Theme - Red Scarf Girl

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The autobiography Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang teaches readers a to help each other out in hard times. Even though many people in this story were struggling during this tough situation due to the Cultural Revolution, they were still trying to help out family and friends in times of need. For example, when Ji-Li forgot her Precious Red Book for the Morning Benediction, Sun Lin-Lin cleverly thought of a way to save Ji-Li. Lin-Lin gave Ji-Li her red book cover so that Ji-Li could pretend she brought her book and would not receive punishment. Also, Ji-Li helped out around the house, after they had to fire Song PoPo, by buying and cooking food for her family. Ji-Li also promised to take care of her two siblings no matter what happened since she couldn't bear allowing them to live with anyone else. In addition, even after being fired, Song PoPo continued to help the Jiang family sweep the floors and make soup since she knew they were having a hard time after Ji-Li's mother became sick and her father was detained. This book has taught me that even in difficult times, lending a helping hand to those in need is important to being a better person.

Plot - Red Scarf Girl

The Red Scarf Girl is an autobiography about Ji-Li Jiang's life during the Cultural Revolution in China. The exposition of this book is where Ji-Li talked about her life before the revolution. She lived with her grandmother, mother, father, sister, brother, and a housekeeper in one of the nicer neighborhoods of Shanghai. She excelled at studies and had hoped to lead a successful life. All this changed with the start of the Cultural Revolution, the rising action. It brought distress and torment to the family. They had to fire Song Po-Po, their housekeeper so that they wouldn't receive punishment for "exploiting" people. The family's political background also hurt them during the revolution. Ji-Li's grandfather was a landlord, and landlords were thought to be ruthless in that time. Because of that, she was taunted at school and her father did not allow her to audition for the Liberation Army Arts Academy. The climax of the story made her family suffer in many ways. There were two climaxes: one being when their house was ransacked and the other was when her father was detained. Their family seemed suspicious to the Red Guards, so their house was searched and the Red Guards took away anything that seemed “fourolds,” or traditional. Many of their clothes and prized possessions were seized or destroyed. Even though Ji-Li's father did not do any thing wrong, he was detained. It caused the family distress and made them worry. The falling action, or solution, has only happened to one of the climaxes. We learned that it was Uncle Zhu who made up a false story about Ji-Li’s father to get himself out of custody, and that was why Ji-Li’s father was detained. However, their family never regained possession of the belongings that were taken away from them during the search. Since the problem has not been solved, there has also been no resolution. Ji-Li and her family are still struggling during the revolution. It only seems that Ji-Li's life seems to be getting worse, as she has just gotten kicked out of the Revolutionary Commitee. I have not finished reading the autobiography yet, so I can not yet identify the theme fully. However, I believe part of the message is that if you believe in yourself and are persistent, you pull through hard times quite easily.

Main Character - Red Scarf Girl

The Red Scarf Girl is an autobiography by Ji-Li Jiang that talks about the Cultural Revolution in China, as far as I have read. She was struggling to keep up with revolution in this trying time. She was born on Chinese New Year, and her name was specially chosen, meaning lucky and beautiful. As a child, Ji-Li always excelled at studies, and she hoped to go to a good high school, good college, and have a successful life. However, when she was twelve years old, in sixth grade, the Cultural Revolution began and changed her life.

Because of Ji-Li's family's political background, it made life hard for her family during the Cultural Revolution. They were always targeted by "Red Guards," who were supporters of Chairman Mao, or the founder of the Cultural Revolution. Her grandfather was a landlord, and landlords were looked down upon since they were supposedly cruel and treated their subjects ruthlessly. At school, she was made fun of by classmates, especially three boys, once being Du-Hai, because of her landlord grandfather. Therefore, she sometimes wished her grandfather was never a landlord or that she never had any ties with him. Also, due to her family's political background, Ji-Li's father did not allow her to audition for a dance training class for the Central Liberation Army Arts Academy. When her house was ransacked, Ji-Li had her precious stamp collection taken away since it was considered "fourolds", or something that was traditional. It had taken her a long time and hard work to collect all her stamps.

Just like many other people, Ji-Li and her family were struggling to not be tortured and taunted during the Cultural Revolution.

