Ji-li Jiang

Character Analysis

Our narrator and protagonist is only twelve when the Cultural Revolution starts, but she's in for the ride of a lifetime. Before the Revolution begins, Ji-li has an idyllic life: She's at the top of her class, has a bunch of friends, and is well respected by her peers and teachers. What could possibly go wrong?

Dare to Dream

Things change pretty rapidly for Ji-li once she learns that her family won't pass the background check for the Liberation dance troupe since her dad left the Communist party back in the day. The news hits Ji-li like a ton of bricks. It's not just about the dancing and performing—it's what it represents to her. Check out what she says about it:

Until now I had never doubted that I could achieve anything I wanted. The future had been full of infinite possibilities. Now I was no longer sure that was still true. (1.79)

Ouch. Nothing makes sense to Ji-li after she has to ditch the Liberation dance troupe try-outs. She's devastated, and Ji-li worries that her whole future is down the toilet. With a family past that runs counter to the Revolution, she's no longer sure of what the world holds for her.

Plus, she questions whether her family has been lying to her all these years. For the first time, she's not sure if she can trust them any more. That's a lot for a twelve year old to deal with.

Courage Under Fire

Pretty soon, though, Ji-li has bigger fish to fry. She has to figure out who she wants to be. We're not talking about a dancer versus an actor, either; we're talking about whether she wants to tell the truth or just go along with the crowd. Her first test comes when everybody is writing nasty notes about the teachers. Carefully, Ji-li decides what to do:

To fulfill my responsibility as a revolutionary, I listed all my teachers. One by one, I considered them carefully. Unfortunately, none of them seemed to hate the Party or oppose Chairman Mao. I could not write a da-zi-bao about any of them. (3.21)

When everyone is writing these nasty letters about everyone else—throwing others under the bus to save their own hides—Ji-li has nothing to say about her teachers. She doesn't want any of them to get in trouble for things they haven't even done.

It's not just that she has nothing mean to say about her teachers, though. She knows that the government is cracking down on people based on what's written in these letters, and she's told (by her classmates) that writing them is her duty; she must do it. Ji-li is torn between what she knows is right and what she's told her duty is to her country.

This isn't the last time this happens either. Later on, Ji-li's asked to choose between her commitment to the Cultural Revolution and her family. When the Red Guards want her to testify against her dad (don't worry—she can totally just make something up to incriminate him), Ji-li is torn. She wants to show her loyalty to the revolution, but she knows it would be wrong to lie about her dad. All of these tests help characterize Ji-li as someone who values honesty and truth more than anything else. She sticks to her guns even when the Red Guards up the pressure.

Hindsight is 20/20

Throughout the book, we wonder why Ji-li is still committed to the Revolution at all. Sure, she chooses family over the Red Guards, but she still praises what Mao preaches and believes him to be a god. And you know what? It turns out that we're not the only ones confused by this. Her friends ask Ji-li about it, too:

Many friends have asked me why, after all I went through, I did not hate Chairman Mao and the Cultural Revolution in those years. The answer is simple: We were all brainwashed. (E.1)

Ji-li's story shows how easy it is to get brainwashed by a government that has no freedom of press or speech. During the Cultural Revolution, Mao controlled what people read, saw, and did, which effectively enabled him to control everything people thought. No one knew the truth about what was happening because, well, the government didn't tell them about it.

We really get a sense of how much government propaganda impacted Ji-li's life in the epilogue. For her, it wasn't just about believing what Mao said—she didn't know anything else. There was no way of going against Mao because he even controlled what was taught in schools. Red Scarf Girl shows us one experience during the Cultural Revolution, and in doing so, gives a voice to everyone who went through similar stuff in China at that time.

It wasn't all for nothing, though. The Cultural Revolution greatly influenced who Ji-li became. Now, she appreciates freedom and doesn't take it for granted, and she's also more discerning about what people tell her, too. Sure, the Cultural Revolution is over, but its impression on Ji-li will last forever.