim Thanh Than, Mao Ton Cuong, Ly Trac Ngo, Truong Truc Pha, Chi Nghien Trai, Diep Tru all deeply analyze the art of storytelling in novels, opening up the tradition of poetics of novels in China. Indian, Japanese, and Arabic literatures also have unique poetics traditions.

Poetics is also a kind of “philosophy” about art form:The concept of form and structure in twentieth-century literary criticism(Rene Wellek, translated by Hoai Anh),Poetics and Linguistics, Modern Western Literary Theory(Translated by Tran Duy Chau),Literary theory, modern issues(Translated by La Nguyen),Theory and Poetics of the Novel(M. Bakhtin - Pham Vinh Cu translation),Literary theory(Wellek and Warren, translated by Nguyen Manh Cuong and colleagues)... Most of these works are by Russian and Soviet researchers. Currently, there are a number of European and American poetics works that have been introduced in Vietnam.

1.1.2. Works of Vietnamese researchers

In Vietnam, in the first half of the 20th century, there were a number of topics discussing literary art. But they were mostly just topics of criticism and book reviews, not scientific research. In the South, in the period 1954 - 1975, there were a number of topics related to Poetics such as:Poetics(1958 -1960) of Dien Huong,Principles of poetry composition(1959) by Vu Van Thanh,New Poetry Law(1961) by Minh Huy,From new poetry to free verse(1969) by Bang Giang,Literature review(1963) by Nguyen Van Trung ... After 1975, the research on Poetics subsided for a while. It was not until after 1986 that Poetics was formed as a science.

Authors, works, literary periods:Learn about Nguyen Du's style in The Tale of Kieu(Phan Ngoc),On the Poetics of Tang Poetry(Nguyen Khac Phi, Tran Dinh Su),Poetics of the novel L. Tolstoy(Nguyen Hai Ha),The Development of Du Fu's Poetics Through Different Periods of Creation(Ho Si Hiep),Nom Stories – History of Development and Genre Poetics(Kieu Thu Hoach),Poetics of folk songs(Nguyen Xuan Kinh),Poetics of To Huu's poetry, Worlds of poetic art,Poetics of Tale of Kieu(Tran Dinh Su),Poetics in children's literature(Editor-in-chief Bui Thanh Truyen),Poetics in Vietnam(Nguyen Dang Diep - Nguyen Van Tung), ... Among these, many works are selected as learning materials or references for high school students and teachers. These are purely theoretical works, some of which have the effect of paving the way for popularizing Poetics in Vietnam. Typical works:How to interpret literature using linguistics(Phan Ngoc),Poetic language(Nguyen Phan Canh),From Semiotics to Poetics(Hoang Trinh),Modern poetics(Do Duc Hieu),Poetics of the story(Nguyen Thai Hoa),Contribute to the study of structural methods(Nguyen Van Dan),Structuralism and Literature(Trinh Ba Dinh),Analysis of literary works from the perspective of poetics(Nguyen Thi Du Khanh),Russian formalism(Huynh Nhu Phuong) ...

In short, poetics is embodied as a science of literary craft. Poetics develops in three main directions: normative poetics, historical poetics and structural poetics. Based on the achievements of theoretical research and the results of application in the study and criticism of specific literary phenomena, today we have a new system of poetics perspectives such as: genre poetics, author poetics, work poetics, trend poetics... Modern poetics has affirmed its very effective research direction in the field of narrative prose research. As a result,autobiographywas born and developed in a separate, distinct direction, as an independent scientific branch next to traditional poetics.

1.2. Overview of poetics and poetics of narrative prose

1.2.1. General concept of poetics

The birth of poetics is associated with the name of Aristotle (384 - 322) BC with his work that was translated into Vietnamese asThe art of poetry. Initially, Aristotle used poetics to include the task of studying poetic language, because poetry was the first form of early literature. In the 20th century, the picture of poetics was very diverse in terms of objects and scope of research. Wearing the same "poetics" cloak, each person determined for himself a different task: studying the method of composition, structure of the work, artistic form, linguistic techniques... These concepts also partly show the diversity of trends in critical research of poetics.

On the other hand, it can be said that in reality, there are as many authors researching poetics as there are understandings of the concept of poetics and the extent of their use in each literary phenomenon is also different. This is obvious because since its inception, the science of poetics has continuously grown and developed. In addition, it must be mentioned that researchers have, depending on the purpose and content of their research problem, exploited the concept of poetics to different degrees of breadth, narrowness, shallowness and depth.

1.2.2. Concept of narrative prose poetics

The concept of narrative prose poetics is simply understood asnarrative techniques or systems of methods, narrative methods and image building in the genres of short stories and novels theory. We already know that the nature of literature is to reflect life through images, that is why artistic images are the soul of literary works. Art affirms the beauty of the human soul, therefore studying literary works is studying the spiritual world created by humans - the form of existence of works of art. Besides the above issues, from the perspective of poetics, we also have a more detailed view of aspects such as plot, plot, structure, genre poetics, and language poetics in literary works in a more complete way. If we say that the spirit of poetics focuses on four main issues:Artistic conception of human, Artistic time, Artistic space and Author's image in artistic creationTwo of the four most core issues that are reflected in the artistic creation of each work are time and artistic space.

1.3. The situation of research on children's stories and the poetics of contemporary children's stories

1.3.1. The situation of research on contemporary children's stories

Children's literature is works written about and for children by adults or children, mainly viewed through the lens of children, with content aimed at educating and nurturing the souls and personalities of children of all ages. Works written for children include:

1. Works written for preschool children.

2. Works written for children.

3. Works written for young adults.

From the above understanding of Children's Literature, we present some characteristics of this literature to compare with adult literature as follows:

The firstChildren's literature must contain some educational meaning aimed at developing children's personality.

Second, the main objects of reflection and reception of Children's Literature are children, with different personalities, psychology, emotions, feelings, and perspectives compared to adults. This affects the content as well as the artistic methods in creation.

Tuesday, the relationship between the author and the reader in Children's Literature is an "unbalanced" relationship. The author is mainly an adult who is almost unable to see life as a child, the reader, mostly a child with distinct psychological characteristics that adults, even though they were once children, cannot have (again). This presence is also inevitable when Children's Literature still has to perform its main function of education.

WednesdayChildren's literature is still an inseparable part of literature, even though it is a phenomenon that appeared later in the history of human literature.

1.3.2. The situation of researching poetics of stories written for contemporary Vietnamese children

Children's literature is not outside the general innovation direction of Vietnamese Literature, however it still has its own characteristics which are the respect for cognitive function, educational function, expressing the profound humanity of literature for children.

Traditional themes (war, history, revolution) continue to be exploited but with new developments: both continuing old achievements and having new features different from before. Writing about warviolent childhoodby Phung Quan;Where are you now, the old clover?by Tran Thien Huong... the writer has perceived and exploited all issues in a new, more realistic, more comprehensive depth, the humanistic meaning of the works has directed towards fates.

Historical topics have developed very brilliantly during the anti-American period - the period when our entire nation"Forty centuries in battle"In To Huu's work, the tradition of fighting and defending the country is especially emphasized. Literature is associated with the inspiration of the times, so it also shows examples of heroes defending the country, outstanding historical figures, including children. It touches on the evils and tragedies of individuals but still has a passionate love and trust in people and life.

The topic of urban children's activities has been of interest to many authors and is expressed quite richly and vividly. It is possible to summarize two aspects of reality that the authors pay attention to: the first is children with a complete family life, they only have to eat, study and play; the second is the life of poor children, who have to worry about both studying and making a living, and even do not go to school, have to wander around or struggle to make a living on the streets. The children themselves do not cause these two opposing lifestyles, but they are the ones who are easily influenced. It is a reality that everyone can see, a concern of the whole society that the writer himself, despite his best efforts, probably cannot fully express the nooks and crannies of this increasingly distant gap.

