The Power of Literature Theme Analysis

The Rent Collector tells the story of Sang Ly, a poor Cambodian villager who lives in Stung Meanchey, a massive garbage dump in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Although Sang Ly is illiterate, she convinces the ornery Rent Collector Sopeap Sin—who was once a university professor—to not only teach her to read, but also to teach her about literature from all over the world. Through the wisdom that Sang Ly gleans from Sopeap’s literary knowledge, the story argues that any meaningful story can be considered literature, and that literature has the power to teach valuable lessons regardless of one’s station in life, and to connect people across geographical divides and social classes.

Sopeap teaches Sang Ly that although it may not seem like it at first glance, all literature teaches lessons that can be applied to one’s own life. Although Sang Ly initially believes that a piece of literature is merely an entertaining story, Sopeap both shows and tells her that the power of literature is not just in the story that a book tells, but the life lessons it conveys. As Sopeap describes it, literature is “the handbook for the art of being human.” Reading, then, is universal in its ability to help people regardless of their unique circumstances. Through the literature that Sopeap teaches her to read, Sang Ly learns valuable lessons that apply to her everyday life. This is exemplified when Sang Ly realizes that, although Moby-Dick takes place far away, Captain Ahab’s thirst for revenge against the whale parallels her husband Ki Lim’s desire for revenge against Stung Meanchey’s roving gangs. Since Captain Ahab’s quest ultimately destroys his and his crew’s lives, Sang Ly realizes that she must warn Ki not to lose himself in his desire to stand up to the gang members. Sang Ly’s observation of her husband’s situation reflected in that of Captain Ahab’s thus demonstrates the ability of literature to resonate with and provide insight for a diverse range of people. As Sang Ly continues to learn, she begins to see more connections between the literary stories she reads and her own life—the stories are not only about other people’s live, but the reader’s as well. This confirms Sopeap’s admonition: “Every story we read, Sang Ly, is about us, in one way or another.” The stories may take place elsewhere, but the lessons the characters learn are often universal.

Through her experiences reading literature, Sang Ly finds herself connecting with people from different time periods, places, and even social classes, suggesting that literature has the power to connect people of wildly different backgrounds. Sang Ly’s entire life has been spent in Cambodia and, prior to learning to read, she cannot imagine what any other place might be like. As Sopeap observes, “People only go to the places they have visited first in their minds.” By reading literature from around the world, Sang Ly is given a window into the lives of other people from different countries and eras, demonstrating literature’s power to connect people across great geographical distances and effectively transport them to different time periods. Sopeap shows Sang Ly a Cambodian story about a beautiful young woman named Sarann, who is oppressed by an evil stepmother until she meets the Prince of Angkor, who recognizes her beauty and virtue and marries her. Sang Ly is enchanted by the story. Sopeap explains that the same story has been told in numerous different cultures for centuries, though under different names: Cinderella in America, Ye Xian in China, Tattercoats in England. Although Sang Ly has never been to any of these places, she feels connected to them by their universal themes of betrayal, hardship, and hope. Beyond resonating with a story’s themes, The Rent Collector suggests that even the simple enjoyment of literature has the power to connect people. While Sang Ly and her husband are on a bus full of wealthier people who obviously detest them, Sang Ly begins reading a story out loud to her wailing infant, hoping to soothe him. When she pauses from reading, she realizes that the entire bus is listening eagerly along, and a previously spiteful businessman even gives Sang Ly some money out of gratitude for making the trip more enjoyable. The entire bus’s shared enjoyment of literature, which overcomes their derision of Sang Ly and Ki Lim’s poverty, suggests that literature even has the power to connect people across social classes.

Sang Ly discovers that meaningful literature is not confined only to the stories in books, but can also be found in poetry, oral history, and even informational pamphlets, arguing that any words from which wisdom can be gleaned can be classified as literature. When she is just beginning to experience the literary world, Sang Ly assumes that literature is confined only to what she finds in stories and novels. However, one day she finds an instructional pamphlet titled, Sy Mao’s Advice for Growing Rice, to which someone has added with their own hand, “and children.” Sang Ly is delighted by the way that rereading the rice-growing instructions in the context of raising children adds new meaning and wisdom to the words, just as she would find in a meaningful story, suggesting that any writing at all can become meaningful literature with something to teach. When Sang Ly transcribes an old poem from her illiterate neighbor, passed down orally through generations, Sopeap helps her to see the literary wisdom of the words, even though they have never been written down. This suggests that beyond physical books, even oral history and traditions constitute literature when they pass down wisdom or a meaningful story.

For Sang Ly, learning to read becomes more than just an opportunity for self-betterment. As she experiences the wide range of connections that literature can foster, it’s clear that reading provides a gateway into the wider world, creating a deeper understanding among different groups of people as stories bridge the gaps of geography, time, and social class.