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The Knife
Snow and rain are both used to symbolize hope and redemption. When Sang Ly dreams of the Healer who will cure Nisay’s illness, she sees that the dump is covered in snow, purified, and no rubbish remains underneath it. Although Sang Ly believes that the dump in its current state makes Nisay sick, the snow-covered dump foreshadows the fact that, once Nisay is cured, San Ly will grow to see Stung Meanchey as a beautiful, hope-filled place, not an entrapment of poverty that is killing her son.
Similarly, the rain that falls while Sang Ly is with Sopeap on her deathbed signals Sopeap’s redemption as well—Sang Ly even calls it “Sopeap’s redeeming rain.” Notably, the rain does not fall until after the housekeeper’s family have thanked and honored Sopeap for her gifts to them, and thus relieved her of her guilt and redeemed what she considered to be a wretched life. As Sang Ly sits with Sopeap and the rain begins to fall on both of them, the bitterness that Sopeap held towards herself and the world washes away like the rain washing away debris. Despite Sopeap’s painful and at times contemptible life, she is surrounded by people who love, value, and appreciate her.
Snow and Rain Quotes in The Rent Collector
The The Rent Collector quotes below all refer to the symbol of Snow and Rain. 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:
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Chapter Seventeen
Quotes
“The only real dreams I have anymore are usually not pleasant.”
“Nightmares?”
[Sopeap] nods. “Perhaps a symptom of old age.”
“I’m sorry,” I say. “How do you keep them away?”
“Rice wine.”
Related Characters:
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Explanation and Analysis:
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Snow and Rain Symbol Timeline in The Rent Collector
The timeline below shows where the symbol Snow and Rain appears in The Rent Collector. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter Seventeen
...that she emerges from her tent in the morning to discover Stung Meanchey covered in snow. She marvels but knows she still must work, so taking her trash-picking tool and a...
(full context)
Chapter Twenty
Sang Ly again dreams that it is snowing in Stung Meanchey. She sees the same man from her home province in the dream,...
(full context)
Chapter Twenty-Nine
...her teacher, the old woman’s heavy breathing makes her think of the dying elephant, and rain begins to fall “like elephant tears.” Sang Ly and Mr. Rangsey start to move the...
(full context)
...the book upon her chest and sits with Sopeap’s body, holding her hand in the rain for perhaps an hour, “pondering the wonder and sacredness of the day.” She pulls a...
(full context)
Chapter Thirty
...did that night, after Sopeap passed away and she walked through Phnom Penh in the rain with Ki. Despite waking up in a stinking dump, in those moments the world feels...
(full context)
