Vietnamese Traditional Mentality And Its Reflection In Vietnamese Prose After 1986

Abstract

 Vietnamese traditional society has full agricultural ethos: peasant, agriculture, rural areas, therefore we could say in each Vietnamese personality has a small farmer nature. The negativity of small farmer traits are the limitation of individual sense, only developing personality and the representative individual instead of developing rational mind. However, it sustained the stability of the traditional society. But in the modern Vietnam with the emphasis on individuality, rationalism, economic development and socialization, those negative traits become disadvantages. And this Vietnamese mentality found its reflection in Vietnamese prose after 1986. This paper will clarify its manifestation through the assessment of Vietnamese cultural history and the literary works of modern writers.