The innovation of literature, especially Vietnamese prose, has partly stimulated and promoted the innovation process of children's stories. Therefore, it can be said that innovation is the inevitable path of stories written for children in this period.

Summary:

Although the development of contemporary children's stories has had its ups and downs, and some topics have not developed as brilliantly as in the previous period, overall, it can still be affirmed that contemporary children's stories are quite rich and diverse in the way they exploit topics and themes, opening up the possibility of covering vivid pictures of children's lives.

The movement of stories written for children from 1986 to the present, can partly see the general movement of this literary field. Stories written for children continue to inherit the traditions of children's stories in the previous period, exploiting the theme of children in historical - revolutionary life and in relation to schools. From such an approach to children, writers have revealed a new perspective, a new concept of children: not looking at them in the imposition of adults but starting from the subject itself to explore the depth of their souls and personalities.

Chapter 2

OVERVIEW OF CHILDREN'S LITERATURE AND STORIES WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN

CONTEMPORARY VIETNAMESE CHILDREN

2.1. Overview of Vietnamese children's literature

2.1.1.The concept of "Children's literature"

2.1.1.1. Concept of “Children”

From a legal perspective, in international law, the age of children is used relatively consistently as under 18. However, in international conventions such asDeclaration of the League of Nations on the Rights of the Child(1924),United Nations Declaration on the Rights of the Child(1959),Universal Declaration of Human Rights(1968),Convention 138 of the International Labour Organization(ILO)on minimum working age(1976),United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child(1989) ... affirmed that the application of the age of children in each country may be different, depending on the domestic law of each country that stipulates the age of adulthood earlier. However, the United Nations and international organizations such as UNICEF, UNFPA, ILO, UNESSCO ... all define a child as a person under 18 years old.

In Vietnam, the law regulating the age of children was officially mentioned in a legal document after the Standing Committee of the National Assembly issued the Ordinance on Child Protection, Care and Education on November 14, 1979, which stipulated that "Children mentioned in this Ordinance include children from birth to 15 years old" (Article 1). By 1991, the Law on Child Protection, Care and Education was issued, raising the age of children to 16 years old (Article 1). "Children specified in this Law are Vietnamese citizens under the age of sixteen". This age was further affirmed in Article 1 of the Law on Child Protection, Care and Education issued in 2004. Thus, in specialized laws, Vietnam recognizes the age of children protected and cared for by law as citizens under the age of 16. Children from 10 to 18 years old are considered "minors". Although the age limit is lower than that of the International Convention, Vietnam's regulation is still considered suitable because of the open provisions of the Convention.

2.1.1.2. Children's literature

“Children's literature” (another name is “children’s literature” but here we will unify it as “Children’s Literature”) has a particularly important role not only in the lives of children but also in national literature. Firstly, the educational nature of works written for children must be clearly and decisively stated and put first; secondly, the form must be cheerful, innocent, witty, rich in imaginative elements; thirdly, the literary images must be authentic, concrete, vivid, suitable for children’s psychology; fourthly, the language must be clear, simple and easy to understand. Children’s literature is literature for young readers, therefore, children must be considered as objects of perception and not simply objects of description, although writing about children for children to read is always considered the most appropriate method.

Children's literature has two main groups of values:Group of values ​​with human and educational significance. In the first group of values, Children's Literature is valuable in stimulating children's interest in reading; stimulating the ability to narrate as a thinking activity; stimulating the ability to imagine, consider and explore nature, people and even experiences in new ways of thinking, arousing children's curiosity, inquisitiveness and desire to explore; providing children with indirect experiences, universal experiences and thereby influencing their behavior. The second group of values ​​is educational. Literature is important for children both before and after going to school. Many studies have proven that the greatest value of Children's Literature is helping children learn to read and write. Through literary works, children not only accumulate a rich vocabulary, understand the meaning of words in literature but also help them practice fluency when reading as well as the knowledge they grasp and understand through the work. It could be the way of communication, the feelings between people, the joys or sorrows of people in life, although not necessarily as reflected in works written for adults.

2.1.2. The formation and development process of Vietnamese children's literature

2.1.2.1. The period before the August Revolution of 1945

Vietnamese children's literature was truly formed and developed as a part of Vietnamese literature since the success of the August Revolution in 1945. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century, under the feudal colonial regime, through literary reforms in the direction of modernization, that children's literature began to receive attention. By the 1930s, literature written for children became abundant. In the public literary world, two trends emerged: The Tu Luc Van Doan group published the following types of books:Rose, Apricot blossom, Spring flower, Youth, Propagation... however, the efforts of Tu Luc Van Doan only stopped at a certain level, the scope of reflection of this type of book was limited to the activities of urban children, far from the miserable life of the working people. In general, before the August Revolution in 1945, in Vietnam, there were only sporadic works written for children and there was not really a movement of writing for children, but anyway, those were the first bricks laying the foundation for building Vietnamese children's literature.

2.1.2.2. The period of resistance against France 1945 - 1954

After the success of the August Revolution, the Party and the State, especially Uncle Ho, paid attention to developing literature specifically for children. In December 1946, the newspaperYoung Studenthas published a special issue with the theme: Children write, children draw. Although their works are still simple and sketchy, this is an important milestone in the history of children's literature in our country. Children have participated in creating and directly expressed their thoughts and feelings in the field of literature and art. Besides the newspaperYoung Student, also has sheetYouth, Youth Volunteers, Young Pioneersand booksKim Dong, Flower of Resistance... these books and newspapers have truly become close friends of children, actively contributing to the cultivation of good virtues and noble emotions in children and becoming the initial valuable assets of children's literature.

In 1948, the Vietnam Literature and Arts Association was established and organized a section of young literature for children led by writer To Hoai and Ho Truc - Secretary of the Central Youth Union. Publishing HouseArtstried to print a separate series of books for children calledKim Dong. Purpose of the bookKim Dongis to try to fulfill Uncle Ho's words: "Make children love their country, love their fellow countrymen, love labor, maintain discipline, know hygiene, study culture... when studying, they need to have fun, when having fun, they need to study". To achieve the above purpose, Kim Dong books have combined all three aspects: Literature, education and politics. The book is written according to the writing guidelines for children of the Vietnam Literature and Arts Association, closely following the motto of the school and children's readers. This is the opening stage for Vietnamese children's literature. It proves that literature written for children has a very good foundation and conditions to develop in the future.

2.1.2.3. The period of the North building socialism, the South resisting the US 1955 - 1964

The resistance war against French colonialism ended, the US imperialists joined hands with reactionary lackeys, jumped into South Vietnam to permanently divide our country. Therefore, the South had to carry out the national democratic revolution, while the North entered a period of economic recovery, healed the wounds of war and began to move forward to build socialism.

The team of writers for children has been formed and is increasingly supplemented, so the number of works as well as the topics reflected are increasingly rich and diverse. Besides the very developed resistance theme, other topics have also achieved many achievements. It can be said that during this period, Vietnamese children's literature has developed quite comprehensively and richly. On that basis, in 1961, the Literature Publishing House launchedCollection of poems and literature for children 1945 - 1960Selected and introduced 50 authors. This is the first anthology of children's poetry and literature to record the initial achievements of Vietnamese children's literature.

2.1.2.4. The period of the whole country's resistance war against the US to save the country 1965 - 1975

Children's literature in this period developed strongly, with many talented writers, many valuable works and was truly a great force contributing to praising and encouraging bright examples in studying and fighting. Many anthologies appeared such asTwo hands of a soldier(selected collection on the topic of resistance against France);Rapid water(Collection of short stories and memoirs on the theme of the North fighting against America);Bamboo shoots(Poetry collection by Vo Quang 1971) ... the topics are also expanded and developed very richly.

The strong development of stories about new people (stories about real people, real events) in many different forms is a remarkable event of children's literature in this period. Fairy tales developed strongly with worksRooster Choaiof Hai Ho;Miss Be 20by Van Bien ... with many poetic qualities that are both soaring and realistic. Especially with the storiesMiss Be 20Through the life of a calf on Ba Vi farm, Van Bien portrayed the wonderful qualities of the labor hero Ho Giao.

