Summary Of First They Killed My Father By Loung Ung

In this memoir of First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung, the narrator faces many difficulties throughout her childhood and and because this is written by Loung as an adult it is very interesting to see her perception of herself at the age of five. This memoir talks about the tragedies that took place during the Khmer Rouge that was led by Pol Pot. Khmer Rouge tore families apart, killed innocent children and left many to die due to famine. Between 1975 and 1978, there was an estimated number of two million cambodians that died out of the 8 million population. Vietnamese troops invaded the country of Cambodia in 1978 that captured Phnom Penh beginning of the following year. The author makes certain to accentuate the events that took place …show more content…
The one quote that really seemed to be the first sighting to Lung’s new life was when she had asked to go and relieve herself and her mother brought out money in place of toilet paper. Shocked, Loung responded with, “Ma! It’s money. I can’t use money!”(24-25) This helped capture the moment in the text where Loung now realized how her life was yet to turn around. As Loung’s mother says that their money is of no use to them it gives the reader,as well as Luong, the foreshadow of the struggles and hardships the Cambodians would begin to face as a result of the …show more content…
The one Khmer Rouge soldier getting stabbed and killed didn't seem to satisfy her. It only reminded of her of how maybe that's how one of her loved ones died. However, a reader looking to the idea of the narrator having matured tremendously throughout the text can see that although Loung thinks like her age at one point she does show her levels of maturity and change at another. Loung feels as though there is nothing that anyone can do to bring back her loved ones. Killing and torturing these soldiers will only have people feel relief but it can not and will not fix anything back to the ways they were