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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 name of the only other boy at the Children's Center who was formerly a child soldier besides Arn?

2. 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?

3. 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?

4. What happens the first time Arn plays volleyball?

5. The group of child soldiers led by Sombo and referred to as Little Fish with the Big Sting is comprised of how many children?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

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. 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?

7. Describe the parting of Arn and Mek. What is its significance within the course of the narrative?

8. 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?

9. What is the author's purpose in including the two conflicting accounts of the war emanating from Sombo's radio?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Due to the horrific nature of the war in which Arn is forced to participate, he starts to show signs of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) fairly early on in the novel. Research the symptoms of PTSD, find instances of Arn displaying these symptoms, and discuss how the inclusion of such symptoms contributes to the author's message about war.

Essay Topic 2

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 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.

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