Theme of Red Scarf Girl

I think that the theme of Red Scarf Girl is that no matter what people think of you, you should stand up for what you think is right, and no matter what, and that no matter how horrible life may be, one can still love and hope. The book consistently shows examples of these. For instance, one time, when Ji-Li went to change her name so that she and her family wouldn't be persecuted. However, when she found out that changing her name would mean making a clean break with her family, she ran away from the Red Guard. Obviously, she would rather be tortured than stay away and not protect her family. The story also hints that though sometimes she hated her landlord family, no matter what, she still loved them very much.

Response Paragraph on Red Scarf Girl

The book I'm reading is called Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang, and is the memoir of the story of Ji-Li during the cultural revolution. She and her family are considered black whelps because of the bourgeois lifestyle they led. Ji-Li thought this was unfair, and personally, so did I. Why were she and her family treated unkindly just because the generations before them in their family exploited many people? Ji-li was successful in all of her schoolwork, and hard-working as well. I didn't understand why her future, hopes, and dreams should be limited by the Cultural Revolution. I thought the Cultural Revolution was cruel, and almost utterly pointless. It was a power struggle in the upper-classes and did nothing to benefit the people.

Main Character

The main character of the story Ties that Break, Ties that Bind by Lensey Namioka is Ailin Tao. The story of her life starts when she is four years old, at a time when girls must bind their feet. However, Ailin is hard-headed and stubborn, so she won't follow this ancient practice without a fight. She is also angry and shows internal bitterness as well as resentment to the fact that men could do so much more than girls in China. However, though she is spirited and mischievous, she is still kind and considerate of others. She is also very pretty and clever, and can also mimic sounds quite well. Overall, Ailin is a kind, but headstrong girl who refuses to considered lower than men.

Setting of Ties the Break, Ties that Bind

This story was most likely set in the past, during the revolutionary, when times were changing in China. The story is about a girl named Ailin, who was a daughter in the wealthy Tao family in Nanjing, China. The main character is a girl named Ailin, who lives withing the aristocratic Tao family. The mood of the story starts out as lively and happy in the view of Ailin, who was mischeivous and loved to run. The story gets more serious as I found at that girls in Ailin's time had to follow an ancient tradition of foot-binding, which at the same time was pure agony and reduced their feet to pitiful three-inch stumps. Ailin's early life is mostly in her large home, with her running and hiding in the lush gardens.

The Scholarship Jacket

The Scholarship Jacket is a story by Marta Salinas and is about a Mexican girl named Martha. Every year in Texas, a scholarship jacket was presented to the class valedictorian. This scholarship jacket was about the only object in Martha's mind. She was a skinny girl, and not very pretty either. However, she was incredibly smart and had maintained an A plus average in her eight years of school. That year, all her hopes came crashing down. She overheard a conversation between two arguing teachers, about how the jacket should be given to Joann, since her father was part of the Board and also owned the only shop in town. The next day the principle called her in, telling her that the scholarship jacket was going to cost fifteen dollars, and if she couldn't pay for it, it would be given to the runner-up. Martha left school tearfully, and was even more heartbroken when her a Grandfather said she couldn't have the money. She wept her heart out in the bathroom, though she knew her Grandfather was right when he said that she shouldn't have to pay for something she earned. The next day, she dejectedly told the principle that she couldn't have the scholarship jacket and explained why. She made a slip-up as she was about to exit the office and mentioned Joann's name. The principal, feeling guilty told Martha that she would have the scholarship jacket. So, in the end, Martha knew that she earned her jacket, and hadn't purchased it.

The theme of this story that I recognized was that when you earn something, it doesn't mean you purchase it. Just like the scholarship jacket was to be earned and not purchased. Martha had the best grades in her school, and to represent that, she was supposed to get the jacket. Instead, since Joann's father had a higher social status than Martha's father, so it would have benefited the school to present Joann with the jacket. So, to make their (not that Martha didn't already know the plan) plan work subtly, the priced the jacket fifteen dollars. Obviously this wasn't right, since originally a scholarship was meant to be free. The author explains this through Martha's grandfather's wise words, "Then if you pay for it, Martha, it's not a scholarship jacket anymore is it?".
Those simple words summed up the entire theme to me.

