Questions for Class Discussion

1. What memories and scars of war and genocide do Loung, Chou, and others surmount? How do they do so?

2. How was your experience of reading this book affected by the combination of "voices"-the young Loung, the
mature narrator, and the imagined Chou? How might your reactions have been different if Ung used an
impersonal third-person voice throughout?

3. Imagining Chou's memories of their older sister, Keav, Loung writes that "Chou does not know which one
makes her drop more tears, the dream of Keav's life or the nightmare of her death." (p. 33) How do the
nightmarish memories of family deaths and the dreams of surviving family members' continuing lives affect
Loung, Chou, and others? How do Loung's and Chou's dreams reflect their fears and anxieties relating to their
past experiences, their present situations, and their future possibilities?

4. In what ways does Loung's closet in the first American apartment serve as her "own private world"? What does
she mean when she says of that closet, "Here, I am the creator, taker, and giver of life"? (p. 21) What equivalent
space does Chou have? In what ways do Loung and Chou individually see themselves as "the creator, taker, and
giver of life"?

5. The ten-year-old Loung, thinking of the Americans she sees on television and in the flesh, worries "that if
fighting suddenly erupts in America, many of its frail citizens with their weaknesses will not survive." (p. 27)
What weaknesses does she see as afflicting Americans? How do you think Americans would react to conditions
similar to those imposed by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia?

6. When she recalls the circumstances of her sister Keav's death in the Khmer Rouge work camp, Loung's "mind is
flooded with the sounds of her fight, I am filled with hurt and a rage so strong that all I can think of are revenge
and hate." (p. 45) What is the importance of hate, anger, and a desire for revenge in the lives of Loung, her
family, and her fellow Cambodians?

7. In September 1980, Uncle Leang pronounces: "Look, it's too dangerous to get involved with any governments
because you never know when they will turn on you. All people need is a good family." (p. 50) In what ways
might Uncle Leang's judgment be relevant to your life in the twenty-first century United States? How would you
define "a good family," and how it might meet the needs of its members?

8. In what ways does Loung's first experience of Fourth of July fireworks reveal the profound personal and cultural
differences between life in Cambodia and life in the United States? What other instances reveal or underscore
those differences?

9. Why do you think providing Loung with a good education was so important to Meng and Eang? What values
did Loung's family associate with a good education, in terms of the individual and in terms of the entire family?

10. Ung recalls that at three years of age her niece, Maria, could "communicate in three different languages" and that
"between the two of them, Meng and Eang speak Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese, Chiu Chow, Vietnamese,
Khmer, and now English." (p. 107) Why might it be important in today's world for everyone to be able to speak
 more than one language?

11. What difficulties did Loung confront in learning to think, speak, and write in English? What difficulties do you
think you might confront in learning another language? How might you help someone from another country
adapt to American English?

12. How might the United States and other nations-individually, as coalitions, or through the United Nations-act to
prevent the recurrence of atrocities such as those inflicted by the Khmer Rouge on the people of Cambodia?
What actions might be taken by individuals, organizations, nations, and groups of nations to prevent events such
as the Khmer Rouge genocide, the Rwanda genocide, and the slaughters in the Darfur (Sudan) from happening?
How might you, individually and as a class, contribute to such efforts?

13. What struck you as the most significant event or aspect of life in Chou's village after the fall of the Khmer
Rouge? Why?

14. What were some of the most dramatic consequences of the Khmer Rouge years for the Cambodian people, and
for Cambodian children in particular?

15. Only relatively late in her narrative (p. 160) do we learn of Loung's escape from rape by a Khmer Rouge soldier.
What effect might that specific experience have had on her subsequent life? In what ways did her and her
family's experiences, in general, under the Khmer Rouge continue to affect Loung's life? Why might she have
been unable, even as a teenager, to cope with the personal consequences of those experiences? What finally
enables her to cope?

16. What importance do Ma and Pa have in the lives of Loung and Chou in the years following the fall of the
Khmer Rouge? What continuing role do they play in the lives of their daughters? Why is their continuing
"presence" so important?

