First They Killed My Father Summary

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Historical non-fiction texts induce empathy within the reader by writing in first person narration and therefore establishing a connection between then and now. “First They Killed My Father”,an autobiography of a Cambodian woman who witnessed the firsthand terror of Pol Pot’s regime, Loung Ung. The text is detailed with mournful events which induced empathy within the reader. It is also written in first person narration which helped the reader see and understand what the author, Loung Ung, went through during her childhood. This builds a live connection between the reader and the author’s past. Some major events that happened throughout the text were the author’s sister and fathers death and the author getting separated from her family. …show more content…

In chapter 12 of the text, the author explains how her sister is taken away to another work camp which is only for teenagers. Six months later, the author’s mother gets a messenger telling her that her daughter is severely sick and that she wants to see her. The mother leaves but comes back to tell the father to come and meet his daughter for the last time. The author’s father is too late to reach her daughter as Keav had already passed away. This event greatly affected the author as she mentions, “The reality of Keav’s death is too sad so I create a fantasy world to live in. In my mind, she is granted her last wish. Pa gets there in time to hear Keav tell him how much she loves him and he gives her our messages of love. He holds her in his arms as she dies peacefully feeling love, not fear. Pa then brings Keav’s body home to be buried, to be forever with us, instead of being lost”(Ung, 2000, pg. 132). This showed how much the author loved her sister, Keav, and how Keav’s death affected the author’s life. The author also described how angry she is towards the Khmer Rouge because they give females lesser amount of food but expected them to work equally as hard as men. The author narrated, “The girls are given less food than the boys but are expected to work just as hard”(Ung, 2000, pg. 124). By writing this event in first person narration, the reader is able to see the author’s sister’s death and the author’s screams of rage. The author described her past memories with her sister and went on to think how much she misses her sister. The reader is able to feel empathy and started to think if these tragedies happened to their family. This event showed the reader how teenagers were expected to work which induced empathy showed the harsh reality of Cambodia during

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