Red Scarf Girl - Ji-Li Jiang
Rotation #4 Chapters 10, 11 and 12
How does the protagonist change from the beginning to the end of the novel? What does this character learn about himself (or herself) and about how the world works?
At the beginning of the novel, Ji-Li found out about her class status. Her family status wasn't good at all. Her grandfather was a landlord, and back in the day landlords were considered bad. This type of status was known as "black". Since she was in a 'black' family, she was always humiliated by friends and neighbors. It even stopped her from doing some things that she really wanted to do. In the book she always said that she wished she was born into a red family, for instance she said, "I wished I had been born into a red family so I could do my revolutionary duties without worrying" (Jiang 126). She also always wondered what being in red family would be like. When times got hard for her, she would always blame her grandfather or fate.
When Ji-Li went to Junior High she was relieved that she didn't know anyone in her class which meant, no one knew about her class status. She said, "No one in this class knew about my class status! I could make a new start and just be a person like everyone else" (Jiang 158). After this point things slowly became better, which meant she was changing physically and emotionally. She wasn't as worried about her class status as she had been before.
When things slowly started to become better something really bad happened. Her dad got locked up because he didn't confess of something that he did. Her class status then started to worry her again, she said, "I heard the distant whistle of a passing train, and I wished I could get on it and go far away, to a place without struggle meetings, with class status, without confessions" (Jiang 185). And just like that she was changing physically and emotionally again.
But then she realised something that did truly change her, she said, "Whatever my family background was, I would overcome all difficulties. My future would be bright" (Jiang 199).
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