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Red Scarf Girl Sparknotes

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“All political power comes from the barrel of a gun.” - Mao Zedong (Chairman Mao). Mao Zedong was Chairman Mao, the leader of China during the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution took place from 1966 to 1976. The memoir Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang was written about the life of a young girl, Ji-li, who lived through these hard times. Throughout the book, Ji-li shows that she grows and matures through her experiences. In the beginning of the story, Ji-li is oblivious and happy, but by the end she is mature, understanding and responsible.

To begin, Ji-li thinks only of the good things of the Cultural Revolution and is oblivious to what’s bad about Chairman Mao. For example, Ji-li didn’t understand why she couldn’t tryout for the …show more content…

One example is when somebody is actually a target of the red successors, Ji-li says, ““That poor guy,” I finally said. “He should know better than to dress that way, but I’d just die if somebody cut my pants open in front of everyone like that.”” (Destroy the Four Olds! 74). This shows that Ji-li is beginning to understand that not everything about the cultural revolution is so great. Chairman Mao does do bad things, and sometimes those things can hurt people. Ji-li didn’t realize that before, but she is beginning to now. Another example is Ji-li being mature is when she chooses to take care of Ji-yun, “I realized that I had made my promise to them-to everyone in my family-long ago….I would never do anything to hurt my family, and I would do everything I could to take care of them.” (Sweeping, 16). This quote means that Ji-li has accepted what’s going on and that she has to pick a side. She’s always chosen her family over anything, but now she understands that she would do anything for her family. It’s not that Ji-li doesn’t care about the revolution anymore, it’s that she knows family comes first. In summary, it’s clear to Ji-li that the Cultural Revolution is hurting the country, and her

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