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The eight-year-old Chou, whose name means “gem,” is Loung’s opposite in personality: where Loung is bold and rambunctious, Chou is quiet and obedient. Nevertheless, Chou is Loung’s closest companion. After Keav’s death, Loung turns to Chou for an explanation about what happens when people die. Chou responds that they sleep for three days before moving on to be reincarnated. Chou is also quick to forgive; for example, at one point Loung picks a fight with her out of general anger and frustration, but Chou grabs her sister’s hand on the way to work the following morning to reaffirm their bond. When the two leave Ro Leap, they cannot bear to be separated, as Ma had insisted, and instead pretend to be orphans together at a girls’ work camp. Chou does not stand up for herself the way Loung does and cannot handle the physical demands of harvesting rice. As such, she is picked on by the other girls and eventually demoted to the role of cook. She finds the work easier, however, and is able to bring rice back to Ma and Geak before their deaths. Despite Chou’s comparative weakness, Loung repeatedly marvels at Chou’s ability to survive the Khmer Rouge without holding onto the intense rage that Loung herself feels. Chou prefers to distance herself from the horror she has witnessed, refusing, for example, to watch a Khmer Rouge soldier’s execution with Loung. In the story’s epilogue, Loung reveals that Chou married at age eighteen and bore five children. Upon their reunion fifteen years after Loung first left Cambodia, Chou bursts into tears and reaches for Loung’s hand once again as if nothing has changed.
Chou Quotes in First They Killed My Father
The First They Killed My Father quotes below are all either spoken by Chou or refer to Chou. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
My first red dress, the one Ma made for me for the New Year's celebration. I remember Ma taking my measurements, holding the soft chiffon cloth against my body, and asking me if I liked it. "The color looks so pretty on you," she said, "and the chiffon material will keep you cool." Ma made three identical dresses for Chou, Geak, and me. ... I grind my teeth so hard the pain in my throat moves up to my temples. My hands clench in fists; I continue to stare at my dress. I do not see the soldier's hand reach into his pocket and retrieve from it a box of matches. I do not hear his fingers strike a match against the side of the box. The next thing I know the pile of clothes bursts into flames and my red dress melts like plastic in the fire.
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Epilogue
Quotes
Once her glance reached my face and our eyes locked, I saw that they are the same: kind, gentle, and open. Instantly, she covered her mouth and burst into tears and ran over to me. The family was speechless. She took my hand, her tears cool in my palm. Our fingers clasped around each other naturally as if the chain was never broken, and I allowed Chou to lead me to the car while the cousins followed with my bags.
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Chou Quotes in First They Killed My Father
The First They Killed My Father quotes below are all either spoken by Chou or refer to Chou. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 9
Quotes
My first red dress, the one Ma made for me for the New Year's celebration. I remember Ma taking my measurements, holding the soft chiffon cloth against my body, and asking me if I liked it. "The color looks so pretty on you," she said, "and the chiffon material will keep you cool." Ma made three identical dresses for Chou, Geak, and me. ... I grind my teeth so hard the pain in my throat moves up to my temples. My hands clench in fists; I continue to stare at my dress. I do not see the soldier's hand reach into his pocket and retrieve from it a box of matches. I do not hear his fingers strike a match against the side of the box. The next thing I know the pile of clothes bursts into flames and my red dress melts like plastic in the fire.
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Epilogue
Quotes
Once her glance reached my face and our eyes locked, I saw that they are the same: kind, gentle, and open. Instantly, she covered her mouth and burst into tears and ran over to me. The family was speechless. She took my hand, her tears cool in my palm. Our fingers clasped around each other naturally as if the chain was never broken, and I allowed Chou to lead me to the car while the cousins followed with my bags.
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