Character Clues

Character Analysis

Names

Before we learn anything about Ji-li, she tells us what her name means, so we know it must be important. She explains to us: "Carefully, my parents chose my name: Ji-li, meaning lucky and beautiful. They hoped that I would be the happiest girl in the world" (P.2). Sure enough, for the most part, Ji-li feels happy and lucky—score—but then the Cultural Revolution starts. Her name sets us up to appreciate just how much her fortunes change due to the Revolution.

Ji-li's classmates make a big stink about names, too. When Ji-li calls someone "pauper" out of habit, she's scolded—big time. It's not cool to point out that someone is poor, especially during the Cultural Revolution, where everything is about equality. Oops.

In this book, people use names to figure out who people are, what will happen in their lives, and what class they come from. That's a lot of pressure on a name.

Social Status

Time and again, people are judged by their class status in the book. For a society that wants to make everyone equal, this sure seems unfair. Ji-li is treated badly because her grandpa was rich, and her classmates ask about everyone's class status in order to judge them. Check out what one of her classmates tells everyone:

"My class status is office worker. But before Liberation my father used to be an apprentice. He had to work at the shop counter when he was in his teens, and he suffered all kinds of exploitation by the owner. My father is a member of the Communist Party now, and my mother will join pretty soon." (4.22)

Clearly social status is majorly important in the book. It helps us figure out who gets Ji-li's pain, and who is helping cause it. Even though Ji-li doesn't do anything wrong, people treat her like scum because her grandpa was a landlord, assuming he was filthy rich and exploited people. Someone's social class becomes important in the book because it helps us know whether that person will be valued or knocked down a few pegs by everyone else in society. For once, it pays to be poor.