Sunday, August 24, 2014

Question Commader #1

Already in the first two chapters the book has already intrigued me with a bunch of questions. I think that further in the book my questions are going to get deeper and start more discussions. This book is not like other books I read because it is about the cultural revolution which you do not read about in a lot of books. That is why I think this  is going to be a really good book.


  1. Do you think Jiang Ji-Li's parents support all the new changes that are going in China?
In my opinion I think her parents do not support all the new changes in China. Especially with the "destroy the four olds" change. What that means is that any tradition that was old needs to be destroyed and that would be called "the four news."When Jiang Ji-Li and her siblings were talking about that during dinner her parents did not seem interested. Her Grandma also did not seem to support it. I think that the new rules and propaganda are manipulating the kids at such a young age to think that changing everything is good. But people can't just destroy signs. Because first it took a lot of money to buy the sign. Seconded it is going to take a lot of money to replace the signs. So I think her parents think that is wrong. Also in the beginning her dad did not let her audition because of political considerations. Which means he does not want this family to have anything to do with the  changes that Chairman Mao is doing. To be honest it would take me a while to adjust too. 

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         2.  Because of all the change happening do you think further in the book Jiang is going to audition for the Central Liberation Army Arts Academy?

First of all I think her dad is never going to let her audition because he does not agree with the Cultural Revolution. So, I think since Jiang agrees so much with what Chairman Mao is doing that she will want to audition. I think that she is going to go behind her fathers back and do the audition. Then her dad is going to find out and that is going to strike up conflict. Then she is going to turn her back on him and got in, and she finds out later in the book that she should have listened to her dad because the Chairman Mao is just using propaganda to support him. That is my prediction for the book. Like I said before her dad seems like he does support all the changes but in fact he does not.

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        3.  Do you think people are not going to want to change old customs? Are one of those people going to be someone close to Jiang?

Yes, I think at least one person thinks that changing all the old customs to new ones is just wrong. I think it is going to be her dad and one of her friends. I think if her dad goes against it that she will be ashamed and disappointed in him. Firstly because she seems like she really supports changing the old customs to new ones. Also her siblings and friends, and the thing is they are all young. The propagandas are targeting young children who do not understand anything. But like her dad who does understand thinks that it is wrong and that you should still keep old customs and make new ones. Also I think her dad is just trying to protect Jiang, and that is why he did not want her to audition. Second I think one of her friends because probably their family members do not agree and the whole school is probably going to ignore her, or bully her even. But overall I think that someone who is close to Jiang is going to go against the changes. 
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5 comments:

  1. 1. Do you think Jiang Ji-Li's parents support all the new changes that are going in China?

    I don't believe that Jiangs parents were too pleased when they found out what was happening. I remember when the grandma, mother, and father found out, one of them commented on the supermarket stores sign. They were shocked with what was going on and said that the sign cost a fortune and a lot of hard work. Jiang also said that her parents were always excited with the changes in China though they stayed awfully quiet throughout the whole 'reunion' (when they all got together).

    2. Because of all the change happening do you think further in the book Jiang is going to audition for the Central Liberation Army Arts Academy?

    I think there might be a possibility that Jiang auditions. Since China is getting rid of four olds, they might just not worry about her political background since she is changing into what they want her to. There may be a possibility that they think that the past is the past and they need to focus on the present and future. The only problem could be her father. Her father doesn't seem to be agree with the revolution, so he might forbid her from auditioning.

    3. Do you think people are not going to want to change old customs? Are one of those people going to be someone close to Jiang?

    In my opinion, I think the older people will be the most bothered. They grew up with those customs and now that China is getting rid of all that, they probably won't take it well. I believe that Jiang's father does not agree with changes. Who knows what he is going to do about it though I don't think he'll let Jiang believe in getting rid of the four olds or he might do something else.

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  2. While reading your questions, I found that I can relate many of the possible answers to the research I did while writing my own post as the "Risk-Taking Researcher".

    The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was a very violent and complicated political movement. So far, I believe that Jiang Ji-Li's parents and family are actually supporters of Mao Ze-Dong's opposition. The destruction of the "Four Olds", the creation of the Red Guards and the "cleansing" of many parts of Chinese society were all caused by Mao Ze-Dong as he tried to reassert his authority over the rest of the government and communist party. Jiang Ji-Li's parents may be supporters of a more capitalist and Western style of government which would subsequently explain their alarm and discomfort when they saw their daughter begin to blindly follow the communist party. Though her parents are not very open about their views regarding politics, their general reactions to the Cultural Revolution show how they may become targets of the Red Guards further into the novel.

    I do not believe that Jiang Ji-Li will disobey her parents further into the novel and attend the audition since the audition already took place in the two initial chapters and she did not go. Although I am not sure how much this book will stick to the facts on the revolution, Ji-Li will probably be out of school soon since Mao Ze-Dong closed all schools in China to mobilize the entire Chinese youth for them to fight a war against Western society, "capitalist" thoughts, and "anti-revolutionary" behavior.

    As I stated before, Ji-Li's family is most likely against the revolution and Mao Ze-Dong's communist party. Many people did oppose the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in China, however, these people were also killed, tortured, injured and humiliated by the Red Guards during large-scale attacks and all-out street wars. The Cultural Revolution was a gruesome example of a totalitarian regime attempting to secure its power in a country through any means necessary. By the end of the revolution, over 1.5 million people were killed and most of these people were accused of supporting the "Four Olds", having bourgeois thoughts and using Western products and styles.

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  3. #1

    I do not think her parents support the new changes in China. Her dad doesn't agree with Jiang joining the audition so in my thought I think the dad knows there is something behind the audition.

    #2

    I think that Jiang is eventually going to join the audition without her father's permission. She is so embarrassed because the teachers know that she rejected the audition. It is a one time opportunity and I believe that the soldiers want Jiang to join.

    #3

    I think some do, some don't. China is large and there people have different thoughts. There might even be some people liking the changes on force. It seems to me the dad is one of the people who rejects to the new changes. And I agree with him.

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  4. Hi Sophia,

    Your post is great, and it is very easy to understand! I can connect with some of your answers, because I know some people that disagree with the government and what the government does. However, unlike Ji-Li, I am not ashamed of the people for that. I think that everyone can have their own opinion, and think what they want. For the first question, I agree with your answer, because I think they are disappointed that many things from their childhood are being considered wrong and destroyed by the government. Also, they might not completely agree with everything Mao is doing for their country. For the second question, I agree that Ji-Li might try to audition for the Liberation Army, because she greatly honors all of the soldiers and what they do. She wishes that she could have been with them to defeat the American, and make China a better place. For the third question, I partly agree with you. This is because, like Ji-Li, I think all of her friends also idle all the soldiers. Therefore, I don't think that they would go against the government. On the other hand, I think that her dad and possibly her grandmother don't agree with the government, because of the faces that were described when Ji-Li and her siblings talked about how amazing the government is. Thank you for deepening my thinking about the book.

    Mary

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  5. I think Jiang is going to join the army further in the book. Just on the small part of the book that we've read we could see the she was very excited for the auditions. Also, when her father said that she was not going to the auditions she got very disappointed. In my opinion, she is more motivated to try to go to the auditions.

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