Year 9 Red Scarf Girl Paragraphs

Gigi Wong

Role of Women
The roles of women have been displayed through the book ‘Red
Scarf Girl’. Firstly, women take part in the role of the housework.
Women would clean the house, being the cooker for the family, sew
for their family and take care of the children. “When I was little, the
wall had been covered with a picture of a woman dressed in a
cook’s white uniform and white hat, and holding a large tray of
food.” Page 100. The food on a tray hold by a woman symbolizes
being a cooker for the family as part of their job, serving for the
family. Also, as part of women’s job, they will work outside of the
family to help with the family situation which if they are poor. “That
was when the government was encouraging families to eat at
neighborhood canteens to reduce housework and allow women to
work outside the family.” This shows us the government were
making male and female equal and that trying to reduce the amount
of housework the women does and encouraging them to work
outside of the family to help China and also to gain money for
family. Women work as a housewife but also allowed to work jobs
outside.

The Social Classes in Chinese Culture

The social classes in Chinese culture have a big effect to the
opportunities and things that are allowed to do. Firstly, Ji Li have
been wanted to become a red successor and had been nominated.
Grandma already told her she would be disappointed as they would
take the class status of the candidates which this is the only thing Ji
Li is lack of. ‘Right! Those who don’t have good class backgrounds
shouldn’t be elected.’ Page 57. As other students and teachers take
the class status as a very important issue, it shows us that Ji Li could
never had a opportunity to be part of the red successor due to the
class status her family has before. Secondly, not only Ji Li are lack of
the opportunities to being a red successor but also being part of the
Central Liberation Army Arts Academy. ‘”There are more important
requirements, political considerations…”’ Ji Li could not be part of
many things due to the political background her family has. As she
had a landlord grandpa, she does not have the opportunity since
that have lowered her family’s social class. The social class can
have a big effect on other opportunities.
 Year 9 Red Scarf Girl Paragraphs
Gigi Wong

Patriarchy System
The patriarchy system has always existed in the Chinese culture.
Firstly, men always make the decisions in the family and even the
country. In this book ‘Red scarf girl’, it showed the leader Mao Ze-
Dong making the country better by making important decisions and
commands to everyone in China. ‘Chairman Mao told us we would
never succeed at building a strong socialist country until we
destroyed the “Four olds”…’ That the leader always has the power
to do all the things and the leaders are always men because of the
patriarchy system that the Chinese citizens believe. Secondly, when
Ji Li was very content about being part of the Arts Academy, her dad
have told her ‘Don’t do the Audition, Ji Li.’ (Page 8). Ji Li’s father is
the men who have the supreme authority in the family which he has
all the power to tell his family members to do or not to do certain
things.