ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tao Kim Hai was born in Vietnam. He spent his first eighteen years studying in French schools in Vietnam and at an early age,
he began to write Vietnamese poems. In 1932, he went to France where he studied law, French poetry, and short stories and worked as
a journalist. He has also written short stories and published some articles in American magazines like Esquire, Gourmet, and The New
Yorker.
In 1945, Hai became a member of the French Delegation to the French Conference and to the San Francisco Conference. He
also became a member of the United Nations Secretariat as area specialist for Asia and the Pacific.
Tao Kim Hai’s English name is Andre M.
CHARACTERS AND CHARACTERIZATION
The Cock – agile, stubborn, impertinent, self-important and "the villain who turns out to be a hero"
Young Woman – a sixteen year old girl that comes from a rich family; very gentle, loving and obedient; loves the young man with all
her heart
Young Man – a handsome eighteen year old boy that lives independently and is awfully poor; is in love with the young woman; owns
the cock
Father of the woman – the ly-troung or head of the village; is very firm yet loves his daughter dearly
Mother of the woman – very superstitious on the verge that she considers them first than listening to her daughter but still loves her
daughter anyway
Neighbors – prejudicial of the couple; spread gossips
Relatives – keeps the family’s traditions keenly
SETTING
The story takes place in Vietnam probably between the 1800 to the 1900 when traditions, specifically marital traditions are still
practiced and stressed. The story specifically occurred in a certain village in Vietnam wherein two faces of "living" are pictured since
the young woman comes from a very wealthy family while the young man has nothing on his name.
PLOT
Elements of Plot
1. Exposition
The young woman is seemingly writing or talking to someone about the cock. The cock is described as being old for a rooster
but is still strong and agile. She also said that the cock is the reason why she married the person that she truly loves since the cock
bridged their social differences; after all, she comes from a rich family while the young man is very poor.
2. Initial Incident
One day, the woman and the man were talking behind the bamboo hut to hide away from prying eyes since their relationship is a
secret. Suddenly, the cock intervened in their conversation by making loud noises. Luckily, they were able to chase it away.
3. Rising Action
On another occasion, the couple once again secretly met with one another in a trysting place. The cock came and made loud
noises by flapping its wings and making loud cries. The couple tried to chase away the cock but when they were busy doing so, many
people saw them together.
4. Complication
After the couple was spotted to be together, rumors spread like wild fire. The people speculated the young woman has lost her
virginity and would soon bear a child. These rumors reached the ears of her parents. The worst, the cock started to crow during
evenings and this crowing was said to be the sign of extramarital pregnancy.
5. Climax
Since the young woman’s mother is so superstitious she believed that her daughter was certainly pregnant. She does not listen to
her daughter even she denies the accusations. The relatives of the woman were called and the family had a meeting while the poor
young woman was locked in her room. It was then decided that the woman must be married to the man so that the family might not
loose face.
6. Falling Action
Six preliminary marriage ceremonies had gone and they were married in the strictest way possible. Their marriage was
considered to be a bad match and a scandalous one so it had been agreed that the couple must leave their native village and make their
new home in some distant province where they were not known.
7. Resolution
The couple has been in the province for five years already and still the woman did not bear a child, proving that the cock was
indeed a liar. Still, the woman is grateful for what the cock had done, since because of his doings she was married to the man he loved
the most.
Kind of Plot
The plot of the story is comical since the cock that always disturbed their quality time together was the reason why they were
married. At first, he become the villain since he was the reason why their relationship had been exposed but by exposing their
relationship the impossible had become possible since they were married and of course it was a wish come true for both of them. The
cock turned out to be the hero.
Device in Plot
The plot is in Flashback since the story started when the woman told the ‘honored sister’ about her present condition and that of
the cock. She informed her that she was married to the man she loved because of the cock. After that, she narrated about what
happened five years ago and by the end of the story, the story returned to the present time.
To be specific, the story is in internal analepsis since the flashback occurred in an earlier point of the narrative.
Point of View
The point of view of the story is in the First Person since the story is narrated by one character, the woman, and because she
talks about herself. She explicitly refers to herself using words and phrases involving "I". This can also be classified as First Person
because the readers only know her opinions, thoughts, and feelings, and not of the other characters.
Tone
Since the story is in first person and the only character "speaking" is the woman, the tone of the story comes from her. The tone
of the story is ironic* since the result of the actions of the cock was not the expected outcome. At first, the young woman thought that
they were in trouble since their forbidden relationship was exposed. However, they end up marrying each other.
* (situational irony) if the actions taken have an effect exactly opposite from what was intended
Symbolism
Honored sister – Vietnam or the land where the couple have stayed
European ideas – liberated ideas
Tongues wagging – people spreading gossips or rumors
Fall – giving away her virginity
Tears - a state of intense frustration and sadness
Theme
The worst thing that might have happened to you might lead you to the happiness that you are looking for.
Synthesis
The story tells us that in every dark cloud is a silver lining. We should not think that when we are given trials, it is already the
end of the world. We must be wise enough to know that problems are there to make us stronger.
I know that in our lives right now it is very rare that are problems would turn out to make us happy. There are no cocks that
would put us in trouble but in the end letting us enjoy what we want to have in life. Nevertheless, we can make our problems our
friends by learning from them.
The story, The Cock, is a masterpiece. It is indeed simple yet it is an eye-opener. Do not take this story as merely a piece with
words but an opportunity to look at an interesting part of one's life.
