63 pages • 2 hours read
First They Killed My Father
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During Reading
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
Chapters 1-2
Reading Check
1. How old is Loung at the beginning of her memoir?
2. What vice does Pa struggle with and ultimately overcome?
3. To whom does the word “Barang” refer?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Ma respond to Loung’s behavior in the noodle shop, and what does this behavior show about Loung as a character?
2. What is the Ung family’s economic status, and what details support this?
Paired Resource
“Death of Pol Pot: Pol Pot, Brutal Dictator Who Forced Cambodians to Killing Fields, Dies at 73”
- This obituary was published in The New York Times in 1998 after Pol Pot’s death from heart failure. It covers his background as a leader of the Khmer Rouge as well as his role in the genocide.
- This resource connects to the theme of How the Government Justifies Genocide.
- How does Pol Pot’s obituary provide helpful background information and context for the Cambodian genocide as shown through Ung’s memoir? What does his level of personal accountability show about him and authoritarian figures?
Chapters 3-6
Reading Check
1. Which of their two vehicles do the Ungs use to leave Phnom Penh?
2. What are the two seasons in Cambodia, as explained by Loung?
3. What is the name of the new government of Cambodia?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is Loung doing at the beginning of Chapter 3, and why is this unusual?
2. What does Keav do to keep Loung from looking over the side of the truck, and why?
3. What is Pa’s answer to Loung wondering when they can go back home, and how does Loung react?
Chapters 7-11
Reading Check
1. What does Pa say has caused Loung, Kim, and Chou’s sickness upon arriving in Anlungthmor?
2. How long does it take for the Ung family to arrive in Ro Leap after leaving Phnom Penh?
3. Who helps Kim access leftover food for his family?
4. Why can’t Ung celebrate New Year’s?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Why does the Ung family leave Krang Truop, and why does this reason confuse Loung?
2. Who are “base people,” and why does the Angkar consider them model citizens?
3. What does Pa force his son Khouy to do, and how could this protect him?
Paired Resource
“Poetry of Memories: The Retelling of Cambodia’s Past”
- This webpage from USC Shoah Foundation explores how storytelling is a vehicle for exploring and healing from the complexity of war and genocide. It includes an article, excerpts from stories, and video clips.
- This resource connects to the themes of How Young People Cope with Survival and The Strength of Familial Love in Wartime.
- How is storytelling a form of healing, and why is bearing witness to war or genocide an important part of the healing process? In what ways is Loung Ung bearing witness to multiple generations of Cambodians?
Chapters 12-14
Reading Check
1. Whose perspective does Loung include in her narration in Chapter 12?
2. What act of rebellion does Ma commit that fills Loung with admiration?
3. What food does Kim steal from the fields?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What does Pa suggest doing to keep the children safe, and how does Ma respond?
2. How does Loung feel after Kim was caught stealing food, and why?
Chapters 15-18
Reading Check
1. With what title do Loung and Chou address the camp supervisor when they arrive?
2. Why does Met Bong tell Loung to move to the other camp?
3. Who does Loung visit when she is given a day off?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. How does Loung respond when Rarnie calls her a “stupid Chinese-Youn,” and what does this show about the war’s impact on Loung?
2. Why does Loung ask for permission to go to the infirmary, and who does she find there?
Paired Resource
“Locked Eyes: Three Poems by Monica Sok”
- This page from the Asian American Writers Workshop contains three poems by Cambodian poet Monica Sok.
- This resource connects to the themes of How Young People Cope with Survival and The Strength of Familial Love in Wartime.
- How does Sok use poetry to confront painful history and give voice to those who experienced suffering at the hands of the Khmer Rouge? How does this intersect with Ung's memoir?
Chapters 19-25
Reading Check
1. Who do Chou, Kim, and Loung set out to find when they escape the camps during the attack?
2. What does Loung run back to retrieve during the Khmer Rouge attack on Pursat City?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What compels Loung to return to Ro Leap without permission, and what information does she receive?
2. Whose voice does Loung hear in her mind after the foster mother insults her, and what does it tell her?
3. Where do Meng and Khouy plan to travel with Kim, Chou, and Loung? Why?
Chapter 25-Epilogue
Reading Check
1. What does Loung call Meng as a show of respect?
2. What does Loung notice first about how different Saigon is from Phnom Penh?
3. In what country is Lam Sing refugee camp?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. Who does Loung think of when they leave Pursat City, and what does she vow to do?
2. Where does Meng decide to go, and why does he choose to take Loung with him?
3. To what religion does Meng convert, and why?
Paired Resource
- This article from the Asia Society explores the impact of the Cambodian genocide on immigration, specifically to the United States.
- This resource connects to the theme of How Young People Cope with Survival.
- What does it mean to start over in a new place? How does this article help give context to some of what Loung Ung may have experienced when she immigrated to the United States?