*I have only read about halfway through the book. However, I believe that Ji-Li's opinion about Chairman Mao will reverse and she will turn against the Cultural Revolution and the new beliefs.

Setting - Red Scarf Girl

In the autobiography Red Scarf Girl, Ji-Li Jiang lived in China during the Cultural Revolution, which changed her life. She talks about her life during this time period, starting from 1966. Chairman Mao started the Cultural Revolution, which was changing the customs and traditions of the Chinese people. It could have possibly happened in other countries, but other country leaders did not choose to start this act. Ji-Li supported the act at first, but gradually, as the revolution continued she became less and less supportive, especially after a Da-Zi-Bao, which was a big public poster humiliating a person, was written about her.

People from all over China were following the Cultural Revolution and putting "new" customs in place of "old" Chinese traditions. Because of her political background, Ji-Li and her best friend, An-Yi, were often taunted by their classmates. She originally had hopes of going to good schools, but due to new rules, she must remain in the district and go to the same school as the classmates who always pick on her and make fun of her, even though she did nothing to harm them. In general however, Ji-Li seems to be less and less supportive of the Cultural Revolution; she is not as enthusiastic about it as she used to be.

Response Paraph - Theme: Scholarship Jacket

Marta is an eighth grade girl with a dream in the book The Scholarship Jacket, by Marta Salinas. Marta had a goal to get the scholarship jacket ever since her sister received it. The theme in this story is that you shouldn't let anything stand in your way. Growing up in a poor family was always hard for Marta since she couldn't participate in many school activities. This was her only chance to shine. She had been a straight A student since the beginning and looked forward to owning that jacket. However, just when she was about to get the scholarship jacket, you had to pay for it. Although her grandpa probably had enough money to pay for it, he refused to. He said that if you had to pay for a jacket, it wasn't a "scholarship" one anymore. Marta went up to the principal with a sad face and told him that her grandfather would not pay. The principal made an exception and Marta still ended up getting the scholarship jacket. Even though there was an obstacle on the way to getting her scholarship jacket, she didn't let anything stand in her way, not even that you had to pay money to get it. She kept walking along the path she thought was right and ended up reaching her goal. Even if there is something blocking your path, you shouldn't stop. Instead, you should keep fighting till you reach the end.

Response Paraph - Character: Jimmy Valentine

Jimmy Valentine's passion for robbing is shown in the story A Retrieved Reformation, but O. Henry. Even though he robbed many banks, he was a "dodger of retribution". Jimmy had a special suitcase filled with a complete set of burglar tools. They were made of tempered steel and had the latest designs, a few invented by Jimmy himself. Some of Jimmy's robbing habits were quick getaways, long jumps, and a taste for good society. However, when Jimmy goes to Elmore, a little town in Arkansas, he completely changes his business, from robbing to selling shoes. In only one year, he had won the respect of his community, his shoe store was flourishing, and he was engaged to the girl of his dreams, who was the daughter of the owner of "The Elmore Bank". However, when his fiance's sister's daughter was trapped in a stuffy safe, he could not resist the urge to break a safe again and took out his tools. He broke the bolts and opened the door, except this time, for a good cause, to save Agatha. After moving to Elmore and falling in love with Annabel, Jimmy went from a burglar to a well-respected man. He even added, "I wouldn't do another crooked thing for the whole world."

Literary Analysis (Walk Two Moons Ch. 35-44)

I think Gramps allowed Sal to drive to Lewiston all by herself since that's mainly what they came here to do, see their mother. Gramps knew that although Sal didn't want to leave Gram, she really wanted to go see her mother and wish her a happy birthday. Gramps wouldn't leave Gram at the hospital alone and Sal wanted to go to Lewiston to see her mom. It's a good thing Gramps taught Sal how to drive very carefully; she didn't have any problems on the road. I think Gramps made the right choice though, I would have done the same thing. I would have let Sal go by herself because I trust her and know that she really wants to go visit her mother. If I were Sal, I would have left and driven very carefully. Although I do not know how to drive a real car, I would have driven the car if I were Sal. I would have done anything just to see my mother again.