The science book series was formed and developed thanks to the contributions of scientists and writers passionate about this topic such as Viet Linh withMr. CoalandSquare egg; Vu Kim Dung withscout ant; The Dung withGreen carpet on the field; Hoang Binh Trong withSecret of a forest; Phan Ngoc Toan withBa Mountain Peak... this was the period of most brilliant development of this subject area, after which it gradually narrowed down, until the 2000s when it began to be restored.

Poetry for children continues to develop strongly. Besides familiar names such as Pham Ho, Vo Quang, Vu Ngoc Binh, Thi Ngoc, Quang Huy ... there are also Dinh Hai, Xuan Quynh, Ngo Viet Dinh, Tran Nguyen Dao, Thanh Hao with typical poetry collections such asBamboo shoots(Vo Quang);The cow finds a friend(Pham Ho);Buds and flowers(Dinh Hai);Baby sprouts(Ngo Viet Dinh) ... In particular, also during this period, the phenomenon of children writing poetry emerged with prominent names such as Tran Dang Khoa, Cam Tho, Hoang Hieu Nhan, Chu Hong Quy, Nguyen Hong Kien ... opening the movement of children's writing.

2.1.2.5. The period of national unification and innovation after 1975

Literature reflects society through individual writers, since the anti-American resistance war, especially since the renovation period, there have been great and profound changes. Literature written for children in this period has developed strongly and richly, diversely along with the general development of national literature, although independent but also closely related to the development of society. In general, the development process of children's literature after 1975 can be divided into two stages: the stage 1975 - 1985 and the stage from 1986 to present. These two stages are marked by the milestone of the 6th Party Congress. The 6th Party Congress created conditions for writers as well as the comprehensive renovation of the country. However, the renovation issue does not happen suddenly, immediately but its movement is a process. Through each stage, children's literature has its own characteristics, but its development process always inherits certain achievements of the previous stage. Therefore, the separation here is only relative.

2.1.2.5.1. Period 1975 - 1985

The theme of resistance against French colonialism still prevails. Vo Quang wrote "Tang Sang" (Dawn) continuing the emotional flow of "Que Noi" (Homeland). That is the inspiration to praise the homeland and the revolution that Phong Le calls "the lyrical revolutionary flow". In this theme, there is alsoChildhood stormof Thu Bon,Iron Bowl Intelligence Youth Teamby Pham Thang ...

The topic of resistance against America hasBack then in Sa Kyby Bui Minh Quoc,Burning Sandby Thanh Que ... these works boldly wrote about the pain and heavy losses in the war - something that people were afraid to tell children before. There are many works written in the haunting inspiration of "a time of bombs and bullets" with generations of children "wearing straw hats to go to school long distances", children from the city evacuated to the countryside, having to be independent, worrying about everything likeEmpty Houseby Quang Huy,Bitter grass flowerby Nguyen Thi Nhu Trang,The first rays of sunshineby Le Phuong Lien... with a storytelling style heavy on reminiscences, memories, simple and passionate narration, these works evoke "a time to remember" that is touching and precious of the teacher-student relationship, friendship during the years of fighting against America.

Writing about the new life when the country was completely unified, writers paid much attention to human morality. Works such asLoveby Pham Ho,Pier in the cityby Xuan Quynh,The boy has the talent to pick locks.by Nguyen Quang Than,Childhood journeyDuong Thu Huong's works... can be considered groundbreaking works that boldly expose the negative aspects of society with its ugliness, backwardness, pettiness, and jealousy in people's thoughts.

Historical themes were very developed in the previous period, but now they have almost stopped. Authors who specialized in writing historical stories in the past such as Nguyen Duc Hien, Ha An, Le Van, An Cuong... often exploited history associated with heroic characters and the heroic tradition of fighting against foreign invaders of the nation, but now it is almost deadlocked. To Hoai opened a new direction of exploitation, the direction of exploiting history associated with legends, customs and culture and he was quite successful withDeserted Island,The story of the magic crossbow,House of letters...

About ten years after the end of the resistance war against America, literature in general and children's literature in particular were in a period of struggle and exploration. The field of poetry written for children was almost at a standstill. In particular, although there were new signs in stories, they had not yet created a clear change. However, these signs of innovation were the first step, of great significance for the simultaneous innovation of children's literature in the coming period - the period when our country's literature entered a period of great, profound, and comprehensive change.

2.1.2.5.2. Period 1986 to present

The 6th Party Congress has truly brought confidence and strength to the entire Party and the entire people, bringing a new atmosphere to literature in general and children's literature in particular. During this period, there was an expansion of topics as well as approaches to life and the ability to explore people. In the previous period, stories written for children approached children in terms of community life, historical life, and topics were often divided very clearly. Writers approached children in the integrity of a personality influenced from many directions and dimensions, so the topics were also blurred, each work did not have only one topic. Literature entered into social life in many aspects, the directions of interest in writing and approaching children were also more diverse and rich. Stories written for children with their own characteristics still especially emphasized the cognitive function, the educational function, expressing the profound humanity of literature for children.

2.2. Stories written for contemporary Vietnamese children

2.2.1. General concept and overview

Stories written for children in each historical period have contributed to the formation of personality and the enrichment of children's spiritual life. In the world, the subject of literature written for children has long been noticed. There are timeless literary works that are still loved by generations of Vietnamese readers:Noble hearts(Amicis),No family(Hecto Malo),The Adventures of Tom Sawyer(Mar Twain) ... Many other children's literature works have also been made into films:Charlie and the Chocolate Factory(Roald Dahl),Diary of a Wimpy Kid(Jeff Kinney)...

From 1954 to 1975, many writers appeared who wrote stories for children: To Hoai, Doan Gioi, Xuan Sach, Pham Ho, Vu Le Mai, Tran Thanh Giao... works written for children in the period of 1954 - 1975 focused on reflecting the reality of life during the period of resistance war to unify the country and build Socialism in the North. In the field of poetry, the appearance of children's poet Tran Dang Khoa with the collectionCorner of the yard and the skyis a remarkable success. Older poets such as Pham Ho, Xuan Quynh, Huy Can ... also have outstanding poetic works written for children, which are loved by them.

Children's literature before 1975 was quite consistent in tone, following the trend of praising revolutionary realism and the masses. After 1975, the country was unified, the whole country moved towards building socialism. It can be said that children's literature from 1975 to 1985 was the preparatory period for innovation. Literary works in these 10 years were still close to the approach and reflection of reality of the previous period.

Since 1986, along with the country, Vietnamese literature has entered a period of renovation. This is a period of literature transitioning, struggling to find a path of renovation, and moving towards democratization, with profound humanism and humanity. Children's literature has therefore also developed and followed the general rules of national literature. The renovation process has brought a new atmosphere to literature. Literature in this period is introverted, more concerned with the fate of individuals in complex, everyday circumstances, with many explorations and innovations in art.

2.2.2. The development of the team of writers writing stories for children

Stories written for children in the renovation period have made a commendable step forward. The team of writers about children, for children "grew up" more, richer, more diverse in all classes, all ages, initially achieved important achievements creating momentum for children's literature to develop in the following years. With the previous development foundation, children's literature entered the 21st century with great enthusiasm, both integrating with the world and preserving and promoting the traditional beauty of the nation. Writers in the transition period between the two centuries such as Nguyen Nhat Anh, Nguyen Quynh still maintained their style and youthfulness in the new century. The book series "Kaleidoscope"The 54-volume novel by Nguyen Nhat Anh has had a strong appeal to children. Along with the mature writers from the 20th century, there are new young faces such as Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, Tran Hoang Vy, Nguyen Ngoc Tu ... In particular, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan has opened the door for 21st century children's literature with a series of consecutive highly awarded works. His stories attract readers with a clear voice, with an innocent look full of childish surprise. With a simple, rustic writing style, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan has breathed new life into contemporary Vietnamese children's literature.

