Name: ____________________________________ Class Period: _______________________
Chapters 10 – Junior High School at Last – pages 156 – 172
1. How long had it been since Ji-Li had been to school?
More than a year!
2. What disappointed Ji-Li on her first day of junior high school?
Her teacher only spoke 3 sentences to the class and then they were dismissed from school! After
waiting for more than 1 year to go back to school, she expected much more!
3. Describe how classes had changed from the way they used to be before the Cultural Revolution to
now during the Cultural Revolution.
Before the Cultural Revolution students learned all the various academic subjects in school. Now,
they were only learning military and political terms, and various English phrases in case they ever
went to war with America. Physics, Chemistry, and Biology had been replaced with Fundamentals
of Industry and Agriculture – how to raise a pig and the best way to grow rice.
4. Ji-Li’s father is forced to attend a political study class. What is the purpose of political study
classes for adults?
To force them to confess their crimes against Chairman Mao and to remold them into better
citizens.
5. How did Sun Lin-Lin rescue Ji-Li?
Ji-Li did not have her Little Red Book … Sun Lin-Lin noticed this and quickly handed the paper
cover from her own book to Ji-Li so that no one would know that Ji-Li did not have her book.
Chapter 11 – Locked Up – pages 173 – 190
1. Compare New Year’s Day before the Cultural Revolution to the current New Year’s Day Ji-Li
experienced in this chapter.
In previous years, firecrackers were lit all over town … people would be cramming the streets going
out to visit family and friends and exchange gifts … this year, there were no firecrackers because
firecrackers were considered Four Olds … no one was visiting friends or neighbors because people
were too afraid others would accuse them of crimes
2. Why else was New Year’s Day special to Ji-Li?
It was her birthday.
3. Who is Uncle Fan? Why was he crying? What did he do that made Grandma so mad?
A dear friend. He had been beaten by the Red Guards – they were trying to make him confess to
crimes he had been accused of committing. Grandma got mad when Uncle Fan told them he had
finally confessed to a fabricated story – the Red Guards always said, “leniency to those who
confess” so Uncle Fan thought if he confessed something – even if it were not true – they would
quit beating him.
4. What psychological pressure does the Communist Party use?
They would tell people “leniency to those who confess – severity to those who resist” … they
would threaten to continue beating people if they did not confess – even it if was not true!! They
just wanted people to confess something!!
5. On page 183 we see another example of symbolism – “The melted ice dripped down the window
slowly and crookedly, like tears.” What does this symbolize?
It symbolized the sadness in Ji-Li’s family … also the sadness of society.
6. At the end of the chapter, a man from dad’s work unit offers Ji-Li a choice. What is this choice he
offers?
Rebuke her mother and father - testify against them – and become a child of Mao Ze Dong … OR
…stand up for her parents and be an enemy of Mao Ze Dong!!
Chapter 12 – An Educable Child – pages 191 – 205
1. Why is Ji-Li staying home from school yet again?
Mom was sick and could not take care of the family and Grandma was too distraught to take care
of the family. Ji-Li had to stay home to take care of everyone else.
2. What was the purpose of the Class Education Expedition?
To expose the class enemies’ evil and remind the people of the miser of the old society and of their
happiness today. It will inspire the students’ revolutionary enthusiasm and further promote the
Cultural Revolution in the school.
3. After Ji-Li’s talk with Teacher Zhang, what does she resolve to do?
To overcome her family’s black name by being the best she could be for Chairman Mao.
4. On page 205, Chang Hong tells Ji-Li, “But we can’t allow personal matters to interfere with
revolutionary duties.” What do you think she means by this? What “personal matter” is she
referring to?
Her family’s issues … dad detained … mom’s illness … Grandma’s mental instability … her
responsibility to her siblings because there is no one else to tend to them.
5. What might this foreshadow? What does foreshadow mean?
That she will leave the family in order to fulfil her revolutionary duties. Foreshadow means to give
clues to what may happen next.