CHAMPOON SHORT REVIEW

Nai Amnuey, who is from a well-known family, shared his story with someone; who

might be a nurse attending him in a mental hospital. He stated that he fell in love with a woman

named Champoon, the daughter of his enemy, and when her father knew about their secret

relationship, he locked her up and tortured her. Eventually, Champoon escaped and went to him

but ran away when he saw that he was with another woman. They looked for her but only found

a leg with an iron chain hung on a tree. The ending of the story “Champoon” can be interpreted

in many ways, but two possible endings are: Champoon committed suicide by throwing herself

into the river of crocodiles, and Champoon was alive and hidden, and that the leg on the tree was

not hers.

Champoon would have committed suicide because of what she saw in Nai Amnuey’s

bedroom. It must have hurt her to see that he was with another woman after all the hardships she

went through to fight for their love. She disobeyed and fought against her father. Despite being

beaten and tortured, she still escaped and went to him expecting that he would accept her. Aside

from committing suicide, anyone would also think that it was Champoon who was devoured by a

crocodile because of the iron chain on the leg they found. People knew that her father locked her

up with an iron chain and Nai Amnuey, himself, saw her in his bedroom naked with an iron

chain wrapped around her waist and ankles. The time they found the body was hours after Nai

Amnuey tried to catch up with her when she ran away from his house. It is not impossible that if

she had thrown herself in the river, the crocodile was still trying to devour her by the time that

they were looking for her. Just like what Nai Amnuey said, a crocodile could not swallow a

whole human body so it would take some time for parts of her body to be found.
 On the other hand, Champoon could also be alive and hidden, and that the leg on the tree

was not hers because it is not stated in the story whether that leg was proven to be Champoon’s

or not. Taokae Soon might have sent men to find Champoon when she escaped because after all,

she is still his daughter. Champoon might have crossed the river to reach Nai Amnuey’s

residence. She is also from a well-known family and it is not impossible for her to get a boat that

she could use to cross the river. Moreover, after seeing him in the bed with another woman, she

ran away but she was cornered by her father’s men and sent her back to their house. Taokae

Soon might have lied when he said that she would beat her to death if she came back and plotted

the leg they found on the river to make Nai Amnuey believe that she was dead so that he would

not attempt to look for her anymore.

In conclusion, what happened to Champoon will still be a mystery until it is proven that

the leg they found was hers. Finding Champoon could also solve the mystery and she is the only

one who could explain how she crossed the river. Many things were not explained in the story

and only the author could answer them.