Sunday, August 31, 2014

Question Commander Round Two Flor U

These three chapters, Writing Da-zi-bao, The Red Successors, and Graduation were very intriguing though changed a lot compared to the first two. In the beginning , all seemed to go well for Ji-li though everything good disappeared in the next three chapters.

The first question is, how is the relationship between families changing now because of the Cultural Revolution ?

Considering the part where Ji-li was forced to go to her aunts house and have her hang up the da-zi-bao and say those words was already changing the families. Ji-li didn’t want to do that to a family member though she somehow agreed with what the people were saying and seemed to turn on her aunt a little. I feel that some people who could also be in Ji-li’s position will change how they feel about their family and change the relationship between them due to what they start to think is wrong for their family to have and what they wish they had instead.

I chose this image because it is mostly children, younger people. It relates to my question because since the Cultural Revolution is changing everyone their parents, grandparents, etc. believed in, the children's relationships with the older family members may change. 

The second question is, do you think Ji-li will be able to find happiness and something good will happen to her at a school she doesn’t want to go to, while not being able to be a red successor, and with a family known as horrible people ?

I feel like so far, nothing has been going Ji-li’s way. When Ji-li got the great news that she was going to be able to go to her dream school, she was the happiest person yet. Though, nothing good seems to last for Ji-li. The whole opportunity to go to her dream school gets taken away from her just like the opportunity to be a red successor was. I predict that after a while, some very delightful things will happen to her and she will be able to be joyful and grateful.

I chose this image because Ji-li looks naturally happy. It connects to both of my questions because it seems like she found happiness and possibly needed to remold herself or not. 


Lastly,  do you think Ji-li will eventually remold herself at the junior high school ?

I don’t think Ji-li will change herself just because the Red Successors are constantly telling her to. Ji-li seems to have enough self-respect to not change because of other people. Ji-li seems to have confidence and even though  what the other people tell her, pains her, she doesn’t seem to do what they wish her to.





6 comments:

  1. Question: The first question is, how is the relationship between families changing now because of the Cultural Revolution ?

    Answer: I believe that the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution will change Jiang Ji-Li's everyday life and family. Historically speaking, the Cultural Revolution broke many ties between friends and relatives and destroyed many essential elements of Chinese society. However, I think that Ji-Li's family will not break up on purpose, due to the fact that they are extremely close and support each other. Instead, I believe that violence and Mao Ze-Dong's Red Guards will force them to separate from one another in order to survive the bloodshed. We already saw Ji-Li's actions when her group attacked Aunt Xi-Wen and Ji-Li hid behind the attackers out of shame.

    Regarding the relationships between different families, I think that similar families from similar backgrounds will stick together for protection. For example, I think that Ji-Li's and An-Yi's families will stay with each other since their political views and backgrounds do not seem to conflict according to the events in the novel up to now.

    On the other hand, I believe that Ji-Li's family will be openly attacked by other families such as those of Yin Lan-lan and Du Hai. During the Cultural Revolution, street wars were very common between families, enemies and Red Guard groups. The People's Republic of China descended into a state of near anarchy and total chaos that destroyed most of the government's authority. Subsequently, law enforcement was almost obliterated and many crimes went unpunished inspiring many to seek revenge against their foes.

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    1. Alexandre, I agree and disagree with you. I think that many families other than Ji- Li's are without a doubt going to be separated for their different opinions on the cultural revolution. Like you said it is a fact that friends and families grew apart. Just like Ji-Li and her friends. The people that she used to hang out with and help are now spreading lies and bullying her because they can. But the part that I disagree with you is that I think Ji-Li her relationship with her family is going to change because she of the way she views them. I think that since Ji-Li found out her grandpa was a landlord and how she got in trouble because of that she will want to leave. Also her aunt even got a da-zi-bao for a small mistake and they force Ji-Li to watch. And in the second chapter of the book when the four olds were getting destroyed, and Ji-Li and her siblings were very ecstatic about it her parents and grandmother did not seem interested. So I think that if Ji-Li ever wants to find happiness she will leave her family. But I do agree with you that her family might get attacked just for their family background and will want to leave China but without Ji-Li. Or maybe Ji-Li will finally realize that Chairman Mao is just destroying China instead of rebuilding it and stick together with her family. Because now since her life is taking a turn for the worst she is slowly starting to realize that maybe it is because of the cultural revolution. Because before her life seemed to be fine. So overall I think that she will separate from her family because she wants to, but realizes that was a mistake. Because friends are going to come and go, but family is always going to be there.

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  2. Flor, I thought all your questions were great. I chose the second question which is, Do you think Ji-li will be able to find happiness and something good will happen to her at a school she doesn't want to go to, while not being able to be a red successor, and with a family known as horrible people ?

    I think that through out the book Ji-li will find happiness but it will just take a lot of time. Because I think she went through so much in the last few chapters. Like with da-zi-bao situation, now she can't even talk to her teacher without getting judged by the other students. Also with her family background it is even harder to adjust to. But that part is not her fault, the red successors blamed her for something that happened over 30 years ago. They just made her feel more bad than she already was. Because I think that the whole red successor thing is just a really dumb idea. Because it is ok to give feedback and constructive criticism but they are not doing that. They are bullying her because her grandpa was a landlord. Landlords are worse than criminals, but her family is trying to forget past that but with the cultural revolution they are now targets. So I think that Ji-li will find some happiness but it will take time, because now that she has to go back to the school she hates, I think that she will eventually actually like the school or go against the cultural revolution and find some happiness there.

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  3. Question number 1.

    The chapters that were in this week was even better than the last week. In my thought the titles were effective enough to lure me in. For example, before reading the chapters the last chapter of this week, Graduation made me thought that Ji-li is moving upwards to a higher grade. And as I read a tiny bit of the book, I was thinking to myself, would Ji-li be happy to move to another school or not?

    The question that you wrote, I'm glad it is one that I can actually answer on it. There are also some families changing in the world due to the government. Some places changes because of dictatorship or even by the increase of tax. For example, North Korea, imagine what will happen if their dictator passed away and their next son thought, "It's time to make a change".
    The answer you wrote along, was great but you could add some more details on it, like in the start of chapter 4, Ji-li suffered from the Da-zi-baos written about her. The effect of that caused her to get sick and not even have to energy to move around her own house.

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  4. Question: Do you think Ji-li will be able to find happiness and something good will happen to her at a school she doesn’t want to go to, while not being able to be a red successor, and with a family known as horrible people ?

    Answer: I totally agree with you, Flor. Ji - Li has many opportunities that make her happy, but they don't last. For example, as you said, she was going to her dream school and eventually the system changed and she was now going to the same school as everyone else. Adding, she was going to be a class red guards, but then because her grandpa was a landlord she ended up being replaced. However, I also predict that Ji- Li will keep working hard in school and getting good grades, so she will soon find happiness for real. Maybe that is even going to be the moral of the story, we should always try our best for our dreams to come true. What do you think? Do you think that can be a possibility?

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    1. Melissa, I liked how you spoke about the moral of the story. I do think that could be the lesson the book has been teaching all along. Though, we don't know for sure yet. I believe that Ji-li will find happiness in something, she just needs to keep her head high and believe in herself. There was one point in the novel where she says even though everyone is trying to bring her down, she will maintain her good grades and do well in school like always. She will not let them come between her and her studies.

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