History Final
In this semester, we read many incredible survival stories of the youths under disastrous historical crisis. These characters, we read about, went through enormous of hardships and fears; but with courage and determination, many of them survived and lived on. However, in many cases, these characters did not begin their lives in miseries. Many of them, in fact, were born in the comfort of wealth and privilege. In this essay, I will discuss four wealthy families, which we read, and how the main characters benefited or not from its wealth; and also under what historical conditions that they lost their comfort of wealth. Loung Ung, in First They Killed My Father, was born in upper middle class in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Her and her parents, three brothers, and three sisters lived in a big apartment on the third floor. Living on the third floor, in fact, symbolized the status of their wealth; since most well-to-do families lived above the ground floor to avoid dirt and noise. Her and her brothers and sisters were all getting proper education, and because of her father being the military police captain, they received many privileges such as sometimes watching movies for free. Even though she had many siblings, Loung Ung was much lo
Khmer Rouge was the Cambodian Communists led by Pol Pot, who had been fighting against the weak and unpopular government of Lon Nol. With the help of the North Vietnamese Communists, Pol Pot was defeating the Nationalists' troops. Eventually on April 17, 1975, the Khmer Rouge took the capital-Phnom Penh, where Loung Ung's family lived. As soon as the takeover, they evacuated the city. They told people that the Americans were going to bomb the city; but in fact, their intention was to get rid of the city folks and the intellectuals. The ideology, to the Khmer Rouge, was that the people should live on, and with their land. ved by her parents, especially her father. She had everything that the family could offer, until the Khmer Rouge drove her family out of their home. In Chinese custom, at the age of three, young girls must begin the painful process of foot binding. The reason for that was because Chinese men found small feet exotic. Yu-I couldn't have escaped such horrible fate if it wasn't for the protest of her second brother. Her father also had different expectation towards his sons and daughters. Eight of Yu-I's brothers were all highly educated; however, the daughters were not, including Yu-I. Her father believed education was useless once a girl was married. A
Some common words found in the essay are:
Western Dress, Communists March, , Penh Cambodia, Eight Yu-I's, Russians Maciek's, Maciek Tania, Loung Ung's, Tania Maciek's, Khmer Rouge, khmer rouge, loung ung, family lived, brothers sisters, third floor, wealth privilege, senior officials, pol pot, status wealth, comfortable life,
Approximate Word count = 862
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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