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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 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?

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. 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. What kind of platoon is Arn's sister traveling with?

5. What happens the first time Arn plays volleyball?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. 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?

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

4. 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?

5. 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?

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

7. What new privileges does Arn receive while acting as the leader's assistant of sorts and what feelings do these new privileges inspire in him?

8. 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?

9. 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?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

The novel does not shy away from including graphic and disturbing details when describing the horrors inflicted on the Cambodian people by the Khmer Rouge regime. Similarly, the Cambodian government has made it their mission to make sure young people continue to be educated about the genocide that occurred in their country only a few decades ago. Write a persuasive essay in which you argue for or against the ongoing education of Cambodian schoolchildren regarding this dark time in their history and be sure to include several reasons to support your claim.

Essay Topic 3

The novel is littered with the use of sensory details throughout the narrative. Discuss the author's purpose in including the sights, sounds, smells, tastes and tactile sensations of Arn's experiences.

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