First They Killed My Father

Words: 858
Pages: 4

In the memoir, First They Killed My Father, Loung describes her life from the age of five to nine. Loung describes to the young readers her life during the Khmer Rouge invasion and the aftermath of this tragedy. Loung depicts the situations occurring, repeats phrases, and has flashbacks to transmit her irritation and grief to the reader.
Imagery is the very first strategy used by Loung in the first paragraph of the story to capture the reader's attention. She starts of the story by describing a usual morning in the city, Phnom Penh. Loung states, “Phnom Penh city awakes early to take advantage of the cool morning breeze before the sun breaks through the haze and invades the country with sweltering heat. Already at 6 a.m. people in Phnom Penh are rushing and bumping into each other on dusty, narrow side streets. Waiters and waitresses in black-and-white uniforms swing open shop doors as the aroma of
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Right after the death of her father, Loung whispers to her sister, “I am going to kill Pol Pot. I Hate him and what to make sure he dies a slow and painful death.” even though with a warning by her sister to not say such a comment and the slim chances of this actually occurring Loung continues her threats toward Pol Pot. She then states, “I don’t know what he looks like , but if Pol Pot is the leader of the Angkat then he is the one responsible for all the miseries in our lives. I hate him for destroying my family… I am a kid not even seven years of, but somehow I will kill Pol Pot… He will dies a painful, agonizing death and I pray that I will play a part in it … Rage makes me want to survive and live so that I may kill. I feed my rage with bloody images of pol Pot’s slain body being dragged in the dirt .” The repetition of Loung saying she will kill Pol Pot can make one infer this as if it is a fact that’s going to happen and defines the anger in her