Journal 1
Alive in the Killing Fields
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Setting
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Reader Response Questions
How important are time and place (setting) in your book? Would anything be lost if your novel were set in a different period of time or in a very different location?
The time, place and setting are extremely important in my book because of the violent attacks in Cambodia caused by the Khmer Rouge gang. If the setting of the novel wasn’t in Cambodia where the gang is located, then it would change the entire plot of the story. Mop’s family would survive, he would still be living with his family and nobody would be as scared of living in the small town. Before I started reading the book I didn’t know there was a gang in Cambodia that was killing innocent people, this book really opened my eyes to how violent and horrible some human beings can be. I can’t imagine the hurt and pain and suffering people were going through at the time.
Consider the narrator of your story. What do you know about him/her? Do you trust him/her? Explain what makes the narrator reliable or not. What do you question about what the narrator says at this point in the narrative? How does the narrator affect your sympathies for other characters?
The narrator of my story is the main character, Mop. He is a very scared and broken boy who was just been through a very tragic event. The Khmer Rouge killed most of his family right in front of him. In the novel Mop goes elementary school with his sister and goes to classes after school at a private school because of his dad being friends with one of the teachers. After Mop's mother, sister, aunt, uncle, babysitter and grandparents are killed by the Khmer Rouge as well as Mop being injured, his father makes him live with his sister a few cities away, in attempt to keep him safe. Having the narration in first person from Mop’s point of view makes you see how he is so emotionally hurt from the tragic attack and really be able to see how he is feeling. In my opinion I like it in first person because it helps me to connect better with all the characters and overall enjoy the story more.
Consider the title of your book. Explain why you think it was chosen. How does the title give meaning to the work?
I think the title was chosen for my book “Alive in the Killing Fields”, because Mop survives through all the killing in the novel caused by the Khmer Rouge gang. He is alive during the killing spree of these horrible people, surviving when many did not. Mop’s family lives on a farm and they are killed when they are crossing the field to get to their grandparents house to safety. Mop’s family was killed in the field of their farm when they were trying to hide.
How does the writer arrange ideas in this text? Is there any pattern to this arrangement?
This story is written in first person. It is written in paragraphs that start and explain different topics in the page/ chapter. The book is put into chapters; each chapter is the start of a new point in time in the novel.
Consider the arrangement of ideas in this text. Is it chronological? Alternating between a forward chronology and flashbacks? (If so, why so?)
The text in this novel has many flashbacks after the attack on Mop’s family. He experiences many flashbacks of the time when his family was happy and together, living on the farm. He has flashbacks of good times with his mother and helping her in the fields on the farm. The novel jumps from present time and to flashbacks through different paragraphs and chapters.