Analysis Of First They Killed My Father

I had chosen First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers because it looked to be the more interesting of the two from the class and if they were assigned I imagined either would be a good choice. Loung Ung, the author, describes in the first person, present tense accounts of how the Khmer Rouge Army, under Pol Pot’s command, forced her and her family from their home and their experience from 1975-1980. She is a nationally known spokesperson for the Campaign for a Landmine Free World and a Cambodian American human rights activist. Loung Ung’s First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers was a national best seller in 2001, a year after it was published the Asian Pacific American Librarians’ association described …show more content…
““You must stop thinking we can go back. You have to forget about Phnom Penh.” Pa has never spoken so bluntly to be before and slowly the reality of what he says sinks in I am never going home.” (40). Her first person accounts describe their travels through the country as they must hide and lie about their life before the reality of the life they are living now. In a child’s voice she describes her own thoughts of what life was like and how the others acted around her. She describes her own helpless selfishness an expresses human nature, thoughts and feelings. She describes the jealousy she has for her younger sister and how her mother carries her, the long walk has made her tired and she feels as if her little sister, Geak, has it easier than she does. Hundreds of people have already died since the take over from food poisoning, malaria and starvation. She even describes her little sister, Geak, 3 years old, “is so thin that her cheekbones protrude out of her face. Her cheeks are now hollow, her skin hangs on her bones, and her eyes are dulled with hunger.”(55). Seeing her sister this way makes her feel guilty in feeling jealous of her. Their new life now consists of working all day with hardly any food, people disappearing and never coming back. They cannot trust anyone around them in fear of being turned in. They must live a lie to …show more content…
She did an incredible job staying in a childlike mindset and reliving her experience to share her sad and incredible story with the world. Anyone who is interested in the human experience should read this book. It describes the incredible journey of a small child and her family through the most difficult of circumstances and in a real way. I was able to make a connection after reading this book. I have known about Cambodia and life under a dictatorship, but this gave a closer look into the people that live this life and survive it. I would recommend this book to anyone. I think this is not only a great telling of actual events, but like I said before, I think it relays the human experience and the resilience that people can have even when presented with a terrible