Red and Black in Chapters 9-10

In chapter 9, Loung’s family has arrived in Ro Leap. Ro Leap is under strict Angkar control. Loung notices that everyone in the new village wears the black pajama pants and red scarf (a uniform that symbolizes fear for her). She says that instead of eyes, the chief of their new village, has “two dark pieces of coal,” (Ung 58). The Chief commands a soldier to dump out everyone's personal clothes, and Loung is heartbroken when her red dress is added to the pile. The soldier lights the pile on fire, and with the burning of her red dress, Loung’s passionate, youthful, self is destroyed. The chief declares, “Wearing colorful clothes is forbidden,” (Ung 59). He goes on to say that they must all wear the black uniform, which is supposed to make people seem equal, but instead it just strips away their individuality and personal expression.

It is hard for Loung’s family to get enough to eat, because they are new to the village and new people are at the bottom of the social structure. But Pa secures Kim with a job, working for the chief's sons, which allows Kim to bring home extra food each night. The color red is mentioned when describing the abuse that the sons inflict on Kim, “It is clear from the red marks on his face, that Kim sufferers abuses from his new “friends” who spit at him and beat him,” (Ung 64).

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 13, 2019 at 9:06 AM

    I am happy with the mention of how Kim had to endure all the abuse from the Chief's sons in order to bring home food for his family. I think that the struggle of the family for food definitely touches the motif of red and black. My motif is food, which is what everybody is fighting for. From First They Killed My Father, here is a quote I think is a good representation of the problem of starvation in the camps: "On New Year's eve, I have my greatest dream and my worst nightmare. I am sitting alone at a long table. The table is covered with all of my favorite food in the world. There is food everywhere as far as my eyes can see!" (Ung 80) Her struggle to survive and pull through starvation is evident in this part of the text, quite obviously. What follows this quote is her explaining that she keeps eating all of the food she can, yet only becomes hungrier and hungrier. her New Year's Eve has been tainted from the camp and pretty much dying. An extraordinarily sad story.

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  2. AnonymousNovember 13, 2019 at 9:09 AM

    Before I read this blog post I didn't pay much or any attention to any other motifs. Now I see just how much the motifs intertwine and overlap. Black and Red are also two of my favorite colors although the use in this book makes them look bad. Food is one of the most important things to survive. Kim is willing to get hit until his face is red from beatings just to bring home the leftovers for his family. Loung says "Over the next few weeks, Kim and the chiefs children become fast friends, and they allow Kim to bring us their leftovers every night. It is clear from the red marks on his face, cheeks, and legs that Kim suffers abuses from his new "friends" who spit at him and beat him"(Ung 64). Kim is making a huge sacrifice for his family.

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  3. steve jobsNovember 14, 2019 at 10:50 AM

    Throughout the book so far I have noticed the motifs of red and black in each chapter but I haven't really looked into it. In these chapters it is easy to see how the motifs intertwine together. When they talk about Kim and the chiefs sons the motif of food and the motifs red and white come up. “It is clear from the red marks on his face, cheeks, and legs that Kim suffers abuses from his new “friends” who spit at him and beat him. However, at ten years old, Kim knows he has to endure their cruelty to help feed his family” (Ung 64). Kim is beat until he is red, but he does it again and again to get food for his family. The entire family has to make a lot of sacrifices to not starve and this is one of Kim’s sacrifices.

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