Question posed by classmate: When considering the conditions the girl was found in the farm house/barn that men would come and go from, what does this location and the nature of her condition say about the motives of the sexual violence being enacted on her?
In choosing the barn as the location for her assault, Choe Yun implies that the men view and treat the girl as livestock. They force her to drink alcohol so that she remains docile, obedient, and unable to retaliate. Her physical condition is so terrible that “She seemed comatose, only feeble movements of her limbs indicating she was alive” (44). This indicates that the men had no empathy for her and instead worsen her condition for their own benefit. Their motives stem from the high of control, the thrill of taking without having to give. They represent the selfish side of society that objectifies or brushes aside victims’ humanity, using their poor physical or mental conditions as an excuse to ignore their plight.