Characters
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Arn- The eleven year old main character lives in the Dominican Republic of the Congo during the time of the Khmer Rouge. His goal throughout the book is to keep out of the Khmer Rouge's sights, so he won't be killed. He is smart, sneaky, and he has an active imagination. He tries to be an entrepreneur but it does not work out to well. Although he is a kid, he gambles, and he is very good at it. He shows his sneaky side when he uses different people, some without knowing, as a parent, either to get into movies for free or to not stick out to the Khmer Rouge. He is poor and hungry, yet he thinks that he is in love with a rich girl. When he goes to the camp, he finds the rich girl and she asks him to lie to the Khmer Rouge that she is not wealthy or educated but by the next week, she and her family were gone. He shows his funny side, by giving some of the Khmer Rouge guys’ nicknames, which helped him from not going insane. Then he was sent to another camp, where he was the oldest, and the Khmer Rouge put him in charge of telling them who was a good or bad worker. They had to do long, hard work, and were given little to no food. He ate this fruit that gave him diarrhea. Soon, all the boys had it.
Chantou- Arn’s oldest sister. She helps the aunt watch and care for her siblings. After they are separated, she and Arn send each other letters. She has a college book, which symbolizes that she is educated.
Jorami- Arn’s second of three older sisters. A boy that had a crush on her, one day at the camp, went insane. He ran into the woods, never to return again. Jorami was saddened by how he went insane and also for his disappearance. For a long time after he was gone, she watched the forest edge in the hopes that the boy would return. From the lack of food, and her depression growing due to time and the loss of the boy, her face has started to age prematurely.
Maly- The third of Arn’s three older sisters. Maly is known for having beautiful, black, silky hair, but one night, while at the Khmer Rouge camp, the Khmer Rouge cut her hair. She had the habit of unconsciously brushing hr hair but lost it and her joy when her hair was cut.
Sophea- Arn’s younger sister. She acts tough and brave, and also blackmails Arn, to stay with him when the Khmer Rouge is giving every one jobs.
Munny- Arn’s little brother. He, just like Arn, have an active imagination He is impatient to go home from the camp they are brought to.
The aunt- After Arn’s dad dies, his mother can’t continue to run their opera. She leaves Arn and his siblings with his aunt. His aunt spanks him multiple times throughout the book.
The Khmer Rouge- This group terrorizes Arn, his family, fellow town’s people, and others. They are brutal, strong, overpowering, and tactful. While all of the people were leaving their town, the Khmer Rouge were leading, brutalizing, and killing them. During his time at the camp, Arn realizes how strong the Khmer Rouge are because of how secretly they “got rid of” such a high number of people. To keep power over all their captives, they starved and overworked the people. They tortured all people, including young girls. On page 65, the Khmer Rouge tortured a girl who would not give up her hair. To change her mind, she was put into a large drum. The drum was beaten, then they put a fire under it. When she came out she was bleeding from her mouth, ears, and nose. Another form of torture they used was starvation and hard work which over time turned into exhaustion and fear. Fear grew from their immense amount of weapons, their ability to make people disappear, and their intelligence to keep their prisoners in line.
Arn- The eleven year old main character lives in the Dominican Republic of the Congo during the time of the Khmer Rouge. His goal throughout the book is to keep out of the Khmer Rouge's sights, so he won't be killed. He is smart, sneaky, and he has an active imagination. He tries to be an entrepreneur but it does not work out to well. Although he is a kid, he gambles, and he is very good at it. He shows his sneaky side when he uses different people, some without knowing, as a parent, either to get into movies for free or to not stick out to the Khmer Rouge. He is poor and hungry, yet he thinks that he is in love with a rich girl. When he goes to the camp, he finds the rich girl and she asks him to lie to the Khmer Rouge that she is not wealthy or educated but by the next week, she and her family were gone. He shows his funny side, by giving some of the Khmer Rouge guys’ nicknames, which helped him from not going insane. Then he was sent to another camp, where he was the oldest, and the Khmer Rouge put him in charge of telling them who was a good or bad worker. They had to do long, hard work, and were given little to no food. He ate this fruit that gave him diarrhea. Soon, all the boys had it.
Chantou- Arn’s oldest sister. She helps the aunt watch and care for her siblings. After they are separated, she and Arn send each other letters. She has a college book, which symbolizes that she is educated.
Jorami- Arn’s second of three older sisters. A boy that had a crush on her, one day at the camp, went insane. He ran into the woods, never to return again. Jorami was saddened by how he went insane and also for his disappearance. For a long time after he was gone, she watched the forest edge in the hopes that the boy would return. From the lack of food, and her depression growing due to time and the loss of the boy, her face has started to age prematurely.
Maly- The third of Arn’s three older sisters. Maly is known for having beautiful, black, silky hair, but one night, while at the Khmer Rouge camp, the Khmer Rouge cut her hair. She had the habit of unconsciously brushing hr hair but lost it and her joy when her hair was cut.
Sophea- Arn’s younger sister. She acts tough and brave, and also blackmails Arn, to stay with him when the Khmer Rouge is giving every one jobs.
Munny- Arn’s little brother. He, just like Arn, have an active imagination He is impatient to go home from the camp they are brought to.
The aunt- After Arn’s dad dies, his mother can’t continue to run their opera. She leaves Arn and his siblings with his aunt. His aunt spanks him multiple times throughout the book.
The Khmer Rouge- This group terrorizes Arn, his family, fellow town’s people, and others. They are brutal, strong, overpowering, and tactful. While all of the people were leaving their town, the Khmer Rouge were leading, brutalizing, and killing them. During his time at the camp, Arn realizes how strong the Khmer Rouge are because of how secretly they “got rid of” such a high number of people. To keep power over all their captives, they starved and overworked the people. They tortured all people, including young girls. On page 65, the Khmer Rouge tortured a girl who would not give up her hair. To change her mind, she was put into a large drum. The drum was beaten, then they put a fire under it. When she came out she was bleeding from her mouth, ears, and nose. Another form of torture they used was starvation and hard work which over time turned into exhaustion and fear. Fear grew from their immense amount of weapons, their ability to make people disappear, and their intelligence to keep their prisoners in line.
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