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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. Why does Arn decide he wants to become good at volleyball once he sees this is the most popular game at the Children's Center?

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

3. When Arn has a touching moment with the baby monkey but then snaps its neck and wonders why he has done this terrible thing, what conclusion does he come to?

4. When the Vietnamese soldiers kill everyone in the village by drawing them out with offers of free rice, why does Arn look at each dead person's face as he walks through the village?

5. When he is allowed a special privilege by the leader, what does he find himself doing for the first time in three years?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. At the start of his stay in the hospital, how does the author demonstrate that Arn has contracted Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder from his time under the rule of the Khmer Rouge?

4. 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?

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

6. 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?

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. For what reasons does Arn choose Sojeat and Ravi as his two favorites when Mr. Pond asks him for two names?

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

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

At many points within the narrative, Arn is close to giving up, but does not. Choose three of these moments, discuss his motivations to keep going, and analyze these instances within the context of the author's message about hope.

Essay Topic 3

Deception is a theme that shows up often, beginning with the Khmer Rouge's tricking of the citizens in Arn's village and leading to their murders by the regime. Develop a claim stating the author's message regarding deception and prove your claim with at least three instances of deception within the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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