Red Scarf Girl SSR Project
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Red Scarf Girl is a book written by Ji-li Jiang. It talks about a young girl's experiences during the Cultural Revolution of China. It is in the memoir genre.
The main character, Jiang Ji Li, is a 12 year old girl. She and her family have to survive the hardships of The Cultural Revolution. Her family is considered a Black Family, because her grandfather was a landlord. Ji li has many friends and enemies.
Jiang Ji li is a real person. She grew up, moved to the U.S., and began to learn English. When she finally spoke fluent English, she started writing her book. She called it 'Red Scarf Girl'.
Contents |
Vocab
Glorious Cultural Revolution
- Occurs on page 1 and throughout the book
- "We thanked heaven that Chairman Mao had started this Cultural Revolution, and that the Central Committee of the Communist Party had uncovered this mess in our schools." Ji-Li, page 38
The Book's Glossary
The social and political upheaval that overtook China from 1966 to 1976. During this time many innocent people were ruthlessly persecuted. The Cultural Revolution was launched by Chairman Mao to rid the country of any anti-Communist influences. Long afterward it was revealed that Chairman Mao had unleashed this chaos in order to protect his own political position.
Answers.com
Encarta Dictionary
Cul·tur·al Rev·o·lu·tion -noun
reform movement in China in 1960s: a political and cultural reform movement in the People's Republic of China from 1965 to 1968 that was intended to revolutionize political opinion and behavior. It was characterized by social upheaval. The Red Guard played a prominent role in the movement, which was aimed at restoring principles associated with Mao Zedong.
Wikipedia
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (无产阶级文化大革命) often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wénhuà dà gémìng, literally "Great Cultural Revolution", or even simpler, to 文革 wéngé, "Cultural Revolution") in the People's Republic of China was a struggle for power within the Communist Party of China, which grew to include large sections of Chinese society and eventually brought the People's Republic of China to the brink of civil war. It was launched by Communist Party of China Chairman Mao Zedong on May 16, 1966 to regain control of the party after the disasters of the Great Leap Forward led to a significant loss of his power to rivals such as Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. Though Mao himself officially declared the Cultural Revolution to have ended in 1969, the term is today widely used to also include the period between 1969 and the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976.
Between 1966 and 1968, Mao's principal lieutenants, Vice-Chairman Lin Biao and Mao's wife Jiang Qing, acting on his instructions, organized a mass youth militia called the Red Guards to overthrow Mao's enemies and seize control of the state apparatus. In the chaos and violence that ensued, millions died and millions more were injured or imprisoned.
The official historical view of the Communist Party of China on the Cultural Revolution and Mao's role within it is incorporated in the Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China' adopted on June 27, 1981. In this document, it is stated that "Chief responsibility for the grave `Left' error of the `cultural revolution,' an error comprehensive in magnitude and protracted in duration, does indeed lie with Comrade Mao Zedong" and that the Cultural Revolution was carried out "under the mistaken leadership of Mao Zedong who was used by the counterrevolutionaries Lin Biao and Jiang Qing and brought serious disaster and turmoil to the Party and the Chinese people." This official view, which has since become the dominant framework for the Chinese historiography of the Cultural Revolution, separates the personal actions of Mao during the Cultural Revolution from his earlier heroism as well as separates the Mao's personal mistakes from the correctness of the theory that he created.
The Cultural Revolution remains a sensitive issue within the People's Republic of China. While there is little censorship of descriptions of events of the Cultural Revolution, historical views which run counter to the version outlined in the 1981 Resolution, either by suggesting that the Cultural Revolution was a good thing or that Mao was more or less culpable than the official history indicates are routinely censored.
communism
- Occurs on page 1 and throughout the book
- "We thanked heaven that Chairman Mao had started this Cultural Revolution, and that the Central Committee of the Communist Party had uncovered this mess in our schools." Ji-Li, page 38
The Book's Glossary
An economic system in which all means of production, such as land and natural resources are owned by the entire community and used for the good of all its members.
