View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. When he is allowed a special privilege by the leader, what does he find himself doing for the first time in three years?

2. 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?

3. When Arn becomes delirious with hunger, he sees the monkey family and then his own family and they chant words to him over and over. What are those words he hears them chant?

4. Using the method of time measurement that Arn and the other captives must use, eight harvests means he's been held captive for how long?

5. Arn hallucinates, seeing a rabbit as large as he is and this illusion seems to lead the way to Thailand. What color is the rabbit he hallucinates?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

2. After Sombo leaves the group to take Koong to a Thai hospital, the kids all argue about which they should go. Arn goes in the opposite direction and they see, but do not care. What reason does Arn give for their apathy?

3. When the leader allows Arn to ride his white horse to a neighboring camp to deliver a letter, why does Arn not run away?

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

5. 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?

6. Why does Arn begin to shake after he boards the bus with the other refugees?

7. 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?

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

9. 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?

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The author chooses to represent Arn's voice using an authentic form of dialect used by non-native English speakers. Analyze how this choice affects the reader's understanding of his character, the feelings inspired in the reader about the wartime atrocities he witnesses, and how the theme of redemption is ultimately received by the reader by the end of the novel.

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

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.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 2,031 words (approx. 7 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample