First They Killed My Father

Essay: First They Killed My Father is a novel about the tragedy and suffering of the war. however, it also shows that there is hope and survival in all situation. Discuss.

First They Killed My Father demonstrates the tragic experience of Loung during the Cambodian war 1975-1979.The Ung family lived a comfortable, middle class existence that was full of hopes for the future before the war. After the Khmer Rouge arrived, Loung’s family experienced terrible pain and loss. However, the memoir shows that people can stay hopeful and survival even during the most dreadful times. Loung will never be the same girl but at least she has her life memories.

Before the arrival of the Khmer Rouge, everything is teeming with life and everyone is extreme pleased with themselves. The ordinary daily life there is splendid, the busy traffic, the shouting vendors bounding off of each other in the crowded street, and people eating in restaurants, going to work. Loung’s families live in a spacious apartment with modern equipment, which makes them comfortable.”….we are middle-class because of our apartment and the possessions we have…” The narrator, Loung, also tells of her mother’s beauty and father’s brilliance and generosity., whilst we can see her own brave, strong-willed personality though recounting. ”I lean against the railing…..from our apartment building.”

Everything has changed as time goes by. First They Killed My Father, vividly displays how the Khmer Rouge solders destroyed Cambodia under the strict oppressive regime.People suffer the enormous pain and protracted tense from the destruction of the family unit, the frequent relocation, the brutal treatment, the decrease of the food ration, the force of changing religion, the loss of children’s innocence, etc. People become frail, insane and some of them suicide under the harshness of the environment. “Because they are the destroyers of the things” As pa said,” children are always the first to suffer” and their...