The Rent Collector

Soriyan, the alleged Sopeap Sin, has many names, including: the Rent Collector, the Cow, and the Teacher. At first, this Sopeap Sin seems to be Sang’s nemesis, revealed through the fable about her origins as the sky god’s illegitimate daughter. However, she eventually becomes Sang’s benefactor and educator. 

This complex character then personifies Wright’s explanation of both literary characters and people: Sopeap is a mixture of everything. She is a coward in her willingness to let the real Sopeap Sin die in her place and her choice to drown her sorrows in alcohol. However, she is also a hero in her willingness to help Sang and her efforts to help the family of the real Sopeap Sin. The Rent Collector is also a shapeshifter: first mean and vindictive, then wise and compassionate. She is a trickster in her methods of teaching Sang, and in her wry sense of humor that contains clear nuggets of wisdom. Sopeap tells Sang, who is angry and devastated to learn Sopeap is dying, that she did tell her she was “going away” but “failed to mention how far” (159). In Sang’s revision of the fable at the end of the story, Sopeap becomes a Christ-figure, one who has sacrificed herself for the residents of Stung Meanchey.

Although Sopeap is all of these at once, she also misinterprets and misunderstands a great deal. She needs Sang to help her understand that the lesson of her life is not that actions have consequences, but that nothing is purely evil or purely good. Her treatment of the real Sopeap Sin was cruel, and her silence in the face of evil was cowardly, but much good came out of that decision as well. She was able to help Sopeap Sin’s family, Sang and her family, and indirectly, the other residents of the dump. Furthermore, those deeds resonated beyond the original intent: She did not just help Sopeap Sin’s siblings, for example, but their children and their children’s children. Sopeap learns this when the real Sopeap Sin’s family comes to her as she is dying to honor her, telling her that their “family will be forever blessed because of [her] kindness” (256). Sopeap represents the past—such as the tragedies of the Khmer Rouge revolution—but she also represents what needs to be learned from such tragedies to prevent their repetition, as well as how to heal and move on.

Ki Lim is Sang’s husband and a picker at the dump. Ki’s defining trait is his love for his family. His affection for Sang is obvious from the way he treats her, and their relationship is an excellent example of what true love looks like. For example, though Ki does not see how Sang’s learning to read will be beneficial, he fully supports her decision, which he demonstrates through both his behavior and his words. In fact, Ki and Sang are true equals in their relationship. Although Ki at first fears that Sang’s education might make her look down on him, once she reassures him, he never brings it up again. Furthermore, Ki is every bit as intelligent as Sang, even though he is not as educated.

Additionally, Ki’s determination to protect his family from the gangs at the dump demonstrates his love and compassion for others. This is one area where he and Sang differ, as Sang worries for Ki’s physical safety and wonders whether he is concerned with protecting them or if he seeks revenge after his attack. The truth unfolds after the death of Maly’s brother. Ki takes no pleasure in the boy’s death, despite the boy’s involvement in harming Lucky Fat and in Ki’s own mugging. Although the boy’s death devastates him, his resolve to protect his family does not waver. He relates this to Sang: “I want you to know that if he or any other gang members like him—boy or not—ever tries to harm you or our son, I will not hesitate to defend you” (148). This reveals Ki’s quiet, but constant, bravery and love.

Although Sang is the protagonist of the book, Ki is clearly one of its heroes, as demonstrated by his willingness to sacrifice himself in a variety of ways: his labor to support his family and Sang’s lessons; his time devoted to his family; and even his life, as he tells Sang, if that becomes necessary. Sang recognizes this and refers to him as her hero, the one who sacrifices for her, noting that “[o]f all the stories [she has] read about heroes and all that [she] could ever read” (260), Ki is her hero. 

Lucky Fat is an adolescent boy who also lives on the outskirts of Stung Meanchey. He is a cheerful and happy boy, who looks like “a grinning Chinese Buddha” (13) and is known for his uncanny ability to find loose money. He collects Buddha figurines and is an example, as Sang points out, of the trickster character. He jokes and laughs, but his jokes often contain great wisdom, as when he points out how “ridiculous it is that the buyer pays less to women and children when they bring in scrap than to a man” (134). As a result of this observation, Sang receives more money than she would have if he had not said anything.

