Nguyễn Công Hoan

Nguyễn Công Hoan (6 March 1903 – 6 June 1977) was a Vietnamese writer, journalist and member of the Vietnam Writers' Association.

Quotes

• "You talk like a fellow with some education, like someone who knows how to use his head. If you wanted to lead a decent and proper life, there are all sorts of things you could do. Why do you choose to steal?"
  "Sir, I know this is a perilous occupation, and I am familiar with many a way to earn an honest bit of money. But the world wouldn't let me live in peace, so that's why I naturally turned to crime."
  "What a strange way to talk!"
  "That is so, sir, but it's true. I went to live with people, but they didn't take care of me. I learned to do things, and people gave me no chance to do them. Every family I met treated me badly. People weren't nice to me, so I became an enemy of the people. Now I force people to give me what I need in my life."
  • Abandonment (1937), as quoted in Understanding Vietnam by Neil L. Jamieson (University of California Press, 1995), ISBN 978-0520916586, pp. 158–159

• "Why do you steal, you rascal? Why don't you look for some honest work?"
  "Because, sir, I am hungry. Any work that will permit me to feed myself is honest enough for me."
  • Dead End (or Impasse, 1938), as quoted in Understanding Vietnam by Neil L. Jamieson (University of California Press, 1995), p. 159