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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. When Mr. Pond gives Arn new clothes, Arn gives his old clothes to Mr. Pond. Mr. Pond then breaks down in tears. Why does he cry?
2. 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?
3. Why does Sombo leave Arn and the other boys to fend for themselves?
4. What special food does Arn steal from the leader's house party so that he can share it with Siv and Kha when he returns to camp?
5. Why does Arn start to suspect that Koong is Sombo's new favorite boy?
Short Essay Questions
1. 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?
2. Why does Arn turn over all of the dead bodies of the villagers to look into their faces?
3. What is the author's purpose for including Arn's comment that "now even the earth is our enemy"? (126)
4. 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?
5. How does the white rabbit enter the narrative of the story and what is its significance?
6. Why does Arn begin to shake after he boards the bus with the other refugees?
7. 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?
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. 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?
10. Why does Arn distrust the radio reports he hears at the hospital?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
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.
Essay Topic 2
Though at the start of the novel, Arn enjoys communing with nature, whether he is frogging with Hong or playing in the fields with other friends, as the narrative progresses, his feelings about nature and the earth begin to change. Trace the changes surrounding the author's presentation of the earth motif and analyze the effect of these changes on the reader.
Essay Topic 3
Discuss the significance of the novel's title and of the repeated references to it throughout the novel. What is the author's purpose in including the theme of "never falling down," both in the title and throughout the narrative of the novel?
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This section contains 2,016 words (approx. 7 pages at 300 words per page) |
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