Answers.com
Encarta Dictionary
com·mu·nism [ kómmyə nìzzəm ] -noun
classless political system: the political theory or system in which all property and wealth is owned in a classless society by all the members of that society
[Mid-19th century. < French communisme < commun "common" < Latin communis]
Wikipedia
Communism is an ideology that seeks to establish a future classless, stateless social organization, based upon common ownership of the means of production. It can be classified as a branch of the broader socialist movement. Early forms of human social organization have been described as 'primitive communism' by Marxists. However, communism as a council communism, Luxemburgism, anarchist communism, Christian communism, and various currents of left communism, which are generally the more widespread varieties. However, various offshoots of the Soviet (what critics call the 'Stalinist') and Maoist interpretations of Marxism-Leninism comprise a particular branch of communism that has the distinction of having been the primary driving force for communism in world politics during most of the 20th century. The competing branch of Trotskyism has not had such a distinction.
Karl Marx held that society could not be transformed from the capitalist mode of production to the communist mode of production all at once, but required a transitional period which Marx described as the revolutionary dictatorship of the proletariat. The communist society Marx envisioned emerging from capitalism has never been implemented, and it remains theoretical; Marx, in fact, commented very little on what communist society would actually look like. However, the term 'Communism', especially when it is capitalized, is often used to refer to the political and economic regimes under communist parties that claimed to embody the dictatorship of the proletariat.
Chairman Mao
- Occurs on page 3 and throughout the book
- "Anyone who sees Chairman Mao is the happiest person in the world." Chinese saying, page 107
The Book's Glossary
(1893-1976) Tyhe chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and leader of China from 1949 to 1976. Formally spelled Mao Tse-tung.
Answers.com
Wikipedia
Mao Zedong (December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976) (毛澤東) was a Chinese Marxist military and political leader, who led the Chinese Communist Party to victory against the Kuomintang (KMT) in the Chinese Civil War, leading to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949 in Beijing.
Mao pursued the ideal of a strong, prosperous and socially egalitarian China, endeavoring to build a modern, industrialized, socialist nation. However, the failings of Mao's most significant socio-political programs — including the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution — have been widely criticized. Mao is a controversial figure today. While officially held in high regard in China, he is today rarely mentioned by the government, whose policies have diverged greatly from those of Mao. Maoists around the world look to Mao as a great revolutionary leader whose thought is the highest expression of Marxism. Many of his detractors however accuse him of having been a mass-murderer, holding his leadership accountable for the deaths of tens of millions of Chinese.
Red Guards
- Occurs on page 133 and throughout the book
- "The Red Guards are going to search your home in passing!" Six-Fingers, page 133
The Book's Glossary
During the Cultural Revolution a very popular, semiformal organization of high school and college students who were from "red" family backgrounds or who, though not "red" had proven themselves to be revolutionaries. They were Chairman Mao’s loyal supporters and pioneers of the Cultural Revolution.
Answers.com
Encarta Dictionary
Red Guard (plural Red Guards) -noun
- Chinese Communist youth movement: the 1960s Chinese Communist youth movement that attempted to bring about the Cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong
- young Chinese Communist: a member of the Red Guard
Wikipedia
In the People's Republic of China, Red Guards (红卫兵) were a mass movement of civilians, mostly students and other young people, who were mobilised by Mao Zedong and his allies to defeat their enemies within the struggle for power officially called the Cultural Revolution, between 1966 and 1976.
Initially under the control of the Cultural Revolution Group within the Communist Party leadership, led by Mao's principal allies, Vice-Chairman Lin Biao and Mao's wife Jiang Qing, the Red Guards soon got out of control and divided into many factions, some of which fought against each other, bringing the country to the brink of civil war by 1969. The Red Guards nevertheless achieved Mao's objectives of removing from power other leaders within the Chinese Communist Party (who were viewed as trying to take China back to capitalism). Particularly, it removed leaders such as Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping along with thousands of others, by a process of revolutionary mass movement.
Many young Chinese were enthusiastic about the prospect of "being politically influential at such a young age." With Little Red Books in their hands, squads of Red Guards formed and began to go from house to house looking for potential elements of corruption, which sometimes included teachers, relatives, and then their own families. The accusations against their opponents sometimes became ridiculous as well. Punishments could be exceptionally cruel. The number of people who perished during the period was estimated by some to be in the millions.
