Who is Grandpa Kem from The Clay Marble: And Related Readings and what is their importance?

The elderly Kem is grandfather to both Nea and Jantu. He is not a particularly important character, but his presence in the novel serves several purposes. First, he is a catalyst for the writer to demonstrate how elders are treated with respect in traditional Cambodian culture. Second, he is a (somewhat surprising) example of how even the old and experienced can be changed by a powerful young influence (i.e., Dara, in her courage to face down Sarun). Finally, his glimpsed reactions to the suffering inflicted by war, his pain and resignation, serve as brief but very telling manifestations of the novel's thematic interest in, and commentary on, the trials that war inflicts upon civilians.