In general, the team of writers creating children's literature in recent years has made new progress compared to previous years. Vietnamese children, besides their passion for foreign works, have more or less returned to their national roots. They have found good books for themselves by domestic writers. Their childhood is recreated joyfully and vividly through the writings of real children's writers such as Nguyen Nhat Anh, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan ... The team of writers for children has appeared in larger numbers, but not everyone writes well, not every work that comes out attracts children. Therefore, the team of writers for children in recent years has developed in quantity, but quality is still an urgent problem for us.

2.2.3. Innovation and expansion of topics

Revolution and resistance are important topics exploited by peacetime writers. Living in a developed but also very complicated society, family education is very important for children. There have been many works written on this topic such asUt Quyen and I,Younger sisterby Nguyen Nhat Anh;Enemyof Que Huong ... the collapse of the traditional model - a three-generation family living happily together, along with the harshness of the market economy has greatly affected the lives of each individual, especially the lives of children. The workEscapeby Phan Thi Thanh Nhan;Once upon a timeby Tran Thien Huong;FragmentLe Canh Nhac's ... is an example. The disasters and misfortunes of peacetime have lurked, threatening the lives of families and bringing suffering to the young heads of children.

The daily life of children is also of interest to writers. The life of urban children is reflected by writers in two realistic areas: the life of children in well-off families and the life of poor children who have to study and work hard to earn a living, even becoming street children. Typical works are:Kaleidoscopeby Nguyen Nhat Anh;Flowers on the streetby Thu Tran;Tripodby Doan Lu;Dream opening dayby Kim Hai ... SpecialKaleidoscopeNguyen Nhat Anh's works are considered the most outstanding phenomenon and are especially loved by children. Compared to works written about the lives of urban children, there are fewer works written about rural children. Writing about children in the countryside, writers often mention the lives and fates of poor and tragic people who suffer many disadvantages such asTears on the first day of school,The tutelary god of the maternal home villageby Dao Huu Phuong ...

Mountain children during this period were also given much attention by writers. The thoughts and feelings of ethnic minority children were described as innocent and simple as their inherent nature. Typical examples include:The boy playing the trumpetby Guo Liao;The way back to mother letterby Vi Hong, ... the topic of children's literature in mountainous areas is developing and has initially created an attraction in the hearts of readers, contributing to enriching the topic of children's literature in Vietnam.

Thus, the topics of writing for children in the contemporary period are rich and diverse. Besides the traditional topics of revolution and resistance, which are still maintained by writers and written in a new direction that is more realistic and closer, the topics of family and daily life are also deeply exploited by writers. There have been many authors with excellent works written for children in this period, typically writer Nguyen Ngoc Thuan. His works have won consecutive high awards and he is considered "a phenomenon of Vietnamese children's literature in the early years of the 21st century" (La Thi Bac Ly), Nguyen Nhat Anh, the knight of childhood (Many authors). And especially in this period, children's literature written for children in the mountains has also received attention and there have been a number of works that have been loved by many readers. That is a new step forward creating an even and sustainable development in the future of children's literature in the flow of Vietnamese literature. Although there are still many problems, our country's children's literature has become known to international friends with its works.Eyes closed and window open, On the high hill herding angels(Nguyen Ngoc Thuan);Kaleidoscope, LangBiang Story(Nguyen Nhat Anh) ...

2.3. Typical authors writing contemporary children's stories

The Children's Literature Contest - For the Future of the Country organized by Ho Chi Minh City Youth Publishing House, launched for the first time in 1993 and the third time in 2002, brought the names of typical faces such as Nguyen Thi Bich Nga, Thu Tran and especially Nguyen Ngoc Thuan with many typical works such as:Close your eyes and open the window(Peter Pan award-winning work);Spider web(Third prize in the second literary creation campaign for 20-year-olds in 2000-2001);A dream world(A prize in the children's writing contest of Kim Dong Publishing House 2001 - 2002). In 2001, the contestPen of youthorganized by the Central Youth Union in coordination with the Vietnam Writers Association, attracting a large number of young writers to participate with recognized names such as Do Tu Cuong, Vu Huong Nam, Nguyen Dan Thi... Most notably, the Children's Writing Campaign was organized in coordination with Kim Dong Publishing House, the Vietnam Writers Association and the Embassy of Denmark, as part of the project to support children's literature by the country "Mermaid” sponsored by Andersen from 2006 to 2015. Many professional and non-professional writers in literary composition in general, children's literature in particular, have been known such as Chu Thanh Huong, Luc Manh Cuong, Do Thai Thanh, Vu Thi Thanh Tam, Phong Diep, Nguyen Xuan Thuy, Trang Thanh, Nguyen Thi Hong Hanh ... including many authors who have continuously won awards through campaigns such as Phuong Trinh, Tran Duc Tien, Nguyen Huong, Truong Tiep Truong, Nguyen Thi Bich Nga, Do Bich Thuy ... and also many authors who have won awards while still in school such as Vu Huong Nam, Truong Huynh Nhu Tran ... these are encouraging signs for the field of prose written for children. Behind the understanding, interests, interesting stories, there are always cleverly "inserted" educational issues, humanistic lessons suitable for the children's age without making them bored.

2.3.1. Writer Nguyen Nhat Anh and writer Nguyen Ngoc Thuan

2.3.1.1. Writer Nguyen Nhat Anh

* Nguyen Nhat Anh's writing career

Starting his writing career with poetry, Nguyen Nhat Anh started writing poetry at the age of 13, his first published work was also a collection of poems titledApril Cityco-published with Le Thi Kim by Tac Pham Moi Publishing House in 1984, thenEarly spring, washing clothes at the river, Four-line poem for her, Festival of the dark night, Love poem by Nguyen Nhat AnhIn addition, Nguyen Nhat Anh's poems were also selected to be published in many different works with many other authors such asWhite Shirt Love Poetry,Ho Chi Minh City Poetry Twenty Years (1975 - 1995),Student love poems, Summer in poetry... Nguyen Nhat Anh's poetry is not elaborate or ornate but very simple, sincere, easy to read, easy to remember, easy to "enter”. Readers also encounter many of his poems in stories when the writer borrows the words of characters to write poems. Nguyen Nhat Anh's poems are very good, but it seems that readers know the name Nguyen Nhat Anh more as a writer. Readers cannot help but be surprised and admire Nguyen Nhat Anh's ability to work, more than a hundred books in more than twenty years of professional writing, many of which have been reprinted many times. Up to this point, Nguyen Nhat Anh is the writer for children with the most books in Vietnam. Not only in quantity, the writer's works have also received many noble awards and especially the reception of many readers at home and abroad.

Before Nguyen Nhat Anh, there was a generation of authors who were very successful in writing for children such as To Hoai, Vo Quang, Pham Ho, Phung Quan, Doan Gioi ... But when it came to Nguyen Nhat Anh, he still created his own style, his own path to create success and his own style that influenced the writing style of many young children's writers after him. Whatever Nguyen Nhat Anh wrote, it attracted children to read, because he himself created a trustworthy brand that did not need to be verified. Nguyen Nhat Anh touched the hearts of children and the hearts of those who were once children with a sympathetic and sincere heart.

In short, Nguyen Nhat Anh has built his own ideology and perspective on artistic language. It is the guiding principle for him to write literary works suitable for children. The language in his works is natural, innocent and humorous. Nguyen Nhat Anh brings the language of school age into his works so that children can bathe in their own river and adults can relive the sweet memories of childhood. Thanks to his clear ideology and perspective on artistic language, Nguyen Nhat Anh is a writer who has achieved much success in children's literature.

