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85 pages 2 hours read

Camron Wright

The Rent Collector

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2012

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Chapters 7-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 7 Summary

Sang explains that in Cambodia, it is traditional for adult children to take care of their elderly parents. It is a source of shame to Sang that she cannot care for her mother, Lena. However, Lena likes the dump, telling Sang that “[i]t’s an adventure” because “[y]ou never know what you will find” (47). Lena also likes the people who work there and “builds some of the best day shelters Stung Meanchey has ever seen” (48). Lena watches Nisay for Sang while she has her lessons.

Sang’s second lesson is more difficult because Sopeap is intoxicated again. She snaps at Sang and finally leaves, but not before vomiting, and Sang is concerned to see blood mixed in with the vomit.

Ki is annoyed that Sang is spending so much time studying, revealing that he is afraid that if Sang learns to read, she won’t need him anymore. In fact, he is worried that he does not make her happy. Sang is unsure how to respond and wonders “[h]ow […] a woman raising her child in a place choking with trash” could answer Ki “and have her reply make any sense” (51). Finally, however, she tells Ki that he “is the part of [her] life that [she] would never change” (51).

The next day, Sang goes picking with Nisay and practices her reading with discarded flyers. Eventually, she realizes that she can read a whole word, specifically “the word samnang—meaning luck” (53). Sang is so excited that she dances then cries, before thanking her grandfather for his help. When Ki returns, she reads the entire flyer to him, but the best part, “the moment [she] will remember more than any other” comes when she embraces Ki and he “hugs back” (54).

Chapter 8 Summary

Sang is reading very well, and Sopeap announces they only need one more lesson. However, Sang asks Sopeap to teach her about literature. Sopeap refuses, saying both that Sang is not ready and that she does not have the energy or heart to teach her. She tells Sang that it “would be like preparing [her] a wonderful dessert, meant to be savored and enjoyed, but making it with salt instead of cane sugar. It would leave a terrible taste in your mouth” (57). Sang is insistent, however, and argues with Sopeap. Sopeap tries to convince Sang that learning about literature could make her dissatisfied with her life. Finally, Sopeap agrees, but only if Sang can find a piece of literature for them to discuss. Sang does not know how she will find literature, but Sopeap only says that Sang “will know when [she] find[s] it” and that “[l]iterature should be discovered” (59).

When Ki returns home, distracted and angry, he eventually tells Sang that he saw the gang who attacked him. Sang is worried and tells him “to stay clear of them” (60), but Ki refuses to reassure her, saying only that “protecting [his] family” is “a cause worth dying for” (61). Sang is troubled but distracts herself by practicing her reading and searching for literature.

She also tries another folk remedy on Nisay, called cupping. She places hot glass cups on Nisay’s skin, and “[a]s the glass cools, […] skin pull[s] upward into the opening, as the excess energy or wind is drawn out” (63). As Sang, Ki, and Nisay return home, they run into Lucky Fat, who tells Sang that Sopeap said their next lesson will be Friday. However, Sang still has not found any literature.

Chapter 9 Summary

Sang’s inability to find literature frustrates her, despite Sopeap’s insistence that they “were swimming in it” (65). However, Sang’s cousin, Narin, tells her about a poem she knows, one that her mother used to say to her when she “was restless and couldn’t sleep” (67). Sang is unsure if poetry is literature, but she is delighted with the poem. She tells Narin “it feels like literature” (68) and agrees to return the next day to write down the poem. When Narin asks for a copy for herself, Sang is reassured, thinking that “this must surely be literature” because Narin knows the words by heart “yet […] wants something in hand” (69).

During their lesson, Sang shares the poem with Sopeap. Sopeap tells Sang “that poetry predates literature” (70) and that the way she has found this poem is part of a long history of oral tradition. She also points out things Sang has not noticed about the poem, such as the way the “last stanza repeats the subject order, but in reverse” (71). Sang feels stupid that she has not noticed these things, but she feels worse when Sopeap asks her to explain what makes this literature. Sang tries to repeat the things Sopeap has said, but Sopeap wants to know why Sang believes this is literature. Sang finally reveals that she does not “know what literature is” and does not “understand it” (72). Sopeap says she is wrong, however, that just like her students “so long ago—[she] do[es] know […] she just [doesn’t] realize it yet” (72). Sopeap agrees to continue their lessons but informs Sang of their limited time, as Sopeap is planning to leave Stung Meanchey.

Chapters 7-9 Analysis

Wright further develops the importance of story, with a focus on how to define literature, as well as the nature of love through the relationship between Sang and Ki. For example, Ki reveals that part of his anger at Sang’s lessons stems from a fear that Sang will no longer need him once she learns to read. However, Sang reassures him that she will always love him and need him, telling him that he “is the part of [her] life that [she] would never change” (51). Again, Wright sets up an expectation that there will be repercussions from Ki’s fear, but there are not. Sang’s reassurance is enough, and this allows the reader to understand that healthy relationships are based on trust and empathy.

Similarly, Sopeap’s declaration that Sang has finished her lessons is also a surprise, as Wright appeared to set up Sang’s cultivation of literacy as the story’s central plotline. Instead, Wright explores the idea that just learning to read is not important; one must also understand the importance of what they are reading. Wright then explores an old but ongoing debate on the nature, purpose, and importance of literature. Sopeap’s refusal to define literature for Sang emphasizes this debate, as Sopeap insists Sang must find the definition herself. Furthermore, Sopeap argues that studying literature might be dangerous because it could make Sang dissatisfied with her life, which parallels Ki’s fear. However, Sang’s discovery of literature in the form of a poem that her cousin, Narin, learned from her mother makes it clear that the opposite is true. Sang’s exploration of literature helps her make more connections with those around her, rather than prompting a desire to leave it all behind. 

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