There were cases where particular members would start by targeting their parents (Pavlik Morozov-style) in order to demonstrate uncompromising fairness and absolute obedience to Mao. Then others were required to measure up or even surpass these efforts, resulting in a vicious cycle of competition.
Young Pioneers
- Occurs on page 3 and throughout the book
- "We are the Young Pioneers, successors to Communism. Our red scarves flutter on our chest." Young Pioneer Song, page 3
The Book's Glossary
A primary-school group that included most children in every school. Approved by the school committee, membership in the Young Pioneers was intended toward eventual membership in the Communist Party.
Answers.com
Wikipedia
The Young Pioneers of China (中国少年先锋队) is a mass youth organization for children in the People's Republic of China. The YP of China is run by the Communist Youth League, an organization of older youth that comes under the Communist Party of China. The YP of China is similar to Pioneer Movements that exist or existed in many Communist countries around the world.
da-dui-zhang
- Occurs on page 9 and throughout the book
- "I was an Outstanding Student, an Excellent Young Pioneer, and even the da-dui-zhang, the student chairman of the whole school." Ji-Li, page 9
Answers.com
The Book's Glossary
In a Chinese elementary school, the student chairman of the entire school, roughly equivalent to the Student Council president in an American school.
Zeno's Paradox
- Occurs on page 13
- "... [Dad] explained Zeno's paradox and the infinite series. We thought Dad knew everything." Ji-Li, page 13
Answers.com
Wikipedia
Zeno's paradoxes are a set of paradoxes devised by Zeno of Elea to support Parmenides' doctrine that "all is one" and that contrary to the evidence of our senses, the belief in plurality and change is mistaken, and in particular that motion is nothing but an illusion.
Several of Zeno's eight surviving paradoxes (preserved in Aristotle's Physics and Simplicius's commentary thereon) are essentially equivalent to one another; and most of them were regarded, even in ancient times, as very easy to refute. Three of the strongest and most famous—that of Achilles and the tortoise, the dichotomy argument, and that of an arrow in flight—are given here.
Zeno's arguments are perhaps the first examples of a method of proof called reductio ad absurdum also known as proof by contradiction. They are also credited as a source of the dialectic method used by Socrates.
Zeno's paradoxes were a major problem for ancient and medieval philosophers, who found most proposed solutions somewhat unsatisfactory. More modern solutions using calculus have generally satisfied mathematicians and engineers. Many philosophers still hesitate to say that all paradoxes are completely solved, while pointing out also that attempts to deal with the paradoxes have resulted in many intellectual discoveries. Variations on the paradoxes (see Thomson's lamp) continue to produce at least temporary puzzlement in elucidating what, if anything, is wrong with the argument.
salon (party)
- Occurs on page 16
- "They called these meeting Jiang's salon." Ji-Li, page 16
Answers.com
Encarta Dictionary
sa·lon [ sə lón, sa láwN ] (plural sa·lons) -noun
- grand sitting room: an elegantly furnished room in a large house where guests are received and entertained
- social gathering of intellectuals: a regular gathering of prominent people from the worlds of literature, art, music, or politics, especially one held at the home of a wealthy woman. Salons were especially popular in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
- place for hairdressing or beauty treatments: a commercial establishment where hairdressers or beauticians work, sometimes part of a larger store or a hotel
- expensive clothes shop: a shop selling elegant or fashionable women's clothes, especially expensive designer clothes
- art exhibition or gallery: an art exhibition, especially one devoted to the work of living artists, or the hall in which the exhibits are displayed
[Late 17th century. Via French < Italian salone "large hall" < sala "hall" < Germanic]
Wikipedia
- For other uses see salon.
A salon is a gathering of stimulating people of quality under the roof of an inspiring hostess or host, partly to amuse one another and partly to refine their taste and increase their knowledge through conversation and readings, often consciously following Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "to please and educate" (aut delectare aut prodesse est). The salons, commonly associated with French literary and philosophical salons of the 17th century and 18th century, were carried on until quite recently in urban settings among like-minded people of a 'set': many 20th-century salons could be instanced.
