Previous
Chou
Loung’s little sister and the youngest Ung sibling, Geak is just three years old at the beginning of the story. Her name means “jade,” and Loung describes her as a happy, adorable child who is frequently cooed over by strangers. She becomes very frail and sick under the Khmer Rouge, however, and Ma and Pa fear that the prolonged periods of near-starvation have stunted her growth. Loung often laments how difficult things must be for Geak because she lacks the communication skills to convey her fear, anger, and sadness about the loss of Pa and Keav. While Loung is being trained as a child solder, Geak is killed by the Khmer Rouge along with Ma. Loung imagines the horror and confusion Geak must have felt, and laments that her short life was full of so much pain.
Geak Quotes in First They Killed My Father
The First They Killed My Father quotes below are all either spoken by Geak or refer to Geak. 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.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24
Quotes
One by one, people return to their homes, leaving me standing there alone, staring at the corpse. My mind plays back images of my parents' and sister's murders. Again my heart tears open as I stand there and wonder how they died. Quickly, I push the sadness away. The slumped over corpse reminds me of Pithy in her mother’s arms. Pithy’s head bled in much the same way. His death will not bring any of them back.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire First They Killed My Father LitChart as a printable PDF.
Geak Quotes in First They Killed My Father
The First They Killed My Father quotes below are all either spoken by Geak or refer to Geak. 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.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24
Quotes
One by one, people return to their homes, leaving me standing there alone, staring at the corpse. My mind plays back images of my parents' and sister's murders. Again my heart tears open as I stand there and wonder how they died. Quickly, I push the sadness away. The slumped over corpse reminds me of Pithy in her mother’s arms. Pithy’s head bled in much the same way. His death will not bring any of them back.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
