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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. After Arn becomes a sort of personal assistant to the leader with the white shorts, what privilege is he granted?
(a) He gets to sleep in late and eat a breakfast of rice cakes.
(b) He gets to ride the leader's white horse.
(c) He gets to go in the leader's room to sleep on a soft feather pillow on the floor.
(d) He gets to run as fast as he wants, a practice normally forbidden so that escapes may be detected.

2. What does the hospital look like where Arn arrives when he gets off the bus?
(a) It is a tent with open sides.
(b) It is a big stucco building with lots of windows.
(c) It is a mud hut with a thatched roof.
(d) It is a brick building that looks like a prison.

3. Once Sombo's group dwindles to a number of only seven kids, plus Sombo and Koong, they become so tired that they drop most of what they have been carrying. What are the two things they continue to carry?
(a) Water and food.
(b) Cooking pots and kindling.
(c) Extra socks and underwear.
(d) Guns and bullets.

4. What new job does the child leader give the Little Fish so that they can prove their loyalty to Angka?
(a) They must fetch the water for every soldier in the camp for one week without drinking any of it themselves.
(b) They must leap from the trenches they have dug and draw enemy fire.
(c) They must cook all of the food for every soldier in the camp for one week without eating anything themselves.
(d) They must climb onto the tanks of the Vietnamese army and drop grenades inside.

5. When he is allowed a special privilege by the leader, what does he find himself doing for the first time in three years?
(a) Laughing.
(b) Thinking about his mother.
(c) Regretting his poor treatment of Siv when they first met.
(d) Hoping he'll live a long life.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of platoon is Arn's sister traveling with?

2. Who nurses Arn enough to bring him back to consciousness once he reaches Thailand?

3. When Arn has fallen so ill that he's afraid he will die, an American man comes to the hospital. What does Arn do in order to get the man's attention?

4. Just before the radio's batteries die, what do they hear the voice of Angka saying in the news report?

5. What instructions does Arn's sister give him when he is able to sneak out to see her in the night?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the author's purpose for including Arn's comment that "now even the earth is our enemy"? (126)

2. How does the white rabbit enter the narrative of the story and what is its significance?

3. How does the scene of the Vietnamese soldiers walking through the village calling out to the people echo a scene from the first chapter of the novel? What is the effect of that allusion?

4. Arn and Missus Gotobed, the headmistress of the Children's Center, become furious with Mr. Pond for his behavior on two separate occasions for two different reasons. How do those reasons differ?

5. How is the theme of family shaped and twisted within the narrative when the camp erupts into chaos at the news that the Vietnamese soldiers are close?

6. The theme of fame arises once again when the leader with the white shorts notices Arn due to the attention he has gotten for his music and dancing, so he tells Arn to come to his house to entertain at his party. What message is being sent about fame in this scene?

7. Why does Arn turn over all of the dead bodies of the villagers to look into their faces?

8. Conditioning is the automatic response of one's body that happens over a period of time when one is subjected to repeated negative and/or positive reinforcement in order to facilitate a particular response. The soldiers tell Arn and Siv that he has a new job for them, lead them to a temple, make them watch as they murder the elderly prisoners there, and order Arn and Siv to urinate on the bodies of the dead and dying old men. Arn thinks that there is no way he'll be able to comply, but when he looks down, he sees that urine is pouring out of his body onto the dead men's heads. What is the author's purpose in including this incident?

9. Why do Arn, Siv, and Kha kick dirt over their excrement after they eat the sweet potato Arn brings back from the leader's house?

10. What new privileges does Arn receive while acting as the leader's assistant of sorts and what feelings do these new privileges inspire in him?

(see the answer keys)

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