The word salon first appears in French in 1664 (from the Italian word sala, used to designate the large reception hall of Italian mansions). Literary gatherings before this were often referred to by using the name of the room in which they occurred, like cabinet, réduit, ruelle and alcôve. Before the end of the 17th century, these gatherings were frequently held in the bedroom (treated as a more private form of drawing room): a lady, reclining on her bed, would receive close friends who would sit on chairs or stools drawn around (this practice is even found with Louis XIV's petit levée). The expression ruelle, literally meaning "little street", designates the space between a bed and the wall in a bedroom, and more generally the entire bedroom; it was used commonly to designate the gatherings of the "précieuses", the intellectual and literary circles that formed around women in the first half of the 17th century, whose affectations were ridiculed by Molière.
detrimentally
- Occurs on page 30
- "What's more is that they are detrimental to the revolution, so we must oppose them resolutely." Red Guard, page 30
Answers.com
Encarta Dictionary
det·ri·men·tal [ dèttri mént'l ] -adjective
harmful: causing damage, harm, or disadvantage
- det·ri·men·tal·ly adverb
da-zi-bao
- Occurs on page 39 and throughout the book
- "All students were directed instead to participate in the movement by writing big posters, da-zi-bao, criticizing the educational system." Ji-Li, page 38
The Book's Glossary
A form of propaganda in the form of a large handwritten poster presenting an important issue. During the Cultural Revolution, da-zi-bao were used to attack and humiliate people.
Answers.com
Ménière's disease
- Occurs on page 180
- "She was having an attack of Ménière's disease." Ji-Li, page 180
Answers.com
Encarta Dictionary
Mén·i·ère's dis·ease [ màyn yérz di zz ] or Mén·i·ère's syn·drome -noun
ear disorder: a disorder caused by an accumulation of fluid in the labyrinths of the inner ear. Symptoms include vertigo, persistent ringing in the ears, and some loss of hearing.
[Late 19th century. After Prosper Ménière (1799-1862), French physician]
Wikipedia
Ménière's disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can affect hearing and balance. It is characterized by episodes of dizziness and tinnitus and progressive hearing loss, usually in one ear. It is caused by an increase in volume and pressure of the endolymph of the inner ear. It is named after the French physician Prosper Ménière, who first reported that vertigo was caused by inner ear disorders in an article published in 1861.
yuan
- Occurs on page 84
- "They said she had hundreds of thousands of yuan in the bank." Ji-Li, page 84
The Book's Glossary
The Chinese "dollar." During the Cultural Revolution the official value of a Yuan was about one third of a US dollar.
Answers.com
Encarta Dictionary
yu·an [ yoo n ] (plural yu·an) -noun
unit of Chinese currency: the main unit of currency in China, worth 10 jiao
[Early 20th century. < Chinese yuán "round"]
Wikipedia
The yuan (everyday use: 元; 圓; 圆; 元; yuen; literally "round") is, in the Chinese language, the base unit of a currency; for example, the US dollar is Meiyuan (美元). However, in an international context, yuan refers to the base unit of various Chinese currencies, including the renminbi (CNY) and the New Taiwan dollar (TWD). The English pronunciation of yuan is sometimes /ju:'æn/ (two syllables), although in Chinese the word is one syllable and pronounced closer to the English pronunciation of "yen." In some parts of China, it is colloquially known as the kuai (块). The Hong Kong dollar and Macanese pataca are also written as yuan in Chinese. The Japanese yen uses the same Chinese character and comes from the same origin as the Chinese yuan (albeit different simplified form since World War II).
One yuan is divided into 10 jiao (角) or colloquially mao (毛). One jiao is divided into 10 fen (分). In Cantonese, widely spoken in Hong Kong and Macau, jiao and fen are called ho (毫) and sin (仙). "Sin" is a word borrowed into Cantonese from the English "cent".
Shop prices in mainland China and Taiwan are usually marked with 元 after the digits. In mainland China, ¥ (a Y with two crossbars) before the digits is also common.
