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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the stringed instrument called that Arn learns to play in the band?

2. When the high-ranking soldiers for whom the band played has taken their leave, what is NOT a rule put in place by the remaining Khmer Rouge soldiers?

3. The morning just before the Khmer Rouge drive through the village making announcements on their bullhorns, what sounds are noticeably absent?

4. What happens to the first guard to make Sombo come to replace him?

5. What are the two forms of compensation that the news bearer accepts in return for news about the captives' families?

Short Essay Questions

1. After Arn is chosen by Khmer Rouge leaders to play music in their band, Arn sees there are positive results and negative results of his being chosen. What are they and what does this show about one's fate under the rule of the Khmer Rouge?

2. Who is the emaciated girl with the missing teeth and loose skin who arrives at Arn's camp and what does he learn from her?

3. When the current leader of the camp tells Mek that he and band will soon be going somewhere new, they are all terrified that they will be killed instead and that this is just another instance of the Khmer Rouge's euphemisms. However, they are not killed and what happens instead introduces the theme of fame into the novel. What happens in lieu of their deaths?

4. How is the theme of generosity demonstrated in the scene when the children are finally fed rice in anticipation of their first performance for the Khmer Rouge soldiers?

5. What does Arn tell the reader about his family background within the exposition part of the story?

6. When the evacuees are finally allowed to stop to set up camp in groups of around a thousand people each, what do Arn and his little sister Sophea discover about the Khmer Rouge's philosophies when they sneak around listening to the soldiers' conversations?

7. When Arn finally realizes the true purpose of the band's music, he is shocked and saddened. What is that purpose and how does it transform Arn's idea of the music he plays with the other members of the band under Mek's guidance?

8. What happens to the pregnant woman and her husband who are walking next to Arn within the mass exodus of all cities? What lesson does Arn learn from seeing what happens?

9. Why do the Khmer Rouge burn everyone's clothes and all of their material belongings?

10. What is the significance of the escape from camp by the boy from Arn's village?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Many instances of irony are included in the novel's narrative, including the fact that while Arn has to hide the fact that his parents were musicians to keep from being labeled an imperialist, his life is saved by his inclusion in the Khmer Rouge's musical band. Find three other instances of irony within the novel and discuss each instance's significance.

Essay Topic 2

The motif of music is a prominent characteristic of the novel's narrative. Describe and analyze at least three instances of music references in the novel, providing a comprehensive analysis of the author's purpose in using music as a motif.

Essay Topic 3

Within the novel, the manipulation of language in order to shift people's perspectives is a common theme, both in Arn's case, as when he questions the difference between a "bribe" and a "gift" (8) and in the case of the Khmer Rouge soldiers, as when they ban the use of the word "sleep," instead ordering that only the word "rest" (82) be used. Discuss the theme of language manipulation throughout the novel and relate it to manipulation of language within modern politics.

(see the answer keys)

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