An insight reflector is a strategy used to facilitate personal reflection, consider new perspectives and to promote reflective writing. Red Scarf Girl is a book that challenges us on many levels. It especially makes us think about various situations where Ji Li is torn between thinking of herself and her loyalty to her country and beliefs and thinking about her family. At various times, you will return to this page and reflect on events in the book. You will also have to consider what you might have done if put in similar situations. Copy and paste the prompt for each situation into Word. You can email or hand your final reflections in on a disk. Refer to the rubric at the bottom of this page for how I will evaluate this assignment.
In “A Search in Passing”, the Red Guards ransack Ji Li’s house and go through her personal things. They also state “Leniency for confession, severity for resistance.” Reflect on this quote. What does it mean to you? What are its implications? If this policy was used in American schools and by the American police, what might this cause?
Now read the article linked below.
RW
ONLINE: the Red Guards: Hong Wei Bing
Does this article paint the Red Guards the same as in the Red Scarf Girl? Why might the perspective be different?
Fate?: Fate (pages 138 – 155)
In the chapter “Fate” Ji Li sees her Aunt Xi-wen fall while sweeping the alley. Her own son passes her by without helping her up. At the end of the chapter, Ji Li reflects about the times with An Yi “I saw her mother clinging to the high chimney. I shivered. I saw her grandma standing by the window in her black clothes; Old Qian, collapsed at the foot of the propaganda wall; Xiao-cheng’s father, arms wrenched behind his back; Ming-ming’s father, dangling in the air, his tongue dangling out of his bruised, purple face.” The girls determine that fate is responsible for all this. What do you think about the idea of fate? The girls try to predict the future. What would you and your friends do in response to all these terrible events?
An Educable Child: Junior High School at Last, Locked Up,
An Educable Child, Half-City Jiangs (pages 156 – 217)
In these chapters, Ji Li returns to school to find it much changed. Then her father is locked up. When she tries to visit him, a foreman sits her down and explains that she is different from her parents: “You can choose your own destiny: You can make a clean break with your parents and follow Chairman Mao, and have a bright future; or you can follow her parents, and then…you will not come to a good end.” Later her teacher echoes this and calls her “an educable child”, meaning she has the chance to overcome her family background. After her family is publicly denounced in the paper, Ji Li tries to change her name but stops at the last minute. What makes Ji Li change her mind? What would you have done in her place? Would you choose to make your dreams come true even if it meant a permanent break from your family?
Consequences: The Class Education Exhibition, The Rice
Harvest, The Incriminating Letter, Sweeping
What are some of the consequences Ji Li faces because she refuses to denounce her family or incriminate her parents? What happens to her family when the Dictatorship Group comes to her house? Review the Bill of Rights through the link below. How do the rights we have in the United States protect us from the types of actions Ji Li and her family faced? Now look at the Patriot Act. Could this have implications on our rights? What can we do to prevent a Cultural Revolution here in our country?
Conclusion
Epilogue: Author’s Purpose
In the epilogue, the author explains her purpose in writing Red Scarf Girl. Many students in America read this book now as a part of their curriculum. Do you feel that Ji Li is meeting her goal for writing this book? Were you surprised by Ji Li’s comments about her feelings toward Mao and the past?