Vocab Practice
1. The leader of China during Ji-Li's youth.
Answer
Chairman Mao
2. The student group which Ji-Li is a member of in the beginning of the book.
Answer
Young Pioneers
3. An intellectual party or gathering.
Answer
Salon
4. Propaganda posters used to attack and humiliate people.
Answer
da-zi-bao
5. The economic system in China during ji-Li's time.
Answer
communism
6. Apparently true statement which can not be true.
Answer
Zeno's paradox
7. harmful: causing damage, harm, or disadvantage
Answer
detrimentally
8. A disorder caused by an accumulation of fluid in the labyrinths of the inner ear.
Answer
Ménière's disease
9. The student chairman of the school.
Answer
the da-dui-zhang
10. Chinese money.
Answer
yuan
Summary
Ji-Li Jiang survived red China's Glorious Cultural Revolution; possibly Chairman Mao's biggest mistake. Ji-Li's world is turned upside down by the insatiable quest of her peers to eradicate the four-olds from society. Old ideas, old customs, old culture, and old habits are holding back China from its strong socialist future. Pants with legs narrower than 9 inches were just cut off on the streets. Pointed shoes were considered taboo. The Good Fortune Photo Studio was too èlite; it was renamed the Proletarian Photo Studio. Profit making and capitalism were strictly forbidden and frowned upon. Ji-Li suffers because her grandpa was a landowner. Land owners were seen as exploitative of the lower class. For 12 years, Ji-Li lived a comfortable life in a mid-sized apartment. But now, any inequality in wealth between people must be removed. Ji-Li is forced to avoid her somewhat-affluent past. Ji-Li's father and mother fire their servant, burn their decorative clothes, and repaint their mahogany furniture. They know that the Red Guards are on the patrol for rouge citizens who do not remold their ideologies and extinguish their former wealth.
Ironically, the guards leading the way are no other then Ji-Li's peers. Those that did not do well at school, now discover their power as members of the Young Pioneers. Ji-Li, a straight honor student, must cope with the reversal of power in the classroom. The students rebel against the teachers, driving them out of school and eroding the typical respect they had for their elders. They even go as far as accusing the teachers of poisoning their minds. For example, they had corrupted a young revolutionary by buying him bread when he did not have a lunch. Ji-Li, as an honor student, is saddened and tries to support the teachers. Her position is frowned upon by her friends. But when the students accuse her of a relationship with a male teacher, Ji-Li fears for her personal safety, and tries to distance herself from the rest of the group, leaving her open to even more accusations of being a counterrevolutionary.
Being a counterrevolutionary was dealt with very harshly and fiercely during Ji-Li's time. Groups of people went around ransacking homes and searching people in the streets to try and find any evidence of resisting Chairman Mao and his cultural revolution. Unfortunately, there were not actually very many people plotting against the government, if any in Ji-Li's town. Therefore they accuse people of treason for even the smallest of crimes. A trash man is arrested for accidentally tearing a picture of Chairman Mao while removing scrap papers.
Ji-Li's life is also made hard because she has landlord grandparents. The Red Guards want Ji-Li to break all ties with her family and become a new person. Ji-Li is torn between the family she loves and her future in politics. The decision is easy for some students in her class. But when Ji-Li's father is arrested for interrogation, Ji-Li must make the big decision affecting her entire future. Does she renounce and accuse her father of crimes that he did not commit, or should she seal her fate as a counterrevolutionary forever, thereby subjecting her to forced labor and "study" sessions for the rest of her life?
