Summary
The contemptible war is coming to an end; this is a verity known throughout the world; however, the leaders of the Khmer Rouge deceive their soldiers, telling them that they are winning the war, when they are losing it. Arn immediately realizes this and is determined to reach Thailand, a feasible haven for survivors, such as himself. After several arduous weeks of searching, Arn stumbles upon a river, which happens to be the border between Cambodia and Thailand. Arn is taken to a refugee camp, where they nurse him and bestow new clothes on him. Furthermore, he learns more than four years have elapsed since the day the Khmer Rouge evacuated him and his family from their home in Battambang. One afternoon, during a perilous storm, Peter Pond, an American visitor, rescues Arn from his otherwise inevitable death of drowning. In addition to becoming the foreigner’s favorite, Arn is the volleyball champion around the refugee camp. Arn uses his newfound popularity as a catalyze for a bright, prosperous future. His luck increases when Mister Pond adopts him, along with Sojeat and Ravi. Their lives change dramatically when they arrive in America. In the morning, they are drinking powdered milk, along with all…show more content… Moreover, adversities seem to catenate Arn everywhere he goes, never allowing him to be happy and instead besieging him with anguish. Regardless of “all the things [he] has been through, now being rescued is something [he] also has to survive” (195). When Peter Pond brings him to America, Arn envisions himself in a Mercedes eating fish-head stew and Chuckle candy every day. Instead, his liberation has become yet another dilemma, which he is compelled to tolerate. Nevertheless, Arn has suffered countless hardships over the past four years, hence, he will learn to survive one
