How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Until that spring I believed that my life and my family were nearly perfect. (1.56)
With a statement like that, things are definitely about to get bad. A good rule of thumb in literature is that the more perfect things seem, the worse they are going to get. Ji-li's idea of her family shows us that she's a little naïve, but she's also very happy. There are no deep, dark secrets in her clan… that she knows about.
Quote #2
Was it my fault that my family was a little better off than theirs? Many a time I had wished that my parents were workers in a textile mill and that we were poor. I had always begged Mom to let me wear patched pants. […] Suddenly I wished that I had been born into a different family. I hated Grandpa for being a landlord. (4.62)
One of the biggest things Ji-li struggles with when it comes to Mao's ideals is what they say about her family. She doesn't get why it's her fault that she was born rich. She didn't exploit anybody; she wasn't a landlord. So why should she have to pay for her grandpa's choices?
Quote #3
At Dad's side was a stack of old photo albums, their black covers stained and faded with age. Dad was looking through the albums, page by page, tearing out any pictures that might be four olds. He put them in a pile next to Mom, who put them into the fire. (8.32)
Even something that might be a four old is condemned. This is one of the ways that politics come before family. Most people value family albums because they remind us of good times in the past, but with the new rules, family memories don't matter much.
Quote #4
Home, I thought. Wasn't a home a private place? A place where the family could feel secure? How could strangers come and search through our secrets? If Grandpa was a landlord, they could confiscate all his things. But I was not a landlord. Why did they have to search through all my things? (8.123)
We guess not. It turns out there's no privacy when it comes to the Cultural Revolution, and everyone's business is public knowledge. Ji-li struggles with this because she doesn't want everyone and their mom knowing about her family's class status.
Quote #5
It was not easy to break with your mother. I could not imagine actually doing it. They had to live in the same room. Would he eat the food she had cooked? Would he speak to her at all? (9.14)
Aunt Xi-wen's son stops talking to her because he doesn't want to be associated with her class status any more. Ouch. The Cultural Revolution is ripping families apart, and the Red Guards aren't necessarily against this. They value the cause more than anything else.
Quote #6
I suddenly wished I could live at school. Then I could forget what was happening, and I could laugh again. I wished that I had been born into a trouble-free family. (11.34)
Oh snap. Ji-li is going through the ringer, but this is still a little harsh—her family has never done anything to hurt her. Thing is, she realizes she doesn't want to have a family weighing her down anymore. She even thinks about changing her name. What makes her stick around?
Quote #7
"We cannot choose our families or our class sums. But we can choose our own futures." He spoke very slowly and clearly. "No, you are not a leader, but you are still an 'educable child.' You can overcome your family background." (12.41)
Ji-li feels torn between her family and the Revolution. Maybe this is because she's constantly pressured to ditch her family and join the cause. She really thinks about it a couple different times. We don't blame her—it's tough to figure out what to believe when everything is changing around you.
Quote #8
We clung to each other as we watched him go. We all dashed up to the roof to watch him walk down the alley. He walked a little in front of his escorts. The triangle made by the three heads grew smaller and smaller. (13.19)
As the guards take her dad away, Ji-li feels so alone. She's not sure she'll ever see him again, and this worries her. She was doubting whether he was a liar before, but now she gets how much she wants him around. It dawns on her how unfair this is to him.
Quote #9
The article had been like a bomb blowing holes in my life. In our alley, at school, and at Mom's office people gossiped about our family. I had thought I was going to be kicked out of the exhibition. (14.3)
The big article about Ji-li's family causes a major shake up. Everybody in town knows about her family's class status now, and that's not good news. Yet again, Ji-li finds herself wishing she were in another family, which hurts her mom big time.
Quote #10
I realized that I had made my promise to them— to everyone in my family— long ago. I had promised during the days that Grandma and I had hidden in the park; I had promised when I had not testified against Dad; I had promised when I had hidden the letter. I would never do anything to hurt my family, and I would do everything I could to take care of them. My family was too precious to forget, and too rare to replace. (17.16)
Aw. Despite all the times she's doubted them, Ji-li obviously she cares a whole lot about her family. Family might not be as important to Mao, but it turns out, it is to Ji-li. You do you, girl.