Questions
1. Who has a crush on Ji-Li?
Answer
Bai Shan (around page 237)
2. Is Ji-Li's family black, neutral, or red?
Answer
Black - their landlord past, writing the letter, and the fact that they were searched many times supports the fact that they were not considered red
3. What is Ji-Li's father detained by his work unit for?
Answer
Answers include:
- listening to foreign radio
- being a member of a landlord family (being "black")
- making serious mistakes during the Anti-Rightist movement (page 224)
4. What is the name of the Jiang's former housekeeper?
Answer
Song Po-po
5. What is the Good Fortune Photo Shop is renamed to?
- a. The Proletarian Photo Shop
- b. The Photo Shop n' Snap
- c. The Bourgeois Photo Store
- d. Ritz Cameras
Answer
a. The Proletarian Photo Shop
6. Why were land owners looked down upon?
Answer
During China's communist era, land owners were looked down upon. In fact any rich people were persecuted because having money and wealth was the opposite of communism. One of communism’s central ideas is to spread around the wealth equally to all of the people. Wealthy people were assumed to have exploited the heavy labors of the working class for their own personal gains. In addition, the wealthy could organize and attempt to overthrow Chairman Mao. That, however, must be avoided at all costs!
7. Why did Ji-Li not break with her family and insure her future?
Answer
Ji-Li could not renounce her family because she loved them too much. Her love and dedication for them prevents her from changing her name. She knows that if she is still associated with the “Half-City Jiangs” her possible political career will go up in smoke. This is confirmed when she is replaced from the Class Exhibition for not cooperation (228). In addition, Ji-Li does not want to testify against her father because she honestly believes her father did nothing wrong (226). Her family did go along with the revolution by getting rid of four-olds, but was still persecuted.
8. What were some of the differences between what the Cultural Revolution was suppose to do and what it did?
Answer
Much later after the Cultural Revolution ended, it was revealed that the entire Cultural Revolution was just a big ploy by Mao Zedong to stay in power. In addition, the raids, especially in Ji-Li’s town were just ridiculous. The Cultural Revolution seemed pretty successful in removing four-olds from society. Tragically, Mao managed to erase much of China’s rich history to protect the superiority of socialism as it was failing.
9. Why did the non-studious students rise to control in the Red Guard?
Answer
The students who previously floundered along in school became the leaders of the Red Guard. They discover power and influence. They finally can feel as if they are doing something right. This angers Ji-Li who previously tutored some of these students. They are now turning on her exposing her “black” class status. Before they were denied and put down, but now they are using that anger of oppression to get back at Ji-Li.
10. At the end of the book, how has Ji-Li changed?
Answer
At the end of the book, Ji-Li’s life is very different then it was when she started. She has aged a few years but lost a lot. Her hopes of a big political career get carried away by the Red Guards, along with most of her family’s positions and wealth. By the end of the book Ji-Li is left will little more then a few sticks of furniture. Her memories, heirlooms, and cultures were swept away by insatiable quest to eradicate four-olds in the guise of making a strong socialist state.
Literary Elements
Exposition
Wikipedia
Exposition, plot dump, or info dump is a term used by the movie and television industries to describe a plot device by which critical elements of the plot, often involving the back-story, are not depicted directly but are instead elaborated in dialogue by one of the characters or by a narrator. In written fiction, the term is additionally used to indicate giving information by exposition rather than revelation through action and dialogue; if such passages are well-written and intriguing, they may be described as "info-dumping" with no pejorative intent. This method has long been used in classic drama and modern productions where the plot is the consequence of preceding events that would either weigh down the production or would reveal too much, spoiling the mystery. Exposition is also necessary in some dramas since it is can be from the point of view and perception of a character, and may or may not accurately reveal the facts.
A stereotypical and exaggerated example of inferior plot dump would be:
- Joe: Who's at the door?
- Mary: Oh, it's my uncle, who was released from prison yesterday after serving ten years for stealing the family jewels from this very house, although the jewels themselves have never been found and are rumored to be buried in a secret chamber guarded by the ghost of my late grandmother.
On pages 13 trough 17, Ji-Li sets up the back story (exposition) by explaining the characters and her life before the auditions. She dumps out about 5 pages of information that helps readers throughout the story. Also what’s interesting is that she starts and ends similarly. On page 13, she starts with, "Until that spring I believed that my life and my family were nearly perfect." Five pages latter, she ends with "Until that audition, I felt like the luckiest girl in the world."
Point of View
Wikipedia
In literature and storytelling, a point of view is the related experience of the narrator — not that of the author. Authors expressly cannot, in fiction, insert or inject their own voice, as this challenges the suspension of disbelief. Texts encourage the reader to identify with the narrator, not with the author.
