Red Scarf Girl Themes

As Ji-li Jiang realizes from a young age, the Chinese Communist Party demands absolute devotion and conformity from Chinese society—one of its maxims says that Chairman Mao should be dearer to a person than their own father and mother. Ji-li works to conform herself to Party ideology in ways that include lecturing her admired and beloved Grandma about the evils of superstition and by rejecting her own bourgeois decadence through manual labor. But the Cultural…

Ji-li Jiang lives in a rigidly hierarchal society. The class system the Chinese Communist Party puts in place is just as rigid as the one from which it allegedly freed the Chinese people—only now working-class laborers and those who show Party allegiance are on top instead of wealthy people. Thus, because Ji-li’s grandfather was a landlord and her dad resigned from the Party, she belongs to the black class—the lowest rank. In contrast, her classmates…

During the upheaval of China’s Cultural Revolution, Ji-li Jiang quickly learns that conformity with Chinese Communist Party ideology confers safety. On the other hand, expressions of independent thought or individual identity lead to persecution and violence. The Party initiates many campaigns designed to quash unique expression. It declares flashy or foreign clothing fashions Four Olds and punishes those caught wearing them. It prohibits the use of competitive entrance exams for schools, arguing that such…

Before the Cultural Revolution, Ji-li works hard to excel in school. She judges success by her grades, which she thinks will eventually launch her into a successful career as a doctor, architect, or actress. But when the Party reorganizes the entire educational system, Ji-li’s life falls apart, her bright future dims, and she must redefine success to survive in this harsh new world. When Grandma gets sick, Ji-li takes over the daily market run…