The Rent Collector

by

Camron Wright

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Rent Collector makes teaching easy.

Lucky Fat Character Analysis

Lucky Fat is a young orphan who lives on his own in Stung Meanchey. Although life is hard as an orphan, Lucky Fat demonstrates how good humor can buoy one’s spirits and help them to endure hardship. He often makes jokes and lightens the spirits of the people around him, as well as uses his humor to point out inequitable situations, such as how the scrap vendor pays less to women and children than to men. More than being just humorous, Lucky Fat is also heroic. Despite his own hard life, Lucky Fat hides a young girl named Maly when her brother, a gang member, looks for her so he can sell her into prostitution. By protecting Maly, Lucky Fat knowingly risks his own safety, which is evident when he is beaten by gang members in retribution. In the latter half of the novel, Lucky Fat’s role is mainly relegated to bringing messages to Sang Ly from Sopeap, but he remains a positive and good-humored presence.

Lucky Fat Quotes in The Rent Collector

The The Rent Collector quotes below are all either spoken by Lucky Fat or refer to Lucky Fat. 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:
The Power of Literature Theme Icon
).
Chapter Two Quotes

Although I could never imagine abandoning my own child, I have seen enough desperation in my life to understand the mind-set of those who do. However, what is unfathomable to me is that with an array of choices available for leaving a child—orphanages, monasteries, foreign medical clinics—how could anyone choose to leave her child at the dump, a place where useless things are thrown away?

Related Characters: Sang Ly (speaker), Lucky Fat
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Seven Quotes

Her biggest fault—perplexing to this day—is that Mother loves to pick trash.

“It’s an adventure,” she says. “You never know what surprises you’ll find.”

I remind her that surprises usually mean human body parts.

Related Characters: Sang Ly (speaker), Lena / Mother (speaker), Lucky Fat
Page Number: 47
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Sixteen Quotes

“Most teachers will agree that the true mark of a hero, what sets him apart from everyone else, is sacrifice. A hero gives something up, sometimes even his own life, for the good of others.”

Related Characters: Sopeap Sin / Soriyan (speaker), Sang Ly, Ki Lim, Lucky Fat, Maly
Page Number: 133
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eighteen Quotes

It was just days ago I wanted to kill the criminals myself. But my desire was for revenge on crooks, thugs—dark images of evil that gathered in my head when I pictured the men who beat my husband and Lucky Fat—not boys, especially this boy.

Related Characters: Sang Ly (speaker), Sopeap Sin / Soriyan, Ki Lim, Lucky Fat, Maly
Related Symbols: The Knife
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis:
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Lucky Fat Quotes in The Rent Collector

The The Rent Collector quotes below are all either spoken by Lucky Fat or refer to Lucky Fat. 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:
The Power of Literature Theme Icon
).
Chapter Two Quotes

Although I could never imagine abandoning my own child, I have seen enough desperation in my life to understand the mind-set of those who do. However, what is unfathomable to me is that with an array of choices available for leaving a child—orphanages, monasteries, foreign medical clinics—how could anyone choose to leave her child at the dump, a place where useless things are thrown away?

Related Characters: Sang Ly (speaker), Lucky Fat
Page Number: 13
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Seven Quotes

Her biggest fault—perplexing to this day—is that Mother loves to pick trash.

“It’s an adventure,” she says. “You never know what surprises you’ll find.”

I remind her that surprises usually mean human body parts.

Related Characters: Sang Ly (speaker), Lena / Mother (speaker), Lucky Fat
Page Number: 47
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Sixteen Quotes

“Most teachers will agree that the true mark of a hero, what sets him apart from everyone else, is sacrifice. A hero gives something up, sometimes even his own life, for the good of others.”

Related Characters: Sopeap Sin / Soriyan (speaker), Sang Ly, Ki Lim, Lucky Fat, Maly
Page Number: 133
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter Eighteen Quotes

It was just days ago I wanted to kill the criminals myself. But my desire was for revenge on crooks, thugs—dark images of evil that gathered in my head when I pictured the men who beat my husband and Lucky Fat—not boys, especially this boy.

Related Characters: Sang Ly (speaker), Sopeap Sin / Soriyan, Ki Lim, Lucky Fat, Maly
Related Symbols: The Knife
Page Number: 146
Explanation and Analysis: