Le Ngoc Phuong (PhD) is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Literature and Linguistics, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City. She majored in Literary Theory and Foreign Literature and is particularly interested in the study of Vietnamese literature. She attended the Association for Asian Studies Conference in Denver (2019). She is now the main researcher working on a project on south Vietnamese literature from 1954 to 1975. E-mail: ngocphuong@hcmussh.edu.vn
The Cognitive Transformation of the Environment in South Vietnamese Literature from 1954 to 1975
Abstract: Binh Nguyen Loc and Son Nam were two famous writers of South Vietnamese literature in the period 1954-1975. They both showed strong writing power in many genres such as novels, short stories, and essays. In their work, they share a deep love for nature and a great concern for the living environment and the relationship between humans and ecology. The works of Binh Nguyen Loc and Son Nam clearly express the image of people migrating to the South to live and settle down. The process of migration and relocation forced them to become stronger, yearning to conquer wild nature. In that process, people also gradually realized the important role of ecology and understood the philosophy of living in harmony with nature. People also foresaw the consequences of exploiting to exhaustion the sea and the forest without recognizing how to cherish and protect nature. The works of Binh Nguyen Loc and Son Nam show a transformation in ecological awareness and express the philosophy of the people of south Vietnam in the post-colonial literature. This paper analyzes the causes and meanings of this change in ecological awareness in the case of these two writers as well as the aesthetic and ideological value of their work.
Keywords: Binh Nguyen Loc, Son Nam, cognitive transformation, environment, South Vietnam