However, just like the other characters, he is not completely one thing or another, which his involvement with and attempt to rescue Maly demonstrates. Wise in his own right, he asks Sang to teach him to write out his name, and thus represents a new generation of Cambodians, much like Nisay. It is important to remember, learn from, and venerate the past, symbolized by Lucky Fat’s Buddha figurines as well as his tribute to Maly’s brother after his death, during which he tells Sang he thinks “her brother will now be in a place where he can finally watch over her” (149). He also demonstrates the qualities of being a hero, in his willingness to stand up to evil, as he does by helping Maly despite the risk to himself.

Lena is Sang’s mother, who follows them to the dump to be closer to her daughter and grandson. Although Sang is ashamed of living in the dump and her inability to take care of her mother as per Cambodian tradition, Lena enjoys living at Stung Meanchey. Lena “relishes her situation” and calls picking through trash an “adventure” (47). She is content with her life, picking when she needs to, taking care of Nisay, and building beautiful temporary shelters that are the envy of the other workers.

Like the other characters, Lena is incredibly wise and tries repeatedly to help Sang understand that the dump community is their home, not a symbol or cause of evil. Lena also has a deep sense of humor, evident in her amusement at the bickering of two of her friends and her playful teasing of Sang. Additionally, Lena is notably brave, as she joins Ki’s group to stand up to the gangs at the dump. She also arranges for Maly to escape the dump and subsequent child prostitution. Like Nisay and Lucky Fat, who represent Cambodia’s future, Lena represents Cambodia’s past and the necessity of learning from one’s mistakes and acting to rectify those mistakes.

Bunna Heng is the healer in Sang’s home province. In Sang’s dreams, the healer is a menacing figure who seems to tell her that she has waited too long to bring Nisay to see him. However, in real life, the healer is kind and gentle, and he seems capable of helping Nisay. Heng reveals that he has kept his distance from her family after the death of Sang’s father because he felt responsible, which is why Sang remembers him as “cold, uncaring, and distant” (194). However, his behavior stemmed from his guilt. Heng was unable to help Sang’s father when he collapsed and regrets leaving to get help instead of staying with him while he died. Much like other characters, however, his intentions were good. This death inspires Heng to continue his studies, which enables him to later help Nisay. As a character, Bunna Heng represents wisdom as well as Sang’s groundless fears.

Nisay is Sang’s 16-month-old son. Nisay suffers from an unnamed illness that causes chronic diarrhea and recurrent fevers. This in turn means that Nisay is not growing as he should, and his health is a source of concern for Sang throughout the text. She tries several remedies for Nisay, both Western medical treatments and folk remedies. Nisay’s pain during these treatments tortures Sang, and she hopes he understands that all are done out of love.

Although Nisay is present during most of the story, the young child has no real character traits of his own. Nisay’s undefined illness, which prevents his physical growth, parallels how Sang’s negative mindset stifles her own spiritual development. However, after Sang embraces her dream and takes Nisay to Bunna Heng, Nisay becomes an active “handful” (208), much like a child his age should be. Like Lucky Fat, Nisay also represents a hopeful future. In venerating their traditions, the Cambodians can physically and mentally prosper: Traditional folk remedies help heal Nisay, and Sang plans to pass her noninstitutional education on to her son.

The real Sopeap Sin was a young girl who worked as a housekeeper for Soriyan and her husband before the Khmer Rouge revolution. She was clumsy and not good at her job, and Soriyan decided to fire her right as the Khmer Rouge soldiers took over the city. However, when the soldiers come to their home to execute Soriyan and her husband, Sopeap Sin pretends to be Soriyan and dies in her place. Sopeap Sin is not a fully developed character, but nonetheless, she functions as a hero who makes the ultimate sacrifice. Years later, Soriyan (as Sopeap Sin) recalls that the “girl she’d berated moments before” in that moment “carried herself like a woman of culture, a wife, a mother, a queen” (217). Soriyan then takes on her name as a way of honoring her sacrifice and of doing penance for her death.