Rent Collector Review Flashcards
Main character, mom of Nisay, protagonist.
Sang Ly
the “Cow,” collects rent, teacher, and teaches Sang Ly how to read.
Sopeap Sin/Soriyan
Sang Ly’s husband, Nisay’s dad, supports his family, faithful.
Ki Lim
Sick child, has a rare sickness (diarrhea and rashes), Sang Ly and Ki Lim’s baby
Nisay
Orphan that lives in Stung Meanchey, friends with everyone, demonstrates humor can buoy one’s spirit and help them… found a book…
Lucky Fat
Sang Ly’s mother, is strong and virtuous, helps make a plan to protect Maly, wants to stand against the gangs.
Lena
Gets her first period and is hiding from her brother to prevent him from selling her into prostitution. Lucky Fat, Sang Ly, Lena, and Sopeap smuggle her out of the dump and live out in the city with a family.
Maly
Is the original Sopeap Sin, who worked for Soriyan while she was still a professor and her family was still alive. Although Soriyan previously thought little of the housekeeper, when the Khmer Rouge soldiers came to kill Soriyan and Samnang, the housekeeper nobly pretended that she herself was Soriyan, sacrificing her life so that the real Soriyan might be spared. Although this act saved Soriyan’s life, the event also filled her with guilt, prompting her to keep Sopeap Sin’s name as her own and send anonymous payments to the housekeeper’s surviving family for the rest of her life.
Housekeeper/Sopeap Sin
The Healer is a “witch doctor” who lives in Prey Veng. The Healer appears to Sang Ly twice in dreams, saying that she “should have come sooner,” which eventually prompts her to travel to Prey Veng to see if he can heal Nisay’s illness. Not only does the Healer heal Nisay, but he also gives Sang Ly the first picture of her father she has ever seen, and reveals that he was close friends with her father
Bunna Heng/Healer
Rent Collector Stories
-Cambodian Cinderella
-Epilogue
-The Old Woman and the Elephant
-The Phoenix Bird/Phoenix Rising
-Sopeap vs Sopeap (how did the name change happen)
-Khmer Rouge Genocide (what they did to Sopeap, how does that relate to another, more current genocide)
-the father did die and the stepmother turns on Sarann.
The step mother wants to be the most beautiful person alive and when she finds out that there is a flower in the deep jungle that “if rubbed against one’s skin, they would draw such radiance and stunning beauty to the surface they would make the person irresistible.” Of course the stepmother wants these flowers, but she doesn’t want to go into the jungle. So she sends Sarann… Sarann is afraid to go, but when the stepmother threatens to destroy all the Sarann has left of her parents she leaves in search of this flower…
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Symbols in the Rent Collector
Ki’s knife (Ki’s knife represents the villagers’ temptation for power and revenge), snow and rain (Snow and rain are both used to symbolize hope and redemption), the clock (Sang Ly’s floral clock functions as a minor symbol to represent Sopeap’s underlying goodness and value despite her rough exterior), book found in dump…
Big Ideas in the Rent Collector
Power of literature; Appearances, judgment, and hidden character; Heroism and self-sacrifice; Hope and action; Humor and resilience.