Recommended Next Reads
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
- This memoir recalls Ishmael Beah’s experiences as a 12-year-old child soldier during the Sierra Leone Civil War in the 1990s.
- Shared themes include How Young People Cope with Survival, How the Government Justifies Genocide, and The Strength of Familial Love in Wartime.
- Shared topics include war, trauma, child soldiers, friendship and family, and resilience.
- A Long Way Gone on SuperSummary
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
- This novel tells the story of two women, Mariam and Laila, during the Soviet takeover of Afghanistan, the civil war, and the rise of the Taliban.
- Shared themes include How Young People Cope with Survival and The Strength of Familial Love in Wartime.
- Shared topics include war, trauma, friendship and family, and the power of hope and redemption.
- A Thousand Splendid Suns on SuperSummary
Reading Questions Answer Key
Chapters 1-2
Reading Check
1. Five years old (Chapter 1)
2. Gambling (Chapter 1)
3. A white person (Chapter 2)
Short Answer
1. Ma scolds Loung for being too fidgety and troublesome, unlike her sisters. This shows that Loung is a spirited child with a lot of energy. (Chapter 1)
2. They are middle-class because they have a large, third-story apartment with many modern amenities like flushing toilets. (Chapter 2)
Chapters 3-6
Reading Check
1. The truck (Chapter 3)
2. Dry and rain (Chapter 4)
3. The Angkar (Chapter 5)
Short Answer
1. Loung is playing with her friends because Pa kept them home from school. (Chapter 3)
2. She wraps the end of Loung’s scarf around her head and tells her to keep her head down. Loung later understands that this is because there were many old and sick people from the hospitals who were dead or dying on the side of the road, and she didn’t want Loung to see them. (Chapter 4)
3. Pa tells her that the Khmer Rouge lied, and that they will never be able to go home. Loung feels scared and shocked. (Chapter 6)
Chapters 7-11
Reading Check
1. The mountains and the weather (Chapter 8)
2. Seven months (Chapter 9)
3. His employer allows him to take home the extra food (Chapter 10)
4. No one is permitted to celebrate holidays (Chapter 11)
Short Answer
1. They leave because friends from Phnom Penh have arrived, and Pa doesn’t want to risk being reported to the Khmer Rouge. Loung is confused because she doesn’t think their friends would put them in danger. (Chapter 7)
2. Base people are people who have lived in a village since before the revolution. The Angkar considers them model citizens because, since they have never traveled outside their villages, they have not been corrupted by the West and capitalism. (Chapter 9)
3. Pa forces Khouy to marry a girl named Laine from a neighboring village. This may help keep Khouy from being recruited for the Khmer Rouge army if they know he is married and could provide sons for the new regime. (Chapter 10)
Chapters 12-14
Reading Check
1. Keav’s (Chapter 12)
2. Ma sneaks Loung shrimp, even though she could be punished (Chapter 13)
3. Corn (Chapter 14)
Short Answer
1. Pa suggests they separate the children and send them to orphanage camps because he thinks if they are alone, they are less likely to be associated with Pa and his former government connections. Ma pleads with him to let them stay, as she thinks they are too young. (Chapter 13)
2. Loung feels guilty because she knows Kim got caught trying to feed her and her family, and because she wishes he had brought back food. (Chapter 14)
Chapters 15-18
Reading Check
1. Met Bong (Chapter 15)
2. She tells Loung that Loung is too strong for the camp she is in. (Chapter 16)
3. Ma and Geak (Chapter 17)
Short Answer
1. Loung attacks her and tries to strangle her. This shows that the rage she feels toward the Khmer Rouge is starting to spill over into her daily life. (Chapter 15)
2. She travels to the infirmary because she has terrible stomach pains. When she arrives, she finds Ma, Geak, Chou, Kim, and Meng are all there. (Chapter 18)
Chapters 19-24
Reading Check
1. Khouy and Meng (Chapter 20)
2. The backpack (Chapter 23)
Short Answer
1. Loung wakes up with a feeling of intense dread and worries something has happened to Ma. When she arrives at Ro Leap, she is told by a neighbor that Ma and Geak are dead. (Chapter 19)
2. Loung hears Pa’s voice telling her she is a precious diamond who will shine someday. (Chapter 21)
3. They plan to travel to Bat Deng because they are hoping to reconnect with some of their relatives on Ma’s side of the family. (Chapter 23)
Chapter 25-Epilogue
Reading Check
1. Eldest brother (Chapter 26)
2. Saigon is colorful and cheerful. (Chapter 26)
3. Thailand (Chapter 27)
Short Answer
1. Loung thinks of how Ma, Pa, Keav, and Geak will remain stuck in the mountains forever. She vows to never forget them or what they went through. (Chapter 25)
2. He decides to go to America, and he takes Loung because he thinks she is young enough to go to school and start over. (Chapter 25)
3. He converts to Christianity because it might help them get sponsors in America sooner. (Chapter 27)
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