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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 method does Mek, the new music teacher, tell Arn that he uses to survive?

2. What sport do the rich kids play in the yard of their school in the first part of the book?

3. What reason does Arn give for not eating the human liver that the Khmer Rouge soldier forces him to cook?

4. After the children in the band have had no rice for many days, the Khmer Rouge tell them they are getting a special dinner of banana peels, rice husks, and rotten pieces of food. Arn knows that this is usually the food given to which kind of farm animal?

5. When the high-ranking soldiers for whom the band played has taken their leave, what is NOT a rule put in place by the remaining Khmer Rouge soldiers?

Short Essay Questions

1. What do Arn and his little brother Munny do after they sneak in to see the American movie and what happens to make them hide?

2. 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?

3. What is the author's purpose in including the character of the five-year-old child whom Arn finds feasting on the flesh of the dead?

4. What is the significance of the escape from camp by the boy from Arn's village?

5. 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?

6. How does Arn fix the problem of the new music teacher's apathy and what effect does this solution have on the band's members?

7. 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?

8. 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?

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

10. What happens to the pregnant woman and her husband who are walking next to Arn within the mass exodus of all cities? What lesson does Arn learn from seeing what happens?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

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.

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.

(see the answer keys)

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