Essay Questions

What were some of the characteristics Loung had that made her the ideal candidate for training as a soldier?

Above all, Loung was resilient, far more so than any of her siblings. She was also determined to such a degree that it was almost a stubbornness that enabled her to survive; she just refused to be broken or worn down. It was actually the characteristics in her that her mother had worried about that made her an ideal soldier. She was feisty. She was adventurous, loved to explore and seemed oblivious to the need for a degree of decorum. She did not care about being ladylike or fitting into an expectation. This meant that her strong character had been left to develop unfettered by society's expectations of her. She was also very smart, much of her antics stemming from boredom. Loung was smart enough to realize what was required of her in order to stay safe. She was adventurous enough to find excitement in the frightening environment of the work camp. And she was unladylike enough to possess the physicality that she needed to demonstrate what was considered a strong work ethic. Being a little bit different made her the perfect soldier in her orphan work camp.

What does this book teach us about the brutal Khmer Rouge regime?

The book teaches us that the regime was similar to the overthrow of the powerful by Chairman Mao in China, in that it victimized the educated, the prosperous and the influential. To a leader such as Pol Pot, the educated are a threat because they can argue against his agenda and also stir up resistance in those who respect their opinions. Only the uneducated "masses" in Cambodia would take the new dictator's regime at face value because they lacked the academic tools to refute it. The Khmer Rouge despised those with the ability to think for themselves and had no use for them. They instead valued those who would work for the regime as instructed without question, and also those who would undertake physical work rather than cerebral tasks.In order to take over the population it is necessary to keep them uninformed. This was not possible when it came to ex governmental officials, who all knew what was going on, or those with education who understood what was going on. The regime could only operate as long as fear was the primary way they could control their citizens.

There are many different forms of bravery and courage. How does Loung's family show us this?

Loung's bravery is an angry bravery. She is physically brave, bold and determined to prove the regime wrong by thriving within it. Her mother's bravery is the courage that a mother has in the protection of her children. It is gentle and kind, the reed that will not break no matter how much it is forced to bend. Loung's brother becomes the protector, assuming the role of "man of the house" in the absence of his father, avenging his family without seeking a careless revenge that will leave them open to discovery or harm. Finally, Loung's courage in writing the book is in of itself remarkable, since to re-live the events of the Khmer Rouge storming the city and taking over the country must surely have been extremely traumatic, yet she did this because it was the only way in which she felt she could adequately honor her parents.