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.