First They Killed My Father Essay

Ung had felt a wild amount of emotions that had to do with the war in Cambodia. Distraught. Disbelieving. Disoriented. Confused, on how everything changed and ultimately a rebellion took over her life. In “First They Killed My Father”, Ung had her childhood stripped away from her, forcing her to work, adjust to wartime, and the consequences that come from war. During the war, Ung had to experience hunger and let this affect her daily intake of food. This was something Ung was not familiar with, therefore she had to get used to the idea of not getting as much food as she used to. Ung briefly tells us this on page 320, “Though it is the most food we have eaten in a long time, before nightfall we are all hungry again” (Ung 320). This
This is shown when Ung says, “There is no private ownership of animals, lands, gardens, or even houses” (Ung 317). Everyone in the village has no right to privacy, and this is agitating since from war the only thing you’d go by is remembering your past life and reliving that. Ung informs us about one of her treasured things, “I follow the dress with my eyes, focusing all my energy on it, wanting desperately to rescue it from the pile” (Ung 315). Ung would rather want her dress in her arms knowing that one of the remnants from her past life is safe and not destroyed. The last thing Ung would want is to experience more agony from witnessing these private things of hers to vanish before her eyes. In “First They Killed My Father”, Ung has her childhood stripped away from her, forcing her to work, leaving her mindset and body having to adjust to wartime and the consequences that come from war. She doesn’t get to relive her life as a child and these major effects had changed her life permanently. Now, Ung has to go back to living a normal life and not let these struggles of her childhood still influence how she lives her