2.3.1.2. Writer Nguyen Ngoc Thuan

* Nguyen Ngoc Thuan's writing career

Nguyen Ngoc Thuan is a name that has been mentioned in the country's literary life in recent years. He came to children's literature when before that there were many writers whose names and works had been successful and became an indispensable entertainment need for readers such as To Hoai, Vo Quang, Pham Ho, ... He looked at literature with the eyes of a painter, so he created a new and unique type of literature that attracted readers. He personally drew the simulated illustrations in small stories. The world of people and all things were meticulously designed by the writer with graphics, making the lines sharp and beautiful. Therefore, in Nguyen Ngoc Thuan's works, readers can fully admire the paintings with full color tones and unique shapes of painting. Painting became the raw material for the author to mold and shape his characters. It is these things that have blended together to create a type of literature that each of us not only looks at, admires but also feels. His childhood life attached to his hometown is also a source of inspiration and a premise for the stories he writes. Nguyen Ngoc Thuan writes with his own feelings, those of his parents, his neighbors, and his friends that he feels.

Nguyen Ngoc Thuan understands very well one important thing in artistic creation, he always experiments with new, unique, creative writing styles to bring readers a sense of comfort and pleasure after closing his pages. And it is this constant creativity that has brought him noble awards that not every writer can achieve. It can be said that with his writings, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan has contributed a voice to diversify contemporary Vietnamese literature. He has brought readers a way of visualizing literature and a way of perceiving it that is no longer the same as before, helping readers find the pure, innocent echoes that still linger in their souls.

2.3.2. Other authors

Since the 6th Party Congress, our country has entered a period of innovation, so literature has also been innovated and children's literature is also part of that innovation process. Writers are free to write about the things they are concerned about. Among them are things that they could not express during the years of war. Writing autobiographies is one of the ways writers can express their feelings in their works more easily. A series of works have been born such asSilent Childhoodby Duy Khan,Peaceful childhoodby Vo Hong,violent childhoodby Phung Quan;Alone in life; Bi Dog, a wandering lifeby Ma Van Khang;The way back to mother Chuby Vi Hong;Expanded horizonsby Doan Lu;Grandma and grandchildby Dang Thi Hanh;Childhood aspirationsby Vu Duc Nguyen;Echoes of Childhoodby Vu Bao ...

Events are seen through the innocent eyes of children, and many times events that are very important to adults seem to be unimportant to the characters in the work. It is this way of looking that makes reading autobiographies written for children always give us the feeling that children's lives are lovely and peaceful, even though in reality the characters have to go through very important events. Simplifying events and incidents often helps the work to bear the mark of childhood, even though the writer wrote the work after having lived through most of his life.

Stories written for children are the writer's memories of his childhood, so the events and incidents are often associated with the author's own childhood. And also because he wants to explain his birth, growth and maturity, the writer often includes in his work events and incidents associated with the changes of society and the times. These can be events that directly or indirectly affect the character through another character. The society of the time always has a profound impact on the life and fate of the character, especially the main character.

Summary:

The concept of children's literature is identified from many perspectives: the creative subject, the central character, the purpose of the writing, the recipient. Every work is created by the writer with the purpose of educating and nurturing the soul and personality of children. Its central character is a child and sometimes an adult or a wind, an animal, an object, a tree... The author of children's literature is not only the children themselves but also writers of all ages. The works that children enjoy reading are because they have found in them ways of thinking, feeling and actions that are close to their own ways of thinking, feeling and acting. Moreover, they also find in them a message, a lesson with sources of encouragement, subtle and useful guidance in the process of perfecting their personality. Children's literature is a literary work whose central character is either a child, an adult, a human, or the natural world... but seen through the eyes of a child, with content that is close and familiar to children's experiences, that children enjoy, are passionate about, and have the effect of perfecting children's morality and soul. Children's literature bears the mark of history and the breath of the times.

 

Chapter 3

THE ART OF CHARACTER BUILDING AND PLOT ORGANIZATION IN CONTEMPORARY VIETNAMESE CHILDREN'S STORIES 

3.1. The art of character building

3.1.1. Character Overview

The character is “artistic image of people”, sometimes animals, plants, mythical creatures are given human-like characteristics. In ancient Greek, character (read as “persona”), at first meant the mask of an actor on stage. Later, this term was used most frequently, most often to refer to the object that literature describes and represents. Character building is a very important issue that writers are interested in. Literary characters are a conventional artistic phenomenon, with recognizable signs such as: name, signs of biography, profession, unique characteristics ... those signs are often introduced from the beginning and usually, the later development of the character is closely linked to those initial introductions.

In narrative works, characters are divided into many different types, from the perspective of ideological content or character qualities, there are positive characters and negative characters. From the perspective of structure, there are main characters and supporting characters. From the perspective of genre, characters can be divided into: lyrical characters, narrative characters and dramatic characters. It can be said that characters are the core of artistic creation, the focus for writers to explain all problems of life. Characters can be just incarnations, shadows, dreams of the author or can also be built from prototypes of life combined with the writer's fictional ability. To successfully build a literary character, the writer must have the ability to empathize, discover lasting characteristics in the character. This requires the writer to understand life, understand people and must describe and portray that character in a way that is strongly convincing to the reader. This is an issue directly related to character building measures in literary works.

3.1.2. Nartcharacter buildingin contemporary children's stories

3.1.2.1. Child characters on many levels, closely associated with childhood

The portraits of children in contemporary children's stories are no longer blurred in the general picture of the collective. Each character brings their own appearance, gestures, clothes, style... each one is different, each one has its own look. Some are stubborn and upright, some are shy and timid, some are innocent and cheerful, some are dreamy and romantic... By portraying the portraits of children in contemporary children's stories, writers have established a closer relationship between the writer - character - reader. Children are described more realistically, more vividly and also more like children. The most obvious is the type of innocent and playful child character. It can be seen that when portraying innocent children, authors often focus on describing the gestures, movements and movements of the characters to express the mischievous features of children while creating a cheerful look in the portrait. Through the depiction of shapes, gestures, and movements, the children’s characters in contemporary Vietnamese children’s stories appear lively and individual, not just “dummies” to narrate the story. They have created a colorful, bustling, lively, and fresh world.

3.1.2.2. Children's language

Abandoning the epic tendency and not being forced to have a typical voice for a specific class, contemporary children's stories are quite flexible in language. If in the past, children were forced to play the role of political cadres, propagandists... in speech, now they are allowed to speak the language of children, the language of children. Writers have introduced linguistic systems - colloquialisms to enhance the ability to personalize characters. Instead of the standard form of address "you - I", "I - you" ..., there is the way of calling each other "I - you", "I - that" ... in everyday, intimate ways. Just like in adult literature, when returning to everyday language, child characters in children's stories also use vulgar, dirty words (Tan), they can even swear (Dech So), this shows that the tendency to democratize the language of adult literature after 1975 has also spread to children's literature. Characters in modern Vietnamese prose perform a type of dialogue that removes taboos, formalities, and embellishments. Using the natural, naive language of children to recreate characters is also the way that world children's story writers have used; the characters' language is recorded by writers, not by using "editing". Therefore, it comes to children in a very natural way, like their daily lives.

3.2. Narrator character

The narrator is the person telling the story, the subject. The narrator is also called the narrator, often occupies the narrative point of view. It is possible to see in the work the hidden third-person narrator and the revealed first-person narrator who is also a character.

3.2.1. Narrator's point of view

The narrator is a creative product of the writer, an important means to express his artistic point of view. The narrator is the factor that represents the author to express his point of view, it can be considered as a bridge between the character and the reader, however, the narrator and the author should not be identified. Because the author's point of view is much broader than what the narrator can express within the limits of the work. When looking at the narrator, the narrator is the first issue to consider. The narrator tells us who is telling the story in the story. In narrative works, there are three types of narrators corresponding to the speaking points in grammar: first person, second person and third person. However, the second person is the role of the listener, the receiver of information, so it is very difficult to express in narrative, so the second person narrator rarely appears in literary works, but mainly the first person and third person narrators. Narrator is one of the important factors that contribute to the success of a work. Narrator shows the point of view that the author chooses to tell the story, whether the story attracts and convinces the reader or not, depends largely on this factor. Depending on the creative intention, when building the plot, the writer will choose the most appropriate narrative point of view.

