Theme - Red Scarf Girl

In the story of the "Red Scarf Girl," the title indicates that Ji-Li was a girl who followed Chairman Mao because she was brainwashed. The red scarf signifies the communist party in China and how it got hold of her life. The red scarf is tied to Ji-Li and she is to it. This shows suffocation because of her family background. She is stifled in her own thoughts. Ji-Li Jiang later realizes that her family was really important: more than anything else. She was the kind of girl who thought her life was perfect, and was prideful. However, she later realizes that becoming a Red Guard and being a follower of Chairman Mao was meaningless. An important statement made in the story is: "Heaven and earth are great, but greater still is the kindness of the Communist Party; father and mother are dear, but dearer still is Chairman Mao." pg. 1. This quote is actually written and acknowledged by Ji-Li, but later in the last chapter and the epilogue, it reveals to the audience that Ji-Li was actually writing the whole story against this quote. In this book, the theme is directly stated in page 263. The theme is very long, so this is the theme in our own words that my literary circle came up with: Ji-Li Jiang's "Red Scarf Girl" about the Cultural Revolution, the theme reveals that in whatever circumstances, we should always have the courage to show compassion to our values. Also, another theme related to the previous one is this: We should always know and keep to our values, no matter the situation and whatever the cost may be. I think that this book reveals a precious theme in which everyone should know about.