17. Mr. Johnson explains that he gave Loung an A+++ on her paper about Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge because
"for this once, I wanted to let you know that sometimes content counts more than correct grammar." (p. 175)
Under what circumstances in your school courses might content count more than correct grammar? Under what
circumstances in life might content or action count more than following the rules?

18. What instances of racism and other prejudices does Ung record? What are the circumstances involved, and how,
in each instance, is prejudice expressed? What similar instances have you observed or experienced in your own
lives?

19. Do the facts of life in the refugee camp have an effect on Kim's dream of freedom? How do Kim and others
keep their dream of freedom alive in the face of all the obstacles, hardships, and perils they face?

20. Why do you think Loung made no attempt to reconnect with her sister for fifteen years? What kept her from
reaching out?
 21. As Uncle Heng takes pictures in Monaco, Loung realizes "that motto of living life to the fullest, of not missing a
single moment, and making every minute count had been all about me and had involved only me." (p. 237) How
might living life to the fullest involve more than just self-fulfillment, self-satisfaction, and the realization of
one's individual dreams? What more does living life to the fullest involve?

22. Of the 1998 ceremony to honor Pa, Ma, Keav, and Geak, Ung writes, "I wanted to tell them that even though I'd
witnessed the worst of man's inhumanity to man, in my family and my life experiences I'd also seen the very
best of man's humanity to man." (p. 264) What examples do you find in Lucky Child of man's inhumanity to
man and of man's humanity to man?

Classroom Activities
1. Lead the class in a discussion about people in the class or in your community whose parents or other forebears
emigrated from Cambodia or elsewhere, or who are themselves immigrants to the United States. What distinct
cultural conflicts and changes accompanied their search for better lives?

2. Invite people who have made such a move to talk to the class about their experiences. Invite parents,
grandparents, or other older people from various ethnic groups to address your class about their immigration to
America or their relocation from one region of America to another, about the new circumstances they faced, and
about how they coped with those circumstances.

3. Have your students research, through family interviews and other resources, their family backgrounds and
construct family trees or genealogical charts showing relationships, locations, and movements. Post the trees and
charts in a prominent place. Discuss as a class what the students have learned by completing this activity.

4. Have your students-individually or in groups-research and report upon the circumstances and locations of the
establishment and operation of ethnic neighborhoods in your community. Collate the reports and compile and
post the common elements and characteristics of those neighborhoods.

5. Have your students-individually or in teams-research the demographics of Cambodian, Vietnamese, Laotian, and
other population groups in the United States. They might start with the U.S. Census Bureau, at www.census.gov.
Then have the students prepare distinctive graphs showing key demographic statistics-locations, population
numbers and distribution, age distribution, economic status, etc.-for each group. Display the graphs in a
prominent location and invite discussion with other classes.

6. Conduct a class discussion of the various issues surrounding immigration to the United States, and have the
students record their opinions and attitudes. Then have them compare their findings with articles and reports in
the current media. What conclusions may be drawn from the comparison? Alternately, using newspapers,
magazines, broadcast transcripts, and Web sites, have the students research the various aspects and issues
involved in the present debate over immigration, particularly illegal immigration and the status of illegal
immigrants in the United States. Prepare summary statements of the key arguments and a set of formal
recommendations, and send the summaries and recommendations to your senators and representatives and your
state legislators.

7. When possible, invite local Cambodian American and other South Asian authors to talk with or read to classes.
Correspond with one or more authors located through Web sites.
 8. Conduct a class discussion of prejudices and stereotypes, asking each student to express her or his view of
people of another ethnic, religious, or economic group and lead the class in a clarification of attitudes and
opinions.

9. Arrange for a class (or wider) showing of the movie, The Killing Fields (available on DVD and VHS), and
afterwards lead a class discussion of the movie, the circumstances it portrays, and the points of connection
between it and Lucky Child.

10. Discuss ways in which the class might contribute to the prevention or alleviation of situations similar to the
Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia and the 1984 Ethiopian famine. Identify similar conditions in today's
world-for example, the situation the Darfur (Sudan) and starvation in North Korea-and apply the conclusions of
the class discussions.