Since no one in the Winterbottom family knows when and why Mrs. Winterbottom is coming back, they all react differently. Phoebe is both mad and scared, probably since she knows that Mrs. Winterbottom is going to come bak with the "lunatic", Mike. Phoebe thinks that her mother is having an affair. Prudence, on the other hand, is very excited that her mother is actually coming home. I guess it's because she doesn't know as much as Phoebe. Mr. Winterbottom's reactions, however, are a mix of Phoebe's and Prudence's. He's scared and confused, yet happy.

Mrs. Partridge's visit with the girls shows that the messages in the white envelope were actually with good intentions. Mrs. Partridge had Mrs. Cadaver copy down the good quotes from the newspaper and put them into an envelope, which Mrs. Partridge then left on the front step of Phoebe's house. When Phoebe and Sal see that it was Mrs. Partridge leaving the messages, they know that it wasn't the "lunatic" trying to mess with the Winterbottom family. I think that the quotes were actually a good idea. However, I think Mrs. Partridge should have shown who it came from or that it had good meaning.

Literary Analysis (Walk Two Moons Ch. 19-36)

Phoebe's imagination is on the loose! She gets a little too creative on ideas for what could have happened to her mother. Even her sister and dad, who are also very curious about what happened to Mrs. Winterbottom, do not come up with ideas as far-fetched as that. If I were Phoebe, I might go a little crazy, but not as wacko as that! I might think something bad happened to my mom, maybe that she had to go away because of some personal business, but not because she got kidnapped. Prudence is kind of in a frenzy after Mrs. Winterbottom leaves while Mr. Winterbottom is a little hesistant and stressed out. Phoebe's father is right though, compared to everyone else and the facts, her imagination is running away from her. I completely agree with Mr. Winterbottom since if her mom was "kidnapped" she wouldn't have time to pack all those meals ahead of time and label them all. Mrs. Winterbottom wouldn't have had time to write a note for each person too. In general, I think Phoebe needs to take time to calm down and think everything over.

Sal, under the influence of Phoebe, was led to believe that Mrs. Cadaver murdered her husband and buried him in her backyard. One night, while Sal was having a sleepover at Phoebe's house, they saw Mr. Birkway and Mrs. Cadaver moving a rhododendron bush. Phoebe thought that Mrs. Cadaver was trying to cover up the area which she buried her husband and convinced Sal that that was true too. Phoebe convinced Sal that Mrs. Cadaver was a murderer. However, after visiting Mrs. Cadaver with her father, she also was mad at her for "taking her mother's place" in her dad's heart. After her mother left, only Mrs. Cadaver was able to put a smile on Sal's father's face. After hearing what really happened to Mr. Cadaver, Sal felt sorry for Mrs. Cadaver that such a terrible thing could have happened. This occurence completely changed not only Sal's viewpoint, but also Phoebe's viewpoint about Mrs. Cadaver.

Literary Analysis (Walk Two Moons Ch. 1-18)

Sal is rushing to Lewiston, Idaho to see her mother. She feels like she needs to get there on the day of the day of her mother's birthday. Sal feels like if she is there on her mother's birthday, she has a bigger chance of persuading her mother to come back. I agree with Sal's point of view: if there is any way to make her come back, asking her on her birthday would be the best choice. I probably would never survive without my mother, or my father. Her grandparents want to take her to Lewiston to see her Sal's mother, who was in Lewiston. I bet the grandparents were very anxious to go see their daughter again! Sal's dad was probably a tiny bit grateful for Sal to leave so he could be with Mrs. Cadaver. Sal didn't approve of Mrs. Cadaver very much, but I wouldn't either if I were her. It is very weird for a person to be named a word meaning "dead body". Sal's dad thought that her grandparents would behave much better if Sal went along. But, I bet Sal probably felt a little awkward being in a car with just her and her grandparents. I know I would.

The Winterbottom family is nothing like the Finney family. The Winterbottom is very civilized; I bet I wouldn't survive a minute in the Winterbottom family! Each Winterbottom keeps to themselves and always defends their family. The Finney family is very "social" and isn't as orderly as the Winterbottoms. Although I do always support my family, I am not used to being as civilized as the Winterbottoms. I like the freedom and fun-filled air at the Finney's place. Phoebe acts happy and proud of her family on the outside, but I think she envies the Finney family on the inside. Like Sal, I would much rather prefer living in the Finney family.