CÁI ÁC VÀ SỰ THỂ HIỆN CÁI ÁC DƯỚI GÓC ĐỘ BẢN THỂ TRONG THE SYMPATHIZER CỦA VIET THANH NGUYEN

Abstract

The paper approaches evil in terms of the self of the character in the Sympathizer, Viet Thanh Nguyen’s most famous work. Applying Georges ’Bataille’s view of evil in literature and Jonathan Culler’s view of identity, evil is classified into two types: the Hybrid and the Other, thereby showing the process of forming the character self. The Hybrid is reflected in the ’character’s bloodline and point of view about the war. The Other is expressed in self-reflection and rewriting oneself as something different from the pre-determined history. These contents are clarified from the ’work’s genre, viewpoint, narrative modes, and symbols. Since then, the paper shows that evil is a vital issue of literature about war, typical in Viet Thanh Nguyen’s work. It breaks the traditional conception of evil in literature, and more importantly, it helps to identify the human self in the context of war.