Retrieved Reformation by O. Henry

The story Retrieved Reformation by O. Henry is the tale of a crook by the name of Jimmy Valentine. Jimmy's occupation was cracking safes in banks. When he is pardoned from jail by the governor, he returns to his career as a cracksman. After a while, he arrived to the small town of Elmore, where he pretended to be Ralph D Spencer. There, he met Annabel Adams, the daughter of the owner of the bank. Within a year of living at Elmore, he was a respected man, his shoestore was flourishing, and he was to be engaged to Annabel. He decided to not do anything wretched every again for Annabel, and sent a letter to a close fried in St. Louis to take his kit of tools. One day, when Mr. Adams, Annabel's father, showed them a new safe, and all of its workings. Agatha, Annabel's sister's daughter, accidentally got locked into the safe. It was then that Jimmy's act of Ralph D. Spencer vanished and was replaced by his safe-cracking nature. He saved Agatha, and then walked out of the bank to meet up with none other than Ben Price, the man who was to arrest him. Ben Price had evidently seen Jimmy's act of compassion. He pretended not to recognize him, and walked away. So, in the end, Jimmy, though he was a criminal, was found to have a kind heart.

Why do you think Gramps allows Sal to drive to Lewiston by herself? If you had been Gramps, what would you have done?

I think Grampa allowed Sal to drive to Lewiston all by herself because Gramps knew how important going to Lewiston was to to Sal. It seemed that Gramps knew that it was extremely significant to Sal to get to Lewiston in time for her mother's birthday. I also think that Gramps didn't want Sal to be right there if Gram died. I don't think Gramps wanted Sal to witness another major loss at such a young age then and there (in the hospital). If I were Gramps, then I would let Sal go as well, for the same reasons that I think Gramps did.

How does Mrs. Patridge's visit with the girls clear up some of the mystery? How dod you feel when you learned this information?

Mrs. Patridge's visit with the girls clears up some of the mystery because they find out that Mrs. Patridge was delivering the messages on Phoebe's porch. The find out that Mrs. Cadaver wrote the messages, while Mrs. Patridge picked them out of the newspapers. I feel slightly saddened when I've learned this information, because the story isn't as supensing as before. Though, I was quite surprised when I found out that it was Mrs. Patridge delivering the message and not someone else. I didn't think Mrs. Patridge was much of an important character until then. I guess you can't judge a book by its cover!

Do you think the sheriff in Lewiston does the right thing when he learns that Sal has driven there herself? Explain your answer.

I think the sheriff in Lewiston did that right thing when he learns that Sal has driven there herself. This is obviously my opinion and mostly based on the fact that I would do what the sheriff did. If I heard Sal's story from a sheriff's or police officer's point-of-view, then I would feel sympathetic and not send her off to jail. Obviously like the sheriff, I'd feel better giving her a lecture about underaged driving. I think it was also a good idea for him (the sheriff) to be sympahtetic and kind, but also calm and serious. I think the sheriff in Lewiston did that right thing by acting the way he did.

Why does each member of the Winterbottom family react differently to Mrs. Winterbottom's departure?

Each member of the Winterbottom family reacts differently to Mrs. Winterbottom's departure because of their different personalities. Mr. Winterbottom tries to think things through coolly and tries not to show how he really feels on the outside. However he does break apart a few times, like when Phoebe says that her mother loves her, and he started crying. Prudence likes to not think about bad things, and is more worried about getting her work done. She tells Phoebe that her mother is not kidnapped and was more focused on making dinner than worrying about where her mother went of. Both Prudence and Mr. Winterbottom were more mature and logical about Mrs. Winterbottom's disappearance than Phoebe. She thought that the lunatic had kidnapped her, or that Mrs. Cadaver had chopped her up. Phoebe looks at everything from a more ludicrous point-of-view. She seems the most outwardly worried and wants to take action. She is emotionally effected by her mother's disappearance in ways that Prudence and Mr. Winterbottom seems to not be in. Either way, Mrs. Winterbottom's departure left an empty hole in their family.

Why does the reading of excerpts from journals cause such a stir in class? Do you think that Mr