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Chapter Five
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Rent Collector, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
The Power of Literature
Appearances, Judgment, and Hidden Character
Heroism and Self-Sacrifice
Hope and Action
Humor and Resilience
Summary
Analysis
Sang Ly begins her first lesson with Sopeap, where they cover all the letters and sounds of the Khmer alphabet. Sopeap delivers the information quickly, and is impatient with Sang Ly when she does not understand something. However, within the day, Sang Ly has written down every consonant and vowel, and Sopeap tells her that she must have all of them memorized within three days. Ki arrives home from work, and Sang Ly imagines that he must be home for an early lunch. However, when he tells her he is home for dinner, she realizes that she and Sopeap have been working together for over six hours.
Sopeap strict and rapid pace of teaching studies suggests that she has high expectations for Sang Ly. On one hand, this suits the narrative, since learning to read is only the beginning of Sang Ly’s education. On the other, it suggests that with a demanding teacher, one may rise to the challenge and accomplish more than they thought possible.
Themes
Later, Lucky Fat asks Sang Ly if she will someday teach him how to write his own name, and she tells him she would love to. Ki still struggles with the idea, and refers to Sopeap again as “the Cow,” but Sang Ly asks him to refer to her as “teacher” instead. Although Sang Ly does not know why a former professor would be living in the dump at Stun Meanchey, Ki imagines that it must have been due to her drunkenness.
Sang Ly’s insistence that Ki call Sopeap “teacher” rather than “the Cow” as Sang Ly herself once did suggests that her perceptions of Sopeap are already shifting. Through her personal interactions with Sopeap, Sang Ly begins to recognize that calling Sopeap “the Cow” is dehumanizing and does not recognize her true value.
Themes
