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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. Mek and Arn differ in their assessment of what their parting means. What are their two separate feelings about their separation?

2. What simile does Arn use to describe his sister's appearance when he sees her?

3. For the first few days in the hospital, Arn is given a certain food to keep him alive. What is that food?

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

5. Who tells Arn that Sombo is only being mean in order to protect Arn from harm?

Short Essay Questions

1. 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?

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

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

4. Why does Arn distrust the radio reports he hears at the hospital?

5. 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?

6. 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?

7. 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?

8. 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?

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

10. 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?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Deception is a theme that shows up often, beginning with the Khmer Rouge's tricking of the citizens in Arn's village and leading to their murders by the regime. Develop a claim stating the author's message regarding deception and prove your claim with at least three instances of deception within the novel.

Essay Topic 2

Desensitization is a coping mechanism Arn uses often in order to retain his sanity in the midst of the horrors all around him. Describe and analyze three of these instances and use them to explain how the author uses them to help the reader keep rooting for Arn even though at times he commits atrocities that in normal circumstances would seem unforgivable.

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.

(see the answer keys)

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