*First person:The most common narrative point of view is the first person in which “I"plays the role of a person who is in dialogue with the reader, telling the story of the animal. In this case, the narrator is like an adult friend confiding in the children. This form of storytelling through the first person is similar to the way grandmothers and mothers tell fairy tales to their children, so although the form is first person, the story still maintains the necessary objectivity, combined with a confiding voice, sometimes humorous, sometimes profound, arousing the love of children to follow. Sometimes the narrator only recounts the story, without commenting or judging. With flexible application, the first person brings to the story an objective color, a close and intimate attitude, creating communication and dialogue with the children, playing the role of a guide to help children explore the world of animals in the stories.

*Third person:This is also the narrative point of view chosen by many writers because it keeps the work objective and evokes many thoughts in the reader. When using the third person narrative, because the author does not appear in the story but lets his character speak, the reader may mistakenly think that the author is completely uninterested, does not express any attitude, and is completely cold and indifferent outside the story. Readers are often drawn into the character and forget the author. But the cold indifference is only an appearance, the author has actually cleverly conveyed his attitude. That can understand the author's thoughts and feelings, the reader must understand the issues in the story. With children's stories, this way of hiding the problem, although complicated for the children's age, is also a way to stimulate and encourage them to think and reflect to delve deeper into the problem. With this way of using the narrator, the author stands in an objective narrative position, keeping a certain distance to perceive and evaluate events. Young readers receive the story comfortably and naturally, can equally evaluate events in their own way, without being imposed on the author's thoughts and opinions, creating appeal to them.

3.2.2. Viewpointof the narrator

3.2.2.1.Narrative point of view

Narrative point of view is the fundamental and key issue of story structure. Point of view is the position, the place to consider, describe, and evaluate objects and phenomena in the work. In a narrative work, the correlation between the writer and the narrative theme or between the narrator's point of view and what he tells is especially important. Narrative point of view is related to all other types of point of view such as:author's point of view, character's point of view, spatial point of view, temporal point of view, psychological point of view, evaluative point of view, rhetorical point of view. Point of view represents the narrator's point of view and contributes to expressing the writer's worldview in the work. Through the work, we can see the writer's love, hate... towards his character. There are many ways to divide narrative point of view such as author's point of view and character's point of view, internal point of view and external point of view, subjective narrative and objective narrative... In traditional literature, works are mainly developed from a relatively stable point of view. Theorists call it the "point of view"foreknowledge”. That is, the narrator describes and recreates life mainly from the third person. Basically, traditional literature mainly comes from an outside perspective. In modern literature, the narrative perspective becomes rich and diverse. The perspective is not fixed but unchanging and flexible.

3.2.2.2. Point of view in narrative prose

*Author's point of view:The narrator in the story can be understood as an omniscient narrator (as historian), the narrator is in the third person impersonal (not entirely narrative exclusive) or in the first person (bystander). Usually, the author tells the story in the third person. But sometimes, the author uses the “I"Throughout the work, people call this "second self" of the author. Third person is objective, first person is subjective.

*Character point of view:The author sometimes gives the right to tell the story to the character, that is, gives the character a point of view. This is a clever move for the following reasons: It avoids monotony because the work has many people participating in telling the story. The author uses the character to tell the story and say things that the author is not comfortable saying. It is also possible to borrow the character's voice to increase objectivity, create many different ways of evaluation, and enhance democratic dialogue.

*Spatial perspective:Spatial point of view, people often talk about the viewing position, viewing direction, viewing distance, field of view, way of viewing, rotation of viewing points through spaces... This point of view is for both the author and the character, generally called the viewing subject. The subject can stand low or high, stand near or far to describe the character. The subject looks at the object from which aspect: good or bad, comprehensive or partial, front or back. We should refer to the viewpoints between the characters with each other and with the author to see if their way of looking at life is right or wrong, appropriate or inappropriate...

*Time perspective:We understand time here to include narrated time and narrative time. Event time can be viewed as continuous or disjointed in the style of “jumping jack time”. Sometimes the author looks at events in chronological order, but sometimes he reverses the perspective, past - present - future intertwined. Looking at the way he discriminates between different types of time, we can also see the author's thoughts. Normally, people consider time as a formless element, but in the eyes of artists, time also has its own shape.

*Psychological perspective:Psychological point of view is concretized into pairs of categories: internal - external point of view, subjective - objective point of view... Characters described only from the external point of view are action characters (fairy tales). Characters that are focused on describing from the internal point of view are people with rich inner psyches (stream of consciousness novels). Modern writers tend to focus on the subtle folds in the character's personality structure. Talented writers are often those who have the ability to analyze the character's psychology sharply. However, to make the story more vivid, writers often combine both internal and external points of view.

*Evaluation point of view:The viewpoint of evaluating phenomena and objects, the attitude of evaluation can be expressed through the narrative or through the character's way of speaking, the way of addressing... sometimes the author directly expresses his point of view (the author's viewpoint) but sometimes he lets the character express himself. The viewpoint of evaluation can be constant like the use of artistic adjectives in epic poetry but can also change over time, according to the character's progress or degeneration. The character's and the author's views on life can be opposite. The viewpoint of the lyrical subject and the author may not coincide.

*Rhetorical point of view:Rhetoric is the way of choosing and editing words to be correct and good, achieving high efficiency. Rhetorical devices must also be associated with the author's unique perspective on the object described. The concept of point of view is expressed by many different names: perspective, look, observation point, focal point, focal point, plane, narrator's position...

3.3. The art of plot organization

3.3.1. Overview of plot in narrative prose

The plot is considered an indispensable important element in literature. This shows that it is the leading element of a narrative work, which can be considered as the framework, the foundation to support the content of that work. The plot reveals the theme, the ideology of the work, the expression of the character's personality. A work with an attractive and engaging plot will make the theme of the work more convincing. The plot is not the entire content of the work, but through the events and actions expressed through the plot, the author presents and resolves conflicts and social contradictions in an artistic way, through which the characters' personalities are formed and developed in the relationships between them, in order to clarify the ideological theme of the work.

3.3.2. The art of organizing plots in contemporary children's stories

The plot is like an attractive main axis, focusing all other artistic elements such as characters, actions, language... especially in narrative works, the plot is always the top concern of writers because the plot is the "core" in the development of the story, creating attraction and appeal to readers.

*The plot is not tight:These are stories that have no plot or an unfocused plot.

*Adventure plot:As a rather broad and complex issue, the plot is based on the story of a character or a group of characters being uprooted from their familiar position and environment to venture into a dangerous, unfamiliar place. Adventure is always associated with risk.

*Daily life plot:Is the main inspiration in the works of writers, is the inspiration of the reality of many aspects of everyday life.

*Fairy tale plot:Magical details, many folk tales, the content of the stories also revolves around the relationships, conversations, and actions of the characters to bring out gentle, profound educational lessons.

*Psychological plot:In these stories, there are only a few events, the rest are the characters' feelings, sensations, memories, associations and inner monologues.

*Plot:The problems of life are presented through events and situations, not through characters like a normal plot. Characters in works with a composite plot no longer play a formal role. This series of plots is organized by events that take place in a multi-line relationship. The events are loosely structured, with little connection to each other because there is no necessarily a causal relationship between them, but simply a relationship of similar motifs.

*Chapter plot: Is a type of plot that is made up of a series of stories but separated by their own details, purposes or circumstances.

*Lyric plot: Expresses the development of emotions and moods, with simple and plain content. The story explores the surrounding life, with meaningful educational lessons, lessons about giving and receiving, lessons about family affection, and neighborhood affection.