Literary narration can occur from the first-person, or third-person point of view. In a novel, the first person is commonly used: "I saw, We did,", etc. In an encyclopedia or textbook narrators often work in the third-person: "that happened, the king died", etc. For additional vagueness, imprecision, and detachment, some writers employ the passive voice: "it is said that the president was compelled to be heard...".
The Point of View (POV) in Red Scarf Girl is first person. That means that everything is explained from one persons point of view, Ji-Li's. No other points of view can be directly represented, such as with a third person omniscient narrator.
Conflict
Wikipedia
Man versus Himself is the theme in literature that places a character against his own will, his own confusion, or his own fears, man versus himself can also be where a character tries to find out who they are or comes to a realization or a change in character. The character can be influenced by external forces. The struggle of the human being to come to a decision is the basis of Man vs. Himself.
Contrast with Man vs. Man and Man vs. Nature
See also: Conflict (narrative) for a list of narrative conflicts.
The climax of the book occurs when Ji-Li is forced to make a tough decision. Her father is being detained for crimes which Ji-Li believes he did not commit. However, the accusers will not accept this for an answer. If she refuses to tell them what they want to hear, she will be forced to suffer for the rest of her life. She will be marked as a counterrevolutionary and all privileges will be taken from her. However, if she accuses her father, she will be invited to join the political elite. Ji-Li is involved in a Man-vs.-Self conflict.
Characterization
Wikipedia
Characterization is the process of creating characters in fiction, often those who are different from and have different beliefs than the author. A writer can assume the point of view of a child, an older person, a member of the opposite gender, someone of another race or culture, or anyone who isn't like them in personality or otherwise.
Thorough characterization makes characters well-rounded and complex even though the writer may not be like the character or share his or her attitudes and beliefs. This allows for a sense of realism. For example, according to F.R. Leavis, Leo Tolstoy was the creator of some of the most complex and psychologically believable characters in fiction.
Characterization can involve developing a variety of aspects of a character, such as appearance, age, gender, educational level, vocation or occupation, financial status, marital status, social status, hobbies, religious beliefs, ambitions, motivations, etc. According to the Shreklisch Onion Layer Model, the psychological makeup of a fully developed storybook character involves fears, emotions, back-story, issues, beliefs, practices, desires, and intentions. Often these can be shown through the actions and language of the character, rather than by telling the reader directly.
Ji-Li is a round character. She changes as the book progresses. She starts out as a political star, seeing nothing wrong with the system in China. However, by the end, she finds out about her troubled past and the negatives of the Cultural Revolution. She comes to value her family more as she chooses them over the promises of being a "red" child.
Symbolism
Wikipedia
Symbolism is the systematic or creative use of arbitrary symbols as abstracted representations of concepts or objects and the distinct relationships in between, as they define both context and the narrower definition of terms. In a narrow context, "symbolism" is the applied use of any iconic representations which carry particular conventional meanings.
The term "symbolism" is often limited to use in contrast to "representationalism"; defining the general directions of a linear spectrum wherein all symbolic concepts can be viewed in relation, and where changes in context may imply systemic changes to individual and collective definitions of symbols. "Symbolism" may refer to a way of choosing representative symbols inline with abstract rather than literal properties, allowing for the broader interpretation of a carried meaning than more literal concept-representations allow.
All forms of language are innately symbolic, and any system of symbols can form a "language;" at the minimum using only two arbitrary symbols in a binary system. Human language is based in the use of phonemes as representative symbols, and the analogous written forms are typically deferential to the phoneme. The written word is therefore symbolically representative of both the symbolic phoneme and directly to the cognitive concept which it represents. The field of cognitive linguistics explores the cognitive process and relationships between different systems of phonetic symbols to indicate deeper processes of symbolic cognition. Many cultures have developed complex symbolic systems, often referred to as a symbolic system which assign certain attributes to specific things, such as types of animals, plants or weather.
Chairman Mao states that the four olds of society are symbols of old China. He states that these symbols are holding China back from its strong socialist future. These symbols of the past must be irradiated to insure a bright, red future for China.
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