Independent Reading Summative
Red Scarf Girl
Jiang Ji-Li
Historical Context & Literary Analysis
Some important quotes to consider:
"'But Grandma, we have to get rid of those old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits. Chairman Mao said they're holding us back,' I informed her" (Four Olds, pg. 25.)
Ji-Li´s Red Scarf
"I was born on Chinese New Year. Carefully, my parents chose my name: Ji-li, meaning lucky and beautiful. They hoped that I would be the happiest girl in the world" (Prologue, pg. 1.)
"Who would have believed that our entire educational system was wrong after all? Seventeen years after Liberation, the newspapers told us, our schools were not bringing us up to be good red socialists and communists, as we have thought, but revisionists" (Waiting, pg. 38.)
Actual Ji-Li
“I was willing to take on the struggle to establish myself in a new country because I knew that was the price I would ahve to pay for the freedom to think, speak, and write whatever I pleased.“
Move on! New Proletarian Ideas Coming Soon!
Get Rid of the Four Olds!
What was communist China?
Intro to communism
http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/129104/communism
Brief Chinese Histroy
http://www.chinese-traditions-and-culture.com/history-of-china.html
12-year-old Ji´Li
“You can break with your family and follow Chairman Mao,or you can follow your father and become the enemy of the people."
Introductory Video
Habibeh Marron
Historical Context
Red Scarf Girl
By Jiang Ji-Li
Come, come and grab your paper just $4.99! read what everyone is reading! the Chinese Cultural Revolution!
This is not “any“ Revolution“
“Destroying the Four Olds was a new battle, and an important one: It would keep China from losing her Communist ideals. Though we were not facing real guns or real tanks, this battle would be even harder, because our enemies, the rotten ideas and customs we were so used to, were inside ourselves” (Jiang 28–29).
The Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was a socio-political movement mainly supported by Mao Zedong the Chairman (Wikipedia). Red Scarf Girl by Jiang Ji´Li is a novel that explores the main conflicts of a twelve-year-old girl who experience the Cultural Revolution in all ways possible. Our main character is now dealing with a new concept that means leaving her physical and psychological belongings behind, her childhood and everything she treasures is now breaking apart. Some of the basic laws that Ji-Li and her family faced during this time period were:
1. Abolition of private property and the application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property
5. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state (Liberty Zone).
Another main conflict the modifies our author's perspective are the da-zi-bao´s that are written in school as part of the proletarian revolution, these seem to criticize every performance of “four olds“ (Shanghai Propaganda Art). In that time period being a landlord was one of the most criticized jobs in China, worse than a criminal, and unfortunate Ji-Li comes to light that her grandfather was a landlord. This issue and her family´s black class status become a nightmare for our protagonist's future. At one period in the novel, after Ji-Li's father has been arrested, she lays between the wall and the sword and has to decide to either betray and end her relationship with her family and hand them to the authorities or keep her loyalty to them and live the rest of her life against the revolution. “We cannot choose our families or our class status. But we can choose our own future“ (Jiang 198). Ji-Li chose a future with her family, she realized that it was better to work hard, take care of her two little siblings and be loyal to her parents, than any mere revolution that would cause her eternal misery.
Some connections between Animal Farm (Russian revolution) and Red Scarf Girl (Chinese Cultural Revolution):
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Chairman Mao Represents Napoleon,
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The Propaganda is like Squealer,
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Communism is like Animalism,
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Destroying Four Olds are like the Commandments/ Things to get rid of,
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Red Guards are symbolizing the Puppies,
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The People are like Boxer and how he says “Napoleon is always right"
In the Red Scarf Girl there are many connections. High officials and followers of Chairman Mao were addressed as Comrade. In Animal Farm Squealer Napoleon and the other animals that followed Napoleon were addressed as Comrade. Another connection I made was that the "Four Olds" were Jones way of doing things and the "Four News" were Napoleon's way of doing things in the farm.
This masterpiece is the winner of books for Young Adults, 1998 Parents' Choice Gold Award, 1998 Books of Distinction, and many more (GoodReads). For Jiang Ji-li, the Revolution didn't end until she was 22, therefore it had a great impact on her childhood. In summary Red Scarf Girl is a novel that shows how changes might affect someone's life so much, though times will always get better.
Habibeh Marron
Literary Analysis
Red Scarf Girl
By Jiang Ji-Li
A Tough Childhood in a Tough World
We all grow up, mature and make decisions. We all treasure the memories of our childhood in a special drawer in our heart, though they are all different from other people´s memories. For the protagonist of this novel, Jiang Ji-Li, these memories are tough.
“With my red scarf, the emblem of the Young Pioneers, tied around my neck, and my heart bursting with joy, I achieved and grew every day until that fateful year, 1966“ (Jiang 1). Ji-Li was a shiny, joyful girl, she thought that her life was the happiest of all, she felt immense love for her family and her culture, her life was spared of any trouble, until the Cultural Revolution began. Every aspect of her life was threatened because of her class status, in school, she would be taken away from activities other children were able to perform, like being a Red Successor. Several of her belongings were taken away from her… including her dad. Ji-Li became a shy girl, scared of the world.
In the climax of the novel, the author shows us a tough decision that is presented to Ji-Li, she has to choose between her nation and her family. At first she embraced the idea to change her name, to cut any reins with her family. “Chairman Mao says you can't choose your class status but you can choose your own future“ (Jiang 215). She feels the need of being an “educable child“ and follow the path of her country. Secondly, Ji-Li develops a strong personality and self sufficient motto, she assumes the load of her brother and sister and even her grandma. Her childhood seems threatened, she has to grow faster, grow and make decisions.
After all our red scarf girl chooses her family over class status, she decides to embrace the idea of her being somehow different, she has her mindset defined and faces with courage the situations China is going through. In the chapter called “The Rice Harvest“ she demonstrates her responsibility and hard work. “I had no secrets no goals, and no need to make an effort to impress anybody“ (Jiang 230). Her house was inspected, her belongings were taken away, her parents were punished, China tore her childhood apart, but she never gave up. In the epilogue Ji-Li talks as a grown-up and explains how her adulthood made of her a strong woman. She set a mission for herself, passing the message and her experience to young minds, for them to have a bigger perspective of what's out there.
What was grown-up- Ji-Li´s overall perspective? “Our leader had taken advantage of our trust and loyalty to manipulate the whole country. this is the most frightening lesson of the Cultural Revolution: Without a sound legal system, a small group or even a single person can take control of an entire country. This is as true now as it was then“ (Jian 266). She believes that hers was a lucky situation, she had few education and no skills, however she managed to write this masterpiece and illuminate the world with her story.