Rice is one of the main symbols in the novel. It is a staple of the Cambodian diet and a large part of Cambodia’s economy. The Khmer Rouge tried to dramatically increase the country’s rice production through forced labor, causing widespread death and starvation. Their failure to cultivate rice throughout the novel foreshadows the failure of their political movement.

The abundance or lack of rice mirrors Arn’s complex journey. After the Khmer Rouge strip the workers of their possessions and dress them in black, the Khmer Rouge throw the workers a feast: “Rice and fish, soup with lemongrass and morning glory” (31). The next day, however, Arn and his family are sent to work in the rice fields and rice becomes rationed. When the first harvest is successful, Arn thinks they will eat well again, but he sees trucks come and take entire harvest away. At the children’s labor camp, Arn is served thin rice gruel once a day. Arn steals a handful of uncooked rice from the kitchen when the guards are not looking and shares it with his friends; they eat it grain by grain. During the war, rice and a cooking pot are the only supplies the troops take with them, aside from their weapons.