Letter To Guilty Pho Man

Hoàng Cao Khai, as he writes to his friend, Phan Đình Phùng is trying to convince his friend to give up; the French will eventually win. He tries to persuade him by repeatedly telling him how his actions will affect the whole country, not just him. Although Khai agrees with some of Phung's allegiance and loyalty to their country and he doesn’t believe that his friend will ever give up due to his morals and ties to Vietnam. “At the time when the capital was lost and after the royal carriage had departed, you courageously answered the appeals of the King by raising the banner of righteousness. It was certainly the only thing to do in those circumstances. No one will question that.” Phan uses emotionally charged words and tries to guilt Pho Man by saying “the blood will be on your hands.” His letter is detailed and writes that he has started this message previously and only now has he been able to finish it; he seems aware that Pho will not surrender and writes “But I seem to perceive your reasoning. You are determined to do whatever you deem righteous. You give all your efforts and talents to the cause you
Even though Pho argued that “I have always been taught that superior men should consider the care of the people as fundamental; who has ever heard of men who were loyal to their king but forgot the people's aspirations?” Phan argued that he placed the responsibility for the suffering of the Vietnamese people on the French. Phan died years later of dysentery while still fighting the French. Even though these men were childhood friends from the same village, they had opposite views of the French Colonizers. Pho agreed with phan that he was correct and righteous in his loyalty to the dynasty and says in his letter to him that “ your courage and loyalty have grown.” Reading about imperialism and thinking about whether it has helped the world and all the countries it is