Ivanna Hidalgo
Week 3 - Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9
Red Scarf Girl *A Memoir of a Cultural Revolution* by David Henry Huang
Question Commander
While reading these chapters, I had
some difficulties understanding some parts of the book. As a result, I wrote down
some questions that I would like to answer myself.
Question
#1
Apart
from being China’s flag color, why is red based on most political concepts? Ex: Red Guard Committee, Red Child Toy Shop,
Red Socialists/Communists.
In my opinion, China uses the concept
“red” many times because it means blood and bravery. Obviously, that is ones
opinion and not a fact; however, I can base all my knowledge on the books given
information. Let’s start of with war. In this time period, there is many
laws/rules that can lead to physical damage if broken or disobeyed. On page
159, Old Qian refused to give his bicycle to some Red Guards, making them beat up
the old man. This reminds me of blood because there are just a few Chinese
people who would risk almost anything to protect their own believes about
Chairman Mao, etc. Therefore, there are many people risking lives to keep on
believing on what they think is right. Further, this takes me to the idea of
bravery. To me, the color red means bravery, apart from other vibrant, bold
colors. Although, red is the color I feel strongest about. I think that by
naming concepts with the word “red” in it makes it more powerful. For instance,
the words Red Guard Committee sound stronger than Guard Committee. To conclude
with, the color red represents a sign of virtue and potential.
Question
#2
If
some Chinese people thought that Chairman Mao was a bad influence to China, why
didn’t they fight against him?
"Alternative
History." Alternative History. Web. 07 Sept. 2014.
<http://althistory.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page>.
Were
Black Families similar as having literal black families, back then?
When I read more about the “Black
Families”, it reminded me of slavery/prisoners. According to the book, these
Black Families worked more than other families that were not classified as the
Black Families. They had chores and work for them all day and seemed pretty
much like slavery to me, since they checked up on them many times. The
higher-class people checked if they did their work properly or wisely.
Something I thought was interesting was that African American people were
judged by their skin color, calling it racism. In the United States, black
people had to work and depend on white people to eat, dwell, and live happily.
Just like the Black Families worked and had chores to take care of as a
punishment for being related to Landlords, etc. Overall, Black Families were
similar to the colored people’s life condition.
"SHOCK DATA: More Blacks in Jail Today than Slaves in America’s Past." The Natural Independent. Web. 07 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.naturalindependent.com/archives/6863/data-more-blacks-in-jail-today-than-slaves-in-americas-past/>.
Ivanna I totally agree with you, I still think that you should use more complex words, but other than that it was pretty good. I really liked the way you answered the second question, and how you uses a lot of details. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteIvanna, I agree with your idea behind the use of red in China and in communism. Many believe that the red in communist flags, and symbols represents the hard effort and "blood" spilled by the working class as they toiled under harsh conditions and environments. Basically, the red is honoring the suffering and sacrifices of those who worked very hard to make the lives of others better. One of communism's core beliefs is that everyone is equal and nobody has more than the next person. Many communist movements in different countries (such as the one that led to the creation of the People's Republic of China), are focused on uniting different classes and changing the way people think about personal belongings and property. The famous sickle and hammer used during the Russian Revolution and in Soviet Russia as iconic symbols actually represents the unity between the industrial and agricultural workers' classes.
ReplyDeleteIvanna, I agree with what you said about the color red but I would like to remind you about something. I am not sure if you remember, but in the beginning of the book Ji-Li was talking about how Chairman Mao told the people that the Chinese flag was stained red with the blood of the martyrs that worked hard to create China. I would also like to respond about how you thought black families were just like the black slaves. I see a very big difference. Even though the black families were discriminated by their political stand point, not all of them were persecuted like their distant cousin. All of the blacks were enslaved, not just specific people.
ReplyDeleteIvanna,
ReplyDeleteYour post is great! For the first question, I completely agree with you. I think that the red has been tied in a lot throughout the book. Also, I wonder if red is supposed to strike fear in Mao's opponents. I can connect to your post, because for futsal in P.E. I chose the color red to represent bravery and fierceness. I think that this bold color gave the same perception to us and many others. Do you think there are other colors that give people similar perceptions, or different? You thoroughly answered the first part which I think was great. For the second question, I was wondering the same thing. If so many people are against him, why don't they rebel? However, I realized that there are so many Red Guards and people on Mao's side that they would be outnumbered. I agree that people were treated very unfairly, and shouldn't be persecuted for their beliefs. Finally for the third question, I agree with you that the way "black families" in China are treated is similar to the way black families were treated in the U.S. In addition, I think that people should not be classified by the families they are in, because it is not their faults that certain things happened in the past. They should be classified, if at all, by themselves, for what they do, and how they act. One thing that I would suggest is changing the font. This is because, it was kind of hard for me to read. Otherwise, fantastic job, you enhanced my thinking a lot.
Mary