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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. Who is in the picture that Arn hangs on his bedroom wall at the beginning of the novel?

2. What does the new music teacher give Arn as the reason that he does not care whether he lives or dies?

3. After asking Sombo many times why he is permissive with Arn and overlooks his breaking of the rules, Sombo reveals the reason. What does he say is the reason?

4. The first person Arn sees in over a year who is not wearing a black uniform is the new leader who arrives at the camp. How does Arn describe his appearance?

5. When the new music teacher is too overcome by his own sadness to teach the children, Arn teaches them himself, instructing them to hit the strings lightly, like the wings of what bird?

Short Essay Questions

1. What ploy do the Khmer Rouge use to get the government soldiers to come to the airport and what happens once they arrive?

2. When the evacuees are finally allowed to stop to set up camp in groups of around a thousand people each, what do Arn and his little sister Sophea discover about the Khmer Rouge's philosophies when they sneak around listening to the soldiers' conversations?

3. When Arn finally realizes the true purpose of the band's music, he is shocked and saddened. What is that purpose and how does it transform Arn's idea of the music he plays with the other members of the band under Mek's guidance?

4. What is ironic about the fact that the rice crop falls significantly short of the Khmer Rouge's expectations and they then reduce everyone's food allotment even further than before?

5. Before the arrival of the Khmer Rouge in his village, how does Arn feel about the war he knows is being fought outside his town and what does he spend most of his time doing?

6. How does Arn describe his village at the opening of the novel before the Khmer Rouge arrive?

7. How does the author use the juxtaposition between the kitchen girl's molestation of Arn and the comfort he then seeks within Mek's embrace? What is her purpose in using this juxtaposition?

8. Who is the emaciated girl with the missing teeth and loose skin who arrives at Arn's camp and what does he learn from her?

9. When Arn sneaks out to tell Mek about the soldier who forced him to cook the liver of a murdered captive, he is caught by a soldier but does not suffer the dire consequences he is expecting. What happens instead and what significance does it hold for Arn?

10. What are the signs that lead Arn to think that perhaps the Mango Grove is a mass burial site used by the Khmer Rouge to inter their victims?

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

Arn often refers to the subject of fame at different points within the novel. Trace these mentions, explain each instance's circumstances, and discuss the overall message the author sends about the subject of fame.

Essay Topic 3

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.

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