*Funny plot: The gentle, witty, humorous writing style takes us to a small sky, a childhood filled with love, with joy, sadness, regret, tears, moments between life and death, and finally endless love. The humor spreads throughout the work, creating hearty laughter not only for children but also for us adults.

Summary:

The plots in stories written for children are types of plots that can help writers freely express their feelings, thoughts or return to their past without having to worry too much. The endless streams of memories may not be in chronological order but help writers freely express their feelings about childhood memories. The plots often attract children because they satisfy their curiosity and love of discovering new things. Writers have also shown their efforts in building plots and images of children's characters by creating vivid portraits, close to and attached to children's lives. In addition, children's characters in contemporary children's stories have been given their own voices. Although they are lisping and naive, they are extremely innocent, carefree and honest. The appeal of contemporary literary works is to create a separate language system for children, belonging to children.

Chapter 4

ARTISTIC TIME AND SPACE, LANGUAGE AND NARRATIVE TOE IN CONTEMPORARY CHILDREN'S STORIES

4.1. Time and space of art

Artistic time and space are a category of art form, expressing the way of existence and development of the art world. Artistic time and space are two inseparable aspects in each work. Time and space in lyrical works, as well as all phenomena in the objective world, when entering art are illuminated by emotional thoughts, molded and recreated to become a unique artistic phenomenon imbued with the creative personality of the writer. In literary works, space and time sometimes appear as an image, sometimes as an artistic technique. Space and time are always linked together, so we study them in conjunction. After pointing out the characteristics of space and time, we will study their relationship with each other.

4.1.1. Art time

4.1.1.1. Concept of artistic time

Artistic time is time perceived psychologically through details and changes with aesthetic significance occurring in the world of art. In works of art, real time does not coincide with artistic time. This non-coincidence proves that artistic time is constructed according to the way people perceive time. The consciousness of time is the consciousness of human existence. Discovering time helps people have a deeper understanding of people and life. Therefore, when considering artistic time, the important thing is not the way time is expressed but the author's concept and understanding of time.

4.1.1.1.1. Echo time

The past is a typical feature in the artistic world of the work “The past is always beautiful, but talking about the past is difficult” and living with the past is not easy at all. The past is recreated by the author in a realistic way, interspersed with the feelings of a child far from home, an experienced person remembering his childhood.

4.1.1.1.2. Time interweaves between past and present

Telling about the past is to search for lost time. The author of the autobiography always takes the perspective of the present time to illuminate the past, so time in the autobiography often has an interweaving of the past and the present. Through the character's memories, time is torn into fragments that seem to be separate but are actually very tight and systematic: The present and the past are inserted into each other, interwoven, a part of the present is pushed back into the past, a part of the past is thrown back into the present.

4.1.1.1.3. Exact and specific time

The past in each writer’s work bears the mark of each person’s life. Writing about that past from the present moment in which the author is living, it is understandable to interweave the present time with the past. Using time accurately and specifically down to every detail gives the work authenticity and high persuasiveness. This makes the reader feel like they are listening to the writer recounting his life.

4.1.2. Art space

4.1.2.1. Concept of art space

Artistic space is the form of existence of the artistic world. If everything in the world exists in three-dimensional space: height, width, distance and time, then there is no artistic image without space, no character without a certain background. But artistic space has a special point. The narrator or lyrical poet himself also sees things within a certain distance and perspective. Artistic space is the creative product of the artist to express people and express a certain concept of life. Artistic space is the world model of a specific author, expressed in the language of spatial symbols. This language itself is less individual and mostly belongs to the era, society and different groups of artists, but what the artist says in that language is different - it is a separate world model. Artistic space is a closed phenomenon like a game space.

4.1.2.2. Art space structure

The artistic space in the work is the modeling of the temporal, social, and ethical relationships of the world picture, expressing the writer's concept of world order and choice.

Warm and friendly family atmosphere: Autobiographies written for children are characterized by being associated with the author's childhood, so the artistic space in the work is also associated with the author's living space, which is the family space, the village space, and the school space.

Object space: The things that are associated with childhood will leave an indelible impression in the memory of each person. When authors write about the world of objects associated with the living space of childhood, they always write in a tone full of tenderness, care and respect. Children's eyes look at household items with an innocent, pure, and affectionate look, and that space remains forever in the child's memory.

Garden space: Childhood is not only associated with household objects but also with the garden. The small yard and lush green gardens are places associated with many happy and sad memories of childhood.

4.2. Narrative language and tone

4.2.1. Narrative language

Language is the leading factor, playing an important role in human life. Language is the material to build a literary work, a tool of communication between people, and a means for people to express their thoughts, feelings, and express their personality and nature in the most authentic way. Narrative language not only plays a key role in the narrative method but is also a basic factor expressing the writer's style, conveying the author's perspective and personality. Narrative language plays an important role in building the image of the work, expressing the ideological content of the work. Therefore, in artistic creation, each writer always pays attention to choosing narrative language to create a unique language style for his or her works.

4.2.1.1.Language in tChildren's stories by Nguyen Nhat Anh

* Language of life:In Nguyen Nhat Anh's works, there are also many idioms, proverbs, and idioms that once again illustrate the real-life language in the writer's works. Rich language and effective use have made Nguyen Nhat Anh's works have a strong appeal, the characters are no longer just characters in the work, living in the pages of the book, but become as real as people in real life. That proves the rich vocabulary and talent of a great writer.

4.2.1.2. Language in tChildren's stories by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan

* South Central language:Nguyen Ngoc Thuan has used a variety of words that are rich in the breath of the South Central region. From nouns, verbs, adjectives to pronouns, the writer has directly benefited from the everyday language of the people here. It can be seen that the use of that language in literary creation does not make the writer appear as a cultural researcher, but through his world of linguistic art, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan has awakened in the readers' souls a return to the cultural values ​​of Vietnam through the art of communication and the use of language.

* Narrative language imbued with folklore:The world of words of Nguyen Ngoc Thuan is like a melody that can penetrate deeply into the reader's feelings, touch the deepest part of each person's soul, awaken the sacred bloodline feelings in the Vietnamese consciousness. It is these fairy tale languages ​​that are the source for the writer to have masterpieces that captivate readers. The system of common words in fairy tales, fables, and legends is used by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan with high density. It is like patches of pure light, not only representing the voice of Vietnamese children but also the soul of the entire Vietnamese nation.

* Dialogue language:The dialogue language in Nguyen Ngoc Thuan's stories is a childlike language, both witty and mischievous, but also profound and gentle. There are no dramatic or harsh conflicting words, but mainly words of sharing feelings, words of comfort, encouragement, motivation and a little gentle reminder, without any words of superiority, imposition or heavy instruction for the children.

*Inner monologue language:In the children's stories written by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, the character's internal monologue appears in the form of direct expression of inner thoughts with a series of words such as: "I keep thinking, I often think, I wonder, I imagine...The boy in the storyA dream worldalways soaring in dreams every night. This is also the artistic technique used by Nguyen Ngoc Thuan to evoke the character's soul, helping readers more easily grasp the character's psychology.

4.2.2.Gtonenarrative

For narrative works, narrative tone also plays a very important role. It is a fundamental aspect that constitutes the artistic form of narrative works, and is also an indispensable measure to determine the talent and unique style of the artist. Tone is the means for the narrator to deeply reflect the realistic picture of human life. In addition, tone also carries the author's creative personality. Therefore, each writer always speaks in his or her own tone. Finding the right tone will help the writer tell a more engaging story, expressing the work's ideas more deeply.

4.2.2.1. Tone of voice in tChildren's stories by Nguyen N.Buddha Light

* Humorous tone:Nguyen Nhat Anh has a unique voice that creates his style. It is a witty, humorous voice. In any story, readers can easily recognize the quality of "humour – child"If not transformed, no adult can "imitate the voice". The author uses many elements to create a humorous tone for the work such as the way of naming characters, objects, names of spells, books or subjects in the wizarding world inLangBiang story; the use of words, the way of expressing, constructing sentences, the way of looking at problems or creating situations... all create a joyful atmosphere for the writer's works.