11. Have the class research, individually or in groups, remaining extant mine fields around the world and report on
the circumstances of the mines having been placed, resulting injuries and deaths, efforts to remove the remaining
mines, and efforts to ban the use of mines altogether. A Web search on "landmines" will result in a wealth of
information.

12. Assist students in obtaining information from several relevant humanitarian groups listed at
www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwc.nsf/doc202?OpenForm (or print relevant information from their Web sites); invite
representatives to speak with the class; encourage each student to volunteer to work with one of the
organizations. (Note that this directory is extensive and that careful selection will be necessary.)

Assignments
1. Loung's closet serves various purposes/functions over the years. Write an essay or brief story describing the
importance of a place similar to Loung's closet where you could at one time-or can today-find your "own private
world," a place where you were, or are, "the creator, taker, and giver of life." (p. 21) Also explain how that
space has helped you become the person you are today.

2. Imagine that you were a reporter covering the Khmer Rouge Revolution and the resulting genocide, and write an
article informing your readers about the causes of the revolution and its objectives. You should report on the
Who, What, When, Where, and Why appropriate to specific events.

3. Research and report on conditions in Cambodia or other Southeast Asian countries that have prompted people to
emigrate to the United States, with or without their children. Pay particular attention to the circumstances that
prompted that emigration and the consequences for individuals and families.

4. Ung states "this book is my best attempt to piece together [my sister's] story from our numerous conversations,
interviews with family members and neighbors, and our many literal and emotional walks down the memory
lanes our childhoods." (p. xiv) Using similar techniques, write a memoir of a member of your family, living or
deceased, whose life seems to parallel or have special meaning for your own.
 5. Ung notes that, even after three months in the United States, "in my mind the war rages on, even though I know
I live in a peaceful land. There's no way I can explain that to Meng." (p. 69) Putting yourself in Loung's place,
write a letter to Meng explaining how you feel.

6. In November 1980, after Kung is burned in the cooking pot, Chou realizes "that wasting energy and anger on
things she cannot change is useless when there's so much to do." (p. 88) To what extent do you agree or
disagree? What circumstances in your life have given rise to the same realization?

7. Ung recalls her difficulties with American expressions and idioms as well as wondering "why the Americans
make it so difficult for themselves, not to mention for me!" (p. 102) Make up a list of 15-20 American idioms,
colloquialisms, and slang expressions and briefly explain why each might cause difficulty for an immigrant.

8. Research and report on the continuing dangers of mines throughout the world-in Cambodia, Afghanistan, and
Congo, for example-and efforts to reduce or remove that danger.

9. Pretend you are an American guest at Chou's wedding and record your observations, reactions, and feelings
regarding the preparations, the ceremonies, and the reception. What elements of the event impress you the most?
What elements puzzle you? What elements would you like to know more about?

10. At the college party, Loung tells the beer-guzzling Mike, "There's no 'their world' and 'your world,' Mike.
There's only our world." (pp. 209-10) Write an essay on why there is no "their world" and "your world," but only
"our world." Identify the factors that might require us to see the world and every part of it as shared.

11. Of her nineteen-year-old self, still over-protected by her brother, Loung writes that "I feel like a worm in a
cocoon wrapped in all these layers of thread to keep me safe and hidden." (p. 187) Write a poem or brief story
comparing yourself to something in such a way as to indicate how you feel about yourself.

12. Research and report on present-day human smuggling operations-from Mexico to the United States, or from
Thailand to Europe, for example. Compare these facts with those involved in Kim's journey from Thailand to
France.

13. Compose an essay on how you might apply to your own life and ambitions Loung's realization in Monaco that
her "motto of living life to the fullest, of not missing a single moment, and making every minute count" had
been limited and selfish," and her further realization "that living life to the fullest involves living it with your
family"? (p. 237)

14. Read one of the books listed below, or another book about growing up as an immigrant or survivor in America,
and prepare a report comparing and contrasting that book with Lucky Child.

