Heroism and Self-Sacrifice Theme Analysis

In the start of the story, Sang Ly and Ki think of a hero as someone with power or influence. Ki fancies that heroism means the power to fight back against evil, while Sang Ly envisions a noble storybook hero—the last sort of person to exist in Stung Meanchey. However, over the course of the story, Sang Ly discovers that true heroism is more common than she’d assumed, and is plentiful even in the dump. Through Sopeap’s literature lessons and through the everyday acts of heroism that Sang Ly’s witnesses in the village, the novel argues that a hero is not necessarily a noble warrior or regal figure, but merely someone who makes sacrifices for another person, and thus can arise from even the humblest places.

Sopeap teaches Sang Ly that the true sign of a hero is not nobility, wealth, or power, but rather making sacrifices for other people. Although Sang Ly and her friends feel that there are no heroes in Stung Meanchey because everyone is desperate and poor, Sopeap tells Sang Ly that they are “looking for the wrong kind of hero,” suggesting that one’s wealth or social standing do not determine whether or not he or she is heroic. Sopeap teaches Sang Ly that sacrifice, rather than power, is “the true mark of a hero,” and that a “hero gives something up, sometimes even his own life, for the good of others,” suggesting thus that one cannot be a hero unless they are risking and sacrificing something in order to help the people around them. The disconnect between power and heroism is embodied in Ki Lim’s struggle against Stung Meanchey’s gangs. After Ki is robbed and nearly killed, he buys a knife with which to protect his family, and rallies the other villagers to fight against the gangsters. Ki believes that this new power in numbers will become a heroic struggle against injustice, but when the villagers beat one of the young gang members to death, Ki and Sang Ly realize that although a gangster is dead, there is nothing heroic about the killing. It seems like mob justice, rather than heroism, since the fight was one-sided and the villagers did not truly risk anything. This incident further suggests that heroism and power are not necessarily linked, since although the mob certainly possessed the power to fight back, the “justice” that it doles out against this child seems barbaric rather than noble.

Because a hero is not defined by where they come from or what they have, but rather what they do, the novel argues that anyone can be a hero, regardless of age, wealth, or education. As Sopeap teaches Sang Ly, “heroes arise in the most unexpected places,” suggesting that often those who act heroic are those one would least expect. Such is the case with Lucky Fat, a young orphan in Stung Meanchey who gives shelter to Maly, a young girl whose brother is a gang member and wants to sell her into child prostitution. Although Lucky Fat is neither strong nor powerful, he risks his own safety to hide Maly until Sang Ly and her friends can figure out how to help the girl escape. Lucky Fat’s sacrifice of his own personal safety—he is badly beaten by gang members, in retribution—make him undoubtedly a hero through the lens of the story despite his lack of stereotypically heroic characteristics. Ki also becomes a hero, though not through the power of his knife or by making money. Ki’s heroism show itself in his faithful support of Sang Ly’s education and the sacrifices of money and effort he makes to help her see it through, even when he does not entirely understand the significance of it. Even when Sopeap falls ill and disappears, Ki patiently helps Sang Ly to track her down—though it costs more money and time—so that she can be with her teacher in her final hours. After Sopeap passes, Sang Ly finds Ki asleep in a chair, waiting for her, and in that moment thinks, “Of all the stories I have read about heroes, […] of one thing I’m now certain—he is mine.” That Ki becomes heroic without power or influence again demonstrates that any person may be heroic when they make personal sacrifices for the sake of others.

As Sang Ly witnesses ordinary people around her making heroic sacrifices for others, she discovers that not only do heroes come in many different shapes and sizes, but often, heroic people never realize they are heroes themselves. Sopeap is a hardened alcoholic who tries to drown her own grief and guilt by intoxicating herself as often as possible, demonstrating her extremely low view of herself. When Sang Ly suggests that Sopeap is a hero for sacrificing her time to teach Sang Ly to read literature, Sopeap bitterly declares, “Understand, child, I’m nobody’s hero.” However, after Sopeap dies, Sang Ly discovers that although Sopeap could have had her cancer cured in Thailand, she chose to stay in Cambodia—and willingly die—so that she could finish educating Sang Ly. Moreover, Sopeap has also been anonymously sending money to remaining family of the housekeeper who sacrificed herself for Sopeap for decades, which lifted them out of poverty and allowed the children to receive good educations. Sang Ly is awed to realize that Sopeap, who seemed to see even herself as a villain, was heroic all along. Sopeap’s heroism in spite of her self-contempt suggests that not only do heroes arise from unexpected places, they often do not even recognize their own heroism.

The actions that Sang Ly’s family and friends take to help the people around them make them truly heroic, and demonstrate that heroes are not mythic figures or brave warriors, but everyday people who take steps to improve the lives of others.