Perhaps the central theme of Athy’s story is community versus the individual. The Khmer Rouge, a communist organization, wanted to dissolve what they perceived as a hierarchical society that unfairly discriminated against the poor and focused on the individual’s achievements. The wealthy exploited the poor, in the Khmer Rouge’s views, and lived off their labor.

They instead proposed a communal culture, in which every individual worked for the common good. Therefore, Athy and her family were directed to donate any food they grew on their own to the communal kitchen, where it would be redistributed to everyone. Those who did not or would not work were not entitled to communal resources, which is why people were punished for not working or for not working hard enough.

Ironically, in so doing, the Khmer Rouge created an environment in which no one could focus on anything but their own survival, as when Barang eats the food that Athy asked him to take to Chea and Map. Athy is devastated by this selfishness, but Chea points out that he “was hungry—he’s only human. If you were him you’d have done the same” (224). As Chea realizes, when people are starving, they often cannot focus on others’ needs, only their own.