Additional Resources
Your school and public librarians will be able to assist students in finding appropriate books and web sites—in
addition to those listed here—and other materials dealing with the lives of Cambodian and other Southeast Asian
immigrants in the United States, the lives of men and women of other ethnic groups, family relationships, and other
topics and issues of note in Lucky Child. Students may, of course, perform appropriate Web searches to discover sites
related to relevant topics. (Neither HarperCollins nor any other individual or organization involved in the production of
this teacher's guide is responsible for the content of the books listed here or of Web sites that may be accessed by
anyone working with this guide.)

Books
Fiction

Robert Olen Butler. A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, 1992. Paperback: Grove Pr, 2001.
Linda Crew. Children of the River, 1989. Paperback: Laurel Leaf, 1991.
Terry Farish. If the Tiger, Steerforth Pr, 1995.
Minfong Ho. Rice without Rain, 1990. Paperback: Scholastic.
Minfong Ho. The Stone Goddess, 2003. Paperback: Scholastic, 2005.
Rosco Lo Bosco. Buddha Wept, GreyCore Pr, 2003.
Jamie Metzl. The Depths of the Sea, St. Martin's Pr, 2004.
An Na. A Step from Heaven, 2001. Paperback: Puffin Bks, 2003.

Nonfiction

Louis Braille. We Shared the Peeled Orange: The Letters of "Papa Louis" from the Thai-Cambodian Border
Refugee Camps 1981-1993, Syren Bks, Paperback, 2005.

Sucheng Chan. Survivors: Cambodian Refugees in the United States, Univ of Illinois Pr, Paperback, 2004.
David P. Chandler. A History of Cambodia, 3rd Edition, 1992. Paperback: Westview Pr., 2000.
Karen J. Coates. Cambodia Now: Life in the Wake of War, McFarland, Paperback, 2005.
JoAn D. Criddle. Bamboo and Butterflies: From Refugee to Citizen, East/West Bridge, Paperback, 1998.
JoAn D. Criddle. To Destroy You Is No Loss: The Odyssey of a Cambodian Family, 1987. Paperback: East/West
Bridge, 1998.
David M. Donahue, Nancy Flowers, Amnesty International, editors. The Uprooted: Refugees and the United
States: A Multidisciplinary Teaching Guide, Hunter House, Paperback, 2002.
May M. Ebihara et al, editors. Cambodian Culture Since 1975: Homeland and Exile, Cornell Univ Pr,
Paperback, 1994.
Sharon Sloan Fiffer. Imagining America: Paul Thai's Journey from the Killing Fields of Cambodia to Freedom
in the U.S.A., Paragon House, 1991.
Adam Fifield. A Blessing Over Ashes: The Remarkable Odyssey of My Unlikely Brother, 2000. Paperback:
Harper Paperbacks, 2001.
Jeremy Hein. From Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia: A Refugee Experience in the United States, Twayne,
Paperback, 1995.
Chanrithy Him. When Broken Glass Floats: Growing Up Under the Khmer Rouge, 2000. Paperback: Norton,
2001.
Henry Kamm. Cambodia: Report from a Stricken Land, 1998. Paperback: Arcade, 1999.
Bree Lafreniere & Daran Kravanh. Music through the Dark: A Tale of Survival in Cambodia, Univ of Hawaii
Pr, Paperback, 2000.
Sharon May & Frank Stewart, editors. In the Shadow of Angkor: Contemporary Writing from Cambodia, Univ
of Hawaii Pr, Paperback, 2004.
Dith Pran & Kim DePaul, editors. Children of Cambodia's Killing Fields: Memoirs of Survivors, 1997.
Paperback: Yale Univ Pr, 1999.
Stephanie St. Pierre. Teenage Refugees from Cambodia Speak Out (In Their Own Voices), Rosen, 1995.
Sarah Streed. Leaving the House of Ghosts: Cambodian Refugees in the American Midwest, McFarland,
Paperback, 2002.
Molyda, Szymusiak. The Stones Cry Out: A Cambodian Childhood, 1975-1980, 1986. Paperback: Indiana Univ
Pr, 1999.
 Loung Ung. First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, 2001. Paperback:
HarperPerennial, 2001.
Carol Wagner, editor. Valentina Du Basky, photographer. Soul Survivors: Stories of Women and Children in
Cambodia, Paperback, Creative Arts, 2002.
Usha Welaratna. Beyond the Killing Fields: Voices of Nine Cambodian Survivors in America, 1993. Paperback:
Stanford Univ Pr, 1994.

