Character Analysis: Red Scarf Girl

What motivates art?

Out of times of societal conflict, art arises like a phoenix from the ashes left in the wake of injustice. A piece of literary art entitled Red Scarf Girl, is a memoir of author Ji-Li Jiang’s life during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The novel details her youth during the rise of communist China and is directly inspired by events that transpired in Jiang’s life. As evidenced by Jiang’s, Meeropol’s, and my art, one can see that art is often motivated by the creator’s desire to shed light on wrongdoings gone unnoticed by the masses.
Jiang’s motivation to inform people about the realities of China’s cultural revolution is demonstrated in the things she said and in the book, Red Scarf Girl. In the novel she says that, “a

Her sentiment is expressed in the novel when she makes known that, “if [she] can help Americans learn about China, and the Chinese to learn about America, [she] will feel very rewarded, [and]...[she hopes] this book will be a part of that mission”

In the painting, one can see a tree with an apple hanging from it. The tree alludes to the biblical Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and represents, “knowledge and mystery” (Monday 3). Knowing this, the viewer can come to the conclusion that the apple hanging from the tree is a physical embodiment of knowledge. Also, the painting contains the image of, “the sun risen in the east, [which] became symbolic of the [Chinese Cultural] Revolution itself” (MS 1). This symbolism allows the viewer to see that this picture takes place while China was illuminated by Mao Zedong’s reign. Lastly, the background is black because the color black, “is typically associated with the unknown or the negative” (Bourn 3). All of these elements are combined in the painting to illustrate the overarching idea of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, which was knowledge being withheld from the people while under the rule of Mao Zedong. Symbolism and allusion are used because they are universal. If people can deduce the meaning of the painting from these elements, then they possess the potential to understand the historical and moral meaning behind the painting, thus realizing my goal of informing the