Literary Analysis

Source

To begin with, the protagonist has clearly changed througout the entire book and there lies many reasons for the change. At the start of the book, Ji-li is a child who wants to live like everyone around her however, her thoughts changes over time just like everyone else's. One of the main reasons why Ji-li's thoughts changed from an innocent child to a rebel against the Chinese Communist Party was because Ji-Li found out that her family was at risk of revealing their secret that will make them suffer severe prejudice. Also, near the end of the book, the red guards found out that her family was a black family and resulted the confiscation of the protagonist's family properties. This clearly made up Ji-li's mind that her family's major enemy was the Chinese Communist Party.
Another reason Ji-li turned against the Communist Party was because of her secret. Ji-li's family's major secret was that her family was a black family. The protagonist's family was considered as a black family because her grandfather was a landlord and her father was considered a rightist (Wikipedia). On page 27, Ji-li tolde her biggest secret when her dad said, "This is for her own good. Her classmates and teachers will just be surprised if she says that her father won't let her go. But swhat she passes the audition an can't pass the political background investigation? Then everybody will know that the family has a political problem." As soon as Ji-li realized that her family was facing political problems, she found out that her family was not the same as others and got shocked. On page 30, it clearly proves Ji-li's surprisement. "Until that spring, I believed that my life and my family were nearly perfect." The protagonist was extremely young when she was taught about the ultimate secret of her family and so she was shocked. Due to this, the protagonist went against the Communist Party.
Overall, we can we that Ji-li changed from an innocent young child to a rebel who is against the Chinese Communist Party.

Literary Analysis - Julia Jacob #5

 Fear

Fear is one of the themes of the book Red Scarf Girl, by Ji-li Jiang. The period of the Cultural Revolution was a time of fear, confusion, and violence in which the rules and traditions of the Chinese society break down. Adolescents and college students wander the streets and approach people if they think they are dressed wrong.The Red Guards conduct searches of people's households, as they do the Jiangs (due to the family’s ‘Black History’). They live in fear of the searches and the kids and Grandma stay in the park all day long for better protection from the guards. The family is so insecure about safety that they have their own system with a map to designate whether or not it is safe to come home. Ji-li and her family pass the better part of the two years living in fear, especially once her father is detained due to the family’s ‘Black History’. He now has to attend late night meetings that are located in the theater where he is critiqued, mocked and pressured to confess. As soon as the search for ‘Four Old’ items and riches, Ji-li Jiang and her family had to fire their housekeeper, Song Po-Po, because they are so scared to be accused of exploiting workers. A bit after this happens, the Red Guards are searching Ji-li’s house and they find a knife with some of the family’s burn photos in a garbage bag. Everything the family does is based on fear, and they do not want anything to get them in trouble.