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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 does the hospital look like where Arn arrives when he gets off the bus?

2. When Arn becomes delirious with hunger, he sees the monkey family and then his own family and they chant words to him over and over. What are those words he hears them chant?

3. What is Arn's reaction to seeing his sister again?

4. When Missus Gotobed warns the children that the refugee camp on the other side of the fence is dangerous, why does Arn still walk back and forth along the fence one day?

5. What happens the first time Arn and and another Little Fish go to drop grenades into the tanks of the Vietnamese soldiers?

Short Essay Questions

1. When the leader allows Arn to ride his white horse to a neighboring camp to deliver a letter, why does Arn not run away?

2. 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?

3. When Arn hears the conflicting reports on Sombo's radio, with the Voice of Angka saying that a victory for the Khmer Rouge is imminent and the American station saying that the Vietnamese are in control of the East and are taking more land every day, Arn doesn't know which report to believe. He does, though, hold on to one fact that he hears. What is that fact and why does he choose to keep it in mind?

4. When Arn determines that he has been away from his home village for two and a half years, how does he reach this conclusion?

5. 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?

6. Once Arn wakes up from being nursed back to health by the three girls in Thailand, how does the motif of sound come into play?

7. What words does the dying lady in the village spit at Arn and why do her words hurt him so much?

8. How does the author present the theme of the unnatural when Kha tells Arn and Siv that if they stay hidden, they can watch the girls bathe in the nude?

9. Why does Arn begin to shake after he boards the bus with the other refugees?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Oftentimes in Western culture, volunteerism is looked at in terms of only helping those in need, but the novel seems to put forth the proposition that service to others can also be a means to the provider's own personal happiness. Find examples within the novel that would prove this conclusion regarding the author's message about service to others and discuss the message's overall effect on the reader.

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.

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