Summary Of Som's Short Story: The Vietnam War

Som felt the warmth of the sun shine down on his back as he laid the blanket down on the grass. His parents sat down with the basket of food they had brought. Som sat down with them and started to eat the warm, sweet food. The rolling hills that surrounded them were green from the recent rainfall and the trees, flush with leaves, provided shade. He had never felt so happy. He wished he could feel this way forever.
Som startled awake to the sound of his mother pounding on his bedroom door. Her knocking sounded frantic and hurried compared to her usual calm demeanor.
“Som, wake up! Hurry and pack your stuff we need to go!” his mother yelled. He sat up in his bed and listened to her feet quickly hitting the floorboards as she hurried away before

Dark, gloomy, and tall buildings were on the inside. Guards were lined up on both sides where the crowd was. The guards were pushing the women to the right and men to the left. Women and men were taken to different camps. Som was crying, afraid of leaving his mother, Som’s father whispered to him, “Everything will be okay if you stay quiet.” Som obeyed and the family was separated.
Som couldn't help but scream out for his mother, but she could not hear him over the bellowing of the soldiers. One soldier came over and said to Som, “Be quiet boy! And get in line!” Som quickly looked away from the soldier and began to walk alongside his father into what looked like a big warehouse. One mean soldier grabbed his arm and pulled him over to an area where a man shaved his head and took his clothes off. They soon gathered all the naked men into a shower room and they doused them with water and gave them clothes. After Som and his father came out of the shower room the soldiers immediately put them to work. Som’s feet, hands, and back shook from exhaustion. Som stood up to stretch his back but a soldier hit him on the side of the head and yelled: “Get back to work!” Som wondered why the soldiers were so mean. Maybe it was all the hot dirty uniforms they had to

He saw many of the soldiers, who looked to be about his age. However, their faces were very stoic and without any emotion. They made Som and the other Cambodians feel very uneasy like their inhuman expression. In the guard's hands were rifles and dried blood remained on their clothes and bodies
Instead of killing everyone immediately, the Cambodians were set to work in the rice fields. Som worked with many people his age. He had to cut down the rice plants and place them in his basket. The tropical sun pounded on him as his basket gradually filled. Every so often, he had to give his collected rice to someone. However, the person he gave his rice to disappeared and then was replaced with someone else.
Every night, he felt his back in pain. The wood was very uncomfortable to sleep on. Without any sheets or blankets, he curled up in a ball, shivering the night away. The wind whispered to him to sleep. The raindrops would join with the chanting, “Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep”. A soldier's footsteps silenced the noise. After moments of silence, Som was able to fall