Literary Analysis - Jorge Ribeiro

Jorge Ribeiro

Literary Analysis

Red Scarf Girl

Jiang Ji-Li

Rotation 5

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?

The protagonist changes from the beginning to the end of the novel, in terms of her safety. What I can recall from the beginning of the book, is that the protagonist at first did not know how her fathers background impacted her and her choices, so at first the protagonist was stubborn, and wanted things her way, but then later on she saw that it did not depend on her, but her fathers dark past, and that really affected her life, and so as she progressed throughout the story, she starts becoming more conscious of her choices, because she has to take in account that her family is in risk, so she cannot expose herself so much.

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What the protagonist learns about herself, is that there is a clear line that she cannot trespass, and this line, is that the protagonist is not allowed to expose herself as much, because as she exposes herself, she is more endangered, and she knows that it is not her fault, but she still plays safe. This is very important for someone who cannot be popular, because you want to play low, and by playing low you are more safe, which in this case the protagonist learned that she cannot be stubborn, but instead be safe, for the sake of her family.

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The protagonist learns that life is not fair, because it was her father who had the dark past with the government, yet she is the one being affected by it. She also learned that you have to cooperate with those you love, because she could get her father in trouble by doing the things she wants and exposing herself, but in reality the protagonist cooperates with her family because she cares about them, she could just expose her father and do the things she wants, but she loves her family, and love changes the way you think.

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