How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
I remembered primary school, the praises and the honors. But what had I gotten in the end? People were jealous because I was favored. I remembered the humiliating talk with the Red Successors, the terrible accusations of the da-zi-bao. Why should I go through that again? (13.91)
Ji-li learned the hard way how fickle friendships can be, and she worries this will happen again at her new school when people find out about her family history. This is all part of her struggle to figure out who she is. At first she tries to hide her class status from new people, but then she gradually learns to accept it.
Quote #8
"Now, you have to choose between two roads." Thin-Face looked straight into my eyes. "You can break with your family and follow Chairman Mao, or you can follow your father and become an enemy of the people." (14.38)
Sounds easy, right? Ji-li desperately wants to follow Mao, but that would make her a liar and a coward, and she just can't sleep at night being that kind of person. When she's asked to choose between her family and Mao, she knows it'll be a big decision, and it's one that will define who she is.
Quote #9
"You've got some nerve for a little black bastard. How dare you plead for this damned revisionist book?" He held the book in front of Ji-yong's face and very slowly began tearing the cover off. (16.34)
Ji-li's little brother argues with the Red Guard to be able to keep his book. It's not really about the book so much as it is about who he is. It gets him into trouble, but he can take it—he's not interested in giving up his book or being a pushover.