Red Scarf Girl Sparknotes

The book Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang takes place during the Cultural Revolution in Shanghai, China. The main character of the book, Ji-li, lives with her mother, father, grandmother, housekeeper Song Po-Po, and two younger siblings Ji-yong and Ji-yun. Ji-li always thought her life was perfect until one day she was taken out of class and asked to audition for the Liberation Army’s dance class. She became very excited, until her parents they told her she couldn’t try out because they will check her family background. Ji-li does not understand why, and her father will not explain. This is makes Ji-li upset because she did not know there was anything wrong with her family.

Ji-li has always been very supportive of the revolution. For example,

she wears a red scarf as a sign of the blood of the martyrs of the revolution. But, at school she does not understand how any of the teachers are disrespecting Chairman Mao or the Four Olds. All of the students are writing mean letters, called da-zi-bao, about the teachers and even other students. Ji-li finds false da-zi-bao about herself and her mother. She does not understand why her classmates are against her when she is not against the revolution.
The teachers announce that special students will be chosen to make sure everyone is following the ways of the revolution at school. These student will be called the Red Successors. Ji-li is chosen which makes her happy, until they are required to state their family classes. A classmate yells out that Ji-li’s grandfather was a landlord which is extremely frowned upon in her society. When she asks her grandmother if it is true she avoids the question, but later her father tells her it is true. The Red Successors constantly talk down to her and tell her that she needs to “remold herself” because of her family class. Ji-li thinks that it is not her fault that her grandfather was a landlord and she should not be held back by it.
More and more things are changing for Ji-li. She cannot go to the middle school of her dreams, stores are closing down because they are considered a Four Old, houses around her’s are being searched by the Red Guards, her family fires Song Po-Po, and expensive clothes along with other valuable items are destroyed. The newest addition in her town is the Propaganda wall. This is where people hang pictures of Chairman Mao and da-zi-bao. After someone was caught and punished for trying to take down a da-zi-bao, the Red Guards become extremely strict. For example, a man is severely punished for not lending his bike to a Red Guard and when her friend’s grandmother commits suicide, (a major offence against the revolutions) they are not allowed to hold a proper funeral. After the Red Guards find burnt photos in their trash can, Ji-li’s house is searched, trashed, and many things are confiscated whether they are Four Olds or not.
Ji-li finally starts junior high and she is happy to see that none of the children that bullied her are in her class. But the curriculum has changed to be more supportive of the revolution. The teachers also do not correct the students for not listening because they are scared to act against Chairman Mao.
Ji-li’s father is suspected of disrespecting Chairman Mao so he has to take political classes and does not come home until very late. Then, a couple days after her Uncle gets arrested for listening to the radio, Ji-li’s dad gets arrested too for an unknown reason. Life at home for her gets harder and harder because of the lack of wages and the increase amount of chores that have to get done. To make things worse, her grandmother is getting weaker and her mother is sick all the time. When her father comes home, Ji-li thinks that he is home to stay but he only comes to get his clothes and he leaves again. Later, an article is published about Ji-li’s family and their background. Ji-li is furious.
At school, Ji-li is nominated to speak at an exhibitions despite her family’s class. After she gives an impressive presentation, she is asked to testify against her father to which she refuses. Because of this, she is pulled from the committee.
At home one day Ji-li’s uncle comes unexpectedly with a letter that asks for the people in power in their area to be inspected because of their unfair ways. If anyone finds this letter they will be labeled and treated like enemies to Chairman Mao. Ji-li is asked to hide this letter when the Red Guards come to her house. Ji-li hid the letter in the cat’s litter box, but it is still found when the cat exposes it.
Ji-li’s life used to be so happy, but everything changed during the Cultural Revolution. She briefly considers ending it all, but then realizes that she needs to keep the family safe and that is all that matters.
The culture presented in Red Scarf Girl is different from my own.

The language and how letters are pronounced is different from my language. For example in the book it says “The letter “c” when followed by a vowel is pronounced “ts”. The letter “q” is pronounced “ch”.” These letters are pronounced differently in english. Another difference is the family traditions. In the novel the grandmother lives in the same house and the some of her cousins, uncles, and aunts lived in the same buildings. “My Fourth Aunt, who has been married to my Dad’s half-brother, lived downstairs with her daughter, my cousin You-mei, and You-mei’s lovely baby called Hua-Hua.” My extended family lives very far away and only my mom, dad, and brothers live in my house. Lastly, the culture shown in the book had family classes and were judged by them. “ ‘What I mean is that the political background investigations at these academics are very severe.’.. ‘That is an investigation into the class status of your ancestors and all members of your family.’... ‘Ji-li, the fact is that our family won’t be able to pass these investigations.’” The culture in the book looks down on landlords and anyone related to them and they are not allowed to participate in many things. In the novel Red Scarf Girl, the culture differs from

mine.
One thing that I learned about the Cultural Revolution was that soldiers called Red Guards terrorized the towns and their people for the revolution.

The Red Guards tore up people’s houses and tortured them for being disobedient. They walked the towns in their uniforms and holding their red books ready to punish anyone who was rich, smart, attacking the revolutions, or disrespecting Chairman Mao. Even after Mao decided to stop using them, people in the low classes were still abused. I also learned that the revolution had a huge impact after it was over. The economy declined, old historic buildings were destroyed, and education was poor. Because of the large amount of youth that joined the Red Guards, they put school aside and never continued their education. Also, old historic buildings were considered Four Olds so they were vandalized and torn down. The economy declined because the workers were called into political rallys or taken in for political confession classes so often that not much work got done. Lastly, I learned how the revolution ended. The Cultural Revolution did not end until Chairman Mao died on September 9, 1976 He died from Parkinson’s disease. After his death, his wife was jailed forever because of her involvement in the revolution. Hua Guofeng and Deng Xiaoping took power after Chairman Mao’s

death.
Something from the book that I didn’t understand was the reasoning behind the Four Olds. What was wrong with the old customs, old culture, old habits, and olds ideas? Was it because they wanted to keep up with other countries culture? Or did Chairman Mao just not like the old customs, culture, habits, and ideas. Also, were there written rules that specified the Four Olds and if there were any exceptions? I also did not understand if Ji-li’s father was a landlord or not. After the letter was found they told her mother that she had to register as a landlord’s wife but they did not say outright if he was a landlord or not.
I neither liked nor disliked the book Red Scarf Girl. I did find the book interesting at times and also boring at others. For the most part, the book was interesting because of all the changes that were happening in Ji-li’s life. At times, the book could be kind of slow and annoying to read. For example, when she would talk about middle school, when she was at school, and when she was painting the picture of Chairman Mao.
I did think that the characters in the book Red Scarf Girl were believable. The book was a memoir so the characters were real. The information was accurate too. Ji-li experienced the cruelty of the Red Guards and higher classes which are described in books and online. The action and the dialogue was fast moving at some parts and slower at others. The action and dialogue was fastest at the end when the Red Guards were looking for the letter. The dialogue was the slowest in the beginning of the book when she was in school. I did learn new information about the Cultural Revolution in the book. I learned about da-zi-bao and how it was used to humiliate other people of lower class or people who disrespected Mao. I also learned that the youth wore red scarves during the Cultural Revolution to signify the blood of the people that died for the revolution.