*Philosophical tone:The philosophical and innocent tone is also expressed very successfully by Nguyen Nhat Anh, sometimes it is an exaggerated and exaggerated tone, this tone is used by the author when describing the exaggerated attitude of the character's achievements. But even when the tone is contemplative and philosophical, the reader does not find it dry and rigid, but on the contrary, it is still very gentle and profound because those conclusions are often revealed in interesting situations.

4.2.2.2. Tone of voice in tChildren's stories by Nguyen N.Pure angle

Writing for children, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan has found his own narrative voice, which is attractive and gives readers a warm, comfortable feeling.

*Intimate and friendly tone:The intimate and friendly voice has contributed to making Nguyen Ngoc Thuan's stories always gentle, easy to touch people's hearts, receiving sympathy and sharing from readers even though they are sad stories, even when the author writes about death. With this voice, the writer has created a very unique style - Nguyen Ngoc Thuan's style cannot be confused with anyone else.

*Clear lyrical tone:Nguyen Ngoc Thuan has chosen a suitable writing style, which is a clear lyrical voice. Nguyen Ngoc Thuan has brought to readers pages of writing rich in emotion and poetry, with a clear lyrical tone. At the same time, by diversifying the narrative voice and language in the stories, Nguyen Ngoc Thuan not only demonstrates his talent and endless creativity but also reveals his ability to separate himself. That is also a way for him to indirectly express his ideas and thoughts about life and art.

Summary:

The concept of point of view is expressed by many different names: perspective, look, observation point, focal point, focal point, plane, narrator's position... Point of view arises in the relationship between the narrator and the content being told. Tone is the soul of narrative language, there are many different views on tone but most agree: tone is the attitude, feelings, stance, thoughts, and ethics of the writer towards the phenomenon described in the text, which determines the way of addressing, naming, using words, tone, emotions, and ways of feeling near and far, intimate and distant, respectful or casual, praising or satirical. Each writer has his own style, language, and tone.

Nguyen Nhat Anh is very subtle in using a vocabulary that is very typical of the world of children. The writer not only demonstrates his ability to observe carefully when entering the world of children, but also demonstrates his ability to mobilize and use that rich vocabulary skillfully and sensitively.

Nguyen Ngoc Thuan's children's stories are mainly narrated from the character's point of view. The narrator is also an insider, directly witnessing the events, immersing himself in the situation to describe, analyze, explain, record and express attitudes, feelings and thoughts. The narrative language in Nguyen Ngoc Thuan's stories is a blend of fairy tales and modernity, creating a sense of wonder and charm. Readers can find the fairy tale quality that magically transforms events through the eyes of children and that is a good thing, it realizes dreams, magically transforms goodness.

CONCLUDE

1. Surveying the poetics of contemporary Vietnamese children's stories in general, it can be affirmed that this literary field has made significant progress and has been innovative compared to the previous period. However, the innovation is not completely sudden but has been prepared silently from within. That is clearly shown through the two development stages before and after the 6th Party Congress. On the other hand, innovation also includes the element of inheritance. Contemporary Vietnamese children's stories have been developed on the basis of the achievements of children's stories in the period 1945-1975; 1975-1985. Both inheriting the quintessence and overcoming the childish and simple things to create a new ground, meeting the needs of readers and the cause of innovation and national construction. In the search for a new direction, children's stories are no longer confined to a few topics as before but have opened up to exploit and approach children's lives in a diverse, comprehensive and authentic way. The relationship between children and their families is considered to be the deepest relationship, which has the greatest influence on their personalities. From family relationships, other relationships are expanded, in breadth, the relationship with the school and the surrounding life; in depth, the relationship with the cultural and historical life of the nation. It can be said that contemporary Vietnamese children's stories have integrated into the general movement and innovation of literature, contributing to creating a new look for Vietnamese prose in this century.
2. In the journey of nearly a century, Vietnamese Children's Literature has achieved many achievements. Stories written for Vietnamese children have reproduced quite richly and comprehensively the lives of children through historical periods. In each stage, the appearance of children's characters has different features, on the one hand depending on historical circumstances, the impact of culture - society as well as literary context. On the other hand, it is also influenced by the purpose of writing and the writer's concept. Identifying Children's Literature in the development process is also the process of "reconstructing" the image of children through historical stages. Through each story written for contemporary Vietnamese children, the child character has imprinted on it the image of an entire nation, a culture and social concepts about children. Children are not simply an image in the work but also the core containing artistic codes that need to be opened.
3. It is easy to see that the child characters in stories written for contemporary Vietnamese children are inclined towards the task of educating ideology, morality, and young soldiers in combat. The character of a model citizen in life to a character as a mirror. The diversity of character types along with new concepts of how to express the image of children has brought to contemporary children's stories new, youthful and fresh features. In the beginning, the child characters have not really had many innovations although in their writing, writers have begun to consciously innovate the character image. This can be seen in the type of character. Later on, the expression of child characters has had many changes. The highlight is the innovation of the concept of children, from the point where writers only care about what needs to be brought to children, evaluating them according to the standards imposed by adults to the concept of children as the center of exploration and discovery is a fundamental change in writing for children. The advances in the perception of children brought about by achievements in psychology, school education and the general atmosphere of innovation in the country are increasingly promoted, creating a closeness between writers and readers, between writers and the reality of children's lives. In each period, the situation and requirements of life pose new problems for writers, but creating the image of children's characters in contemporary children's stories is a great effort of writers so that literature can keep up with life, truly a spiritual food for children. The innovation of contemporary Vietnamese children's stories is also reflected in many other aspects, but fundamentally, the innovation of the concept of children is the core of the innovation process, creating a new look for children's stories in this period.
4. The innovation process of contemporary Vietnamese children's stories is also reflected in the increase of new genres, in the diversity of tone, language, and autobiography. Modern fairy tales and short stories appear densely with significant achievements, contributing to the richness, diversity, and new appearance of stories. The representation of children's characters shows a reality that stories written for Vietnamese children increasingly tend to create characters close to life and the psychological characteristics of children, children's characters have their own characteristics and aesthetics. Representing the character's personality along with the need to approach diverse and multi-dimensional life creates the multi-tone nature of stories written for children in this period: journalistic and news agency voices; lyrical voices; mischievous and humorous voices... that is also a proof of the maturity and development of stories in particular and Vietnamese children's stories in general.
5. Although contemporary Vietnamese children's stories have achieved certain successes, readers still feel the lack of works in which writers demonstrate the freedom of imagination. Everyone knows that the element of imagination is extremely necessary for children's literature. A work written for children must not only be enjoyed by children but also stimulate their aspirations and beliefs. It must not only be pure imagination, imagination in realistic thinking, deeply connected to reality, based on the writer's contemplation of life, but also imagination with a premonition and prediction of the future. Literature written for children must awaken the ability to deeply vibrate the children's souls, forming in them beliefs associated with aesthetic values ​​and beauty, so that from children's issues can be raised to the level of thought, with human and human significance. Even if the writer writes about injustices and the dark realities of society, he must ultimately awaken in the souls of children noble human values. Famous works in the world such asThe little princeby ASExupery,Tom Scott, The Prince and the Pauperby Martwen,Gulliver's Travelsby G.Xuyp... both imaginative, soaring, magical, and full of humanity, have created a strong appeal and lasting value over time. These are forever useful suggestions for us writers for children.

Researching the poetics of contemporary Vietnamese children's stories in particular and children's literature in general is a long-term process, requiring a lot of time, a lot of effort and the work of many people. The author of the thesis does not consider this to be the only understanding, and certainly not the most correct understanding of children's stories, but anyway, these are the thesis writer's insights accumulated during the research and teaching process. Hopefully, after the thesis, we will continue to research this interesting literary field, not only stories but also many other phenomena of children's literature.