In the story, Năm Nhỏ was portrayed as a miserable old man. A twelve-year journey to look for his daughter is really a long and hard one. In our opinion, his daughter’s leave has destroyed his life. Everyone doubts him, blames him for killing his stepdaughter; the words his neighbourhood uses are so terrible: “Bà con hàng xóm xầm xì, chỉ trỏ, người ở xa còn thuê đò dọc lại nhà ngó nghiêng, đâu, thằng cha giết con đâu? Đâu? Con nhỏ bị chôn chỗ nào?” More severely, being affected by such surrounding rumours, his wife also suspects him: “vợ ông khóc lên khóc xuống, bảo chắc là, ông để bụng chuyện nó là con của chồng trước nên ngược đãi, hà khắc đuổi xua”. At that time, her love for him is replaced by the suspicion and doubt. From the ancient times to the present, actually, Vietnamese people’s conception of the relationship between stepmothers or stepfathers and his or her stepchildren is not often good at all. Năm Nhỏ’s heart seems to be broken by such unconfirmed rumours and traditional conception. In this situation, he has to leave his village and determine to bring his daughter back. He goes to many places to look for his stepdaughter Cải to prove to everybody that he does not kill his daughter. It is so suffering for the father who loves his daughter very much when he is doubted to kill her. Although Cải is just his stepdaughter, he still loves her and has a close relationship with her: “Ông đã dắt con nhỏ đi hái xoài chín trong vườn hoang, đã chặt chuối làm bẹ cho nó lội, thả trâu, chơi diều, ông đã cõng con nhỏ đi tắt mấy vạt đồng để khám bệnh chỗ ông bác sĩ già mỗi khi nó nhức đầu, sổ mũi. Cây kẹp nhỏ, mớ dây thun khoanh, mấy cục kẹo dừa vung vinh trong túi áo mỗi khi ông đi chợ về.” That is the southern people who are so candour and sincere. The sorrow of losing daughter and “having home but he cannot come back” make him older and more faded. In such a chain of long days he lives sadly but hopefully, his only desire is that one day he will meet Cải.
On the...