Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father – The Meaning in a Nutshell

Dr Mark’s The Meaning in a Nutshell

Loung Ung, First They Killed My Father (2000)

Loung Ung’s memoir First They Killed My Father (2000) is a survivor’s damning indictment of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, documenting its brutal totalitarianism, genocidal policies, and the hypocrisy of its ideology that promised to create a virtuous peasant society but produced an oppressive state in which large sections of society were virtually enslaved (such as former city-dwellers) or murdered (such as supporters of the former regime or ethnic minorities).

The memoir also serves Loung Ung’s political objectives as a human rights advocate to generate sympathy for refugees and support for their resettlement in Western nations like the United States (where she settled), and to promote the pacifist cause of abolishing the use of landmines in warfare.

In a personal sense, Loung Ung’s memoir is meant to serve as a memorial to her relatives who perished, in particular her father who is referred to in the title of the book. Her memoir is also a testimonial to her survival, and that of most of her family, who pulled together to get through extremely disadvantageous and harrowing circumstances.

Student resources by Dr Mark Lopez

The purpose of the concise notes of Dr Mark’s The Meaning in a Nutshell is to provide much needed help to students seeking to unlock the meaning of the texts with which they have to deal. (More elaborate notes are provided in lessons as part of my private tutoring business.)

Subject: First They Killed My Father meaning, First They Killed My Father themes, First They Killed My Father analysis, First They Killed My Father notes