First They Killed My Father

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

ACTIVITY: “The Cambodian Genocide: Perspectives of War and Conflict”

In this activity, students will watch the acclaimed 1984 film The Killing Fields and compare and contrast the perspectives of the film with Ung’s experience as told in her memoir.

Loung Ung’s memoir tells the intensely personal story of her and her family as they experienced life under the Khmer Rouge, while the acclaimed 1984 film The Killing Fields tells the true story of Cambodian journalist Dith Pran and American journalist Sydney Schanberg. Together, these two texts (the memoir and the film) provide diverse perspectives of the same conflict: a Cambodian child and adult experiencing the Khmer Rouge’s brutality first-hand, and an American journalist witnessing the genocide. The Killing Fields received many Academy Award nominations, and Haing S. Ngor won Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Dith Pran.

• Compare and contrast the various perspectives of the Cambodian genocide presented in the two texts.

o How do factors such as age, gender, nationality, background, and occupation impact each person’s lived experience?

o In what ways do the different characters share similar experiences? How and why do those experiences diverge?

• Analyze how the unit themes appear in the film.
• Reflect on how the film supplements or adds to the memoir, and/or how it complicates Loung Ung’s experiences.
• Collaborate with a small group and present your information to the class in the form of a slideshow, poster, original artwork, or engaging activity.

This activity will culminate in a seminar-style discussion in which you and your peers process the various interpretations presented to the class. Keep in mind that the point of a seminar is to collaboratively uncover meaning in one or more texts and walk away with not only a deeper understanding, but also more questions. To this end, consider drafting comments and questions in advance that may help propel the conversation.

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to pause the film after important scenes to allow students to gather and process their thoughts with their peers.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students who need support with organizing their thoughts, consider providing a graphic organizer for note taking while watching the film. It may be helpful to note the guiding questions and/or themes on the graphic organizer and provide space for students to take notes while watching the movie. For advanced students, visual learners, and individuals who would benefit from the use of technology in the classroom, consider amending this activity to include a presentation in the form of a video analysis. Students might create a video with appropriate voice-over dialogue, text excerpts, and/or film clips as they make comparisons between the memoir and the film. Afterwards, they could conduct a question-and-answer session with the class as a substitute for a seminar-style discussion.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. When writing about the deaths of Keav, Ma, and Geak, Loung shifts her perspective and imagines these moments from the point of view of Keav and Ma.

• What is the impact of including Keav’s and Ma’s perspective? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and evaluate the inclusion of Keav’s and Ma’s points of view and consider how this narrative choice helps honor them in life and death.
• In your concluding sentences, consider how Ung bears witness and gives voice to those lost in the genocide.

2. Loung includes photographs at the center of her memoir of her family from both before and after the genocide.

• How does the presence of these photographs impact the memoir’s themes or messages? (topic sentence)
• Analyze how the photographs help add depth to the reader’s understanding of characters, events, and/or themes.
• In your concluding sentences, consider the placement of these photographs. What is the significance of placing them in the middle of the memoir?

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. At various points in the memoir, Loung includes elements of magical realism in her real-life experiences. Analyze the role that imagination and dreams play in helping Loung survive her brutal experience. How is the inclusion of mystical elements a type of coping mechanism? Connect your thoughts to the text’s theme of How Young People Cope with Survival. As you compose your essay, cite three direct quotes from the text to support your thoughts.

2. Consider the role of the Epilogue. How does it supplement the book’s themes and provide closure to not only Loung’s story, but also the story of her surviving family? What is significant about Loung including her return to her home rather than ending her story with the scene of leaving it? As you compose your essay, incorporate three direct examples from the text that strengthen your points of discussion. Explain your ideas carefully and cite textual evidence.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following best describes how Loung feels in Phnom Penh at the beginning of the memoir?

A) Anxious

B) Bored

C) Safe

D) Unsettled

2. How is Pa introduced at the beginning of the memoir?

A) As kind and generous

B) As impatient and strict

C) As aloof and absentminded

D) As humorous and playful

3. Which of the following examples best gives insight into Cambodian culture?

A) Ma’s impatience

B) Ung’s large family

C) Adults calling Loung ugly

D) The crowded city streets

4. Pa responds to Loung’s questions about the bombs by saying, “Cambodia is fighting a war that I do not understand and that is enough of your questions.” What does his response show about his attitude toward the war?

A) He is embarrassed that he doesn’t know more

B) He is frustrated by Loung’s curiosity

C) He is in denial about the war

D) He is unsettled and scared by the war

5. What can be inferred about Pa instructing his family to tell the soldiers that they are peasants and not a middle-class family with ties to the old government?

A) That their previous life puts them in danger

B) That Pa is being overly cautious

C) That Pa is making a careless decision

D) That their old life may benefit them

6. What best describes Loung Ung’s character development during Chapter 6?

A) She becomes malnourished.

B) She begins to adjust to poverty.

C) She becomes closer to her father.

D) She resolves to return to Phnom Penh.

7. Which word best describes the tone of the end of Chapter 8, as the narrator describes Geak’s hunger and malnutrition?

A) Acceptance

B) Anguish

C) Desperation

D) Irresponsibility

8. What tactic does the Khmer Rouge use when spreading the rumor about the Vietnamese (or Youns)?

A) Coercion

B) Propaganda

C) Journalism

D) Authoritarianism

9. What is Loung’s tone when she describes her starving condition in Chapter 11?

A) Descriptive and emotional

B) Confused and uncertain

C) Frustrated and angry

D) Direct and matter-of-fact

10. Which of the following is the most extreme example of “ethnic cleansing”?

A) The Khmer Rouge’s desire to rid Kampuchea of non-Khmer races

B) The use of propaganda to control and coerce the Cambodian people

C) The forced labor camps that Cambodians can be sent to without warning

D) The evacuation of Cambodian citizens from cities to rural villages

11. What is Loung’s primary emotional response to Pa’s and Keav’s deaths?

A) Guilt

B) Sadness

C) Anger

D) Confusion

12. What fictional subgenre is depicted by Loung’s dreams and visions of her family members after their deaths?

A) Mystery

B) Magical realism

C) Fantasy

D) Historical fiction

13. What literary device is shown in the following quote from Chapter 15? “The water washes away the dirt, but it will never put out the fire of hate I have for the Khmer Rouge.”

A) Apostrophe

B) Metaphor

C) Simile

D) Allusion

14. Which of the following plot points best symbolizes the trauma felt by the persecuted Cambodians?

A) The desire to return to their home villages

B) The suppression of feelings like sadness or grief

C) The willingness to steal food and other supplies

D) The brutal execution of the Khmer soldier

15. What best describes the tone of Chou and Loung’s reunion in the final scene of the Epilogue?

A) Tense

B) Uncertain

C) Redemptive

D) Excited

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Why did the Khmer Rouge destroy Angkor Wat? How does Loung’s personal connection to that sacred place emphasize the effects of this cultural devastation?

2. Describe the scene when Pa leaves with the Khmer Rouge soldiers before his death. How does he face impending death, and what impact does that have on Loung?