Web Sites

The official web site of Loung Ung: Activist, Author, Lecturer

American Refugee Committee International: ". . . works for the survival, health and well being of refugees,
displaced people, and those at risk . . ."
Andy Brouwer: Includes "An exclusive interview with Loung Ung," links to "travelogues" of Andy Brouwer's
"many trips to Cambodia," and other material.

Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association founded "to provide services to Cambodians by helping them make
transition into the American culture, economy, and environment."

Cambodian Information Center provides information about Cambodia and its people, acts as a communication
medium, and includes links to current events relating to Cambodia.

Cambodian-American Heritage, Inc. "The mission of the organization is the preservation of Cambodian arts and
culture here in the United States."

Cambodian View includes a wealth of links to all aspects of Cambodian culture, history, government,
organizations, and more.

Cambodian American National Council. ". . . a US-based grassroots, non-profit, non-governmental organization
committed to provide professional services for the promotion and support of leadership and development in the
Cambodian communities, within and without the US."

Cambodian American Resource Agency includes numerous links to Web sites having to do with Cambodia,
Khmer culture, and Cambodian Americans.

Cooperation Committee for Cambodia. ". . . operates as a . . . membership organization to promote the activities
of NGOs for the benefit of the people of Cambodia . . ."

The CIA World Factbook, Cambodia

Cambodian Mine Action Centre: Saving Lives and Supporting Development for Cambodia

Clear Path International. ". . . serves landmine and bomb accident survivors, their families and their
communities" in Cambodia and Vietnam and on the Thai-Burma border.

Embassy of Cambodia in Washington, D.C.

Who Was Who in the Khmer Rouge

Freedom Fields USA is an organization of concerned Americans whose mission is "to help in the humanitarian
demining of war torn countries."
 Human Rights Watch, World Report 2005, Cambodia

From Sideshow to Genocide: Stories of the Cambodian Holocaust, by Andy Carvin

International Campaign to Ban Landmines, Landmine Monitor includes links to annual reports and to specific
countries, including Cambodia, within those reports.

Idealist.org/Action Without Borders provides links to the Web sites of 23 humanitarian organizations in
Cambodia.

Khmer Institute is a nonprofit organization founded to inform, educate, and promote in all areas relating to the
Khmer people.

Adopt-A-Minefield: Clear a path to a safer world; ". . . a campaign of the United Nations Association of the
USA, which engages individuals, community groups, and businesses in the United Nations effort to resolve the
global landmine crisis."

The Library of Congress country study on Cambodia

Mekong Network is "a volunteer project providing information on Southeast Asia." The Cambodia section
provides information on recent Cambodian history and culture.

The NGO Forum on Cambodia is "made up of local and international non-governmental organizations grounded
in their experience of humanitarian and development assistance to Cambodia."

Embassy of the United States, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

U.S. Department of State, Cambodia Profile

The United Nations in Cambodia

UNICEF: Countries in Crisis, Landmines

United Planet offers a wide range of "cross-cultural, humanitarian, and peace-building programs" in Cambodia
and other countries.

USAID/Cambodia: United States Agency for International Development Mission to Cambodia

Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation is "an international humanitarian organization that addresses the
causes, conduct and consequences of war through programs of advocacy and service for victims of conflict
around the world.

This Teacher's Guide was prepared by Hal Hager & Associates, Somerville, New Jersey. Hal Hager has taught literature at several colleges, has
been active for many years in editing, marketing, reviewing, and writing about books and writers, and is the author of numerous teacher's guides
and reading group guides.