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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. One time when Sombo's group passes another platoon in the woods, he recognizes that platoon's rice girl. Who is it?

2. Arn hears a voice coming through a bullhorn, telling the refugees that it's okay to come out and he waits for what he thinks is a trick to end in gunfire and moaning. Instead, he hears a different sound. What is it?

3. What creatures does the author depict fleeing from the sounds of war in order to underscore the theme of the unnatural?

4. 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?

5. Mek and Arn differ in their assessment of what their parting means. What are their two separate feelings about their separation?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. When the Khmer Rouge put Arn and 19 other boys into a platoon they call Little Fish with the Big Sting, what thought of Arn's acts as foreshadowing for the coming carnage?

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

5. 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?

6. 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?

7. 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?

8. 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?

9. 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?

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

The theme of power is one that comes up over and over within the novel's narrative, particularly in relation to Arn's feelings of powerlessness and realizations about power he does indeed hold. Choose three instances when Arn realizes that he does, indeed, carry power, even within his dire situation. Discuss how these realizations help to shape the author's message regarding power.

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

The first mention of revolution in the novel occurs on page 24 when a Khmer Rouge soldier mentions it and Arn tells the reader he has not heard the word before. There are many different types of revolution, including social revolutions and personal revolutions. Compare and contrast the revolution undertaken by the Khmer Rouge with the personal revolution Arn experiences by the end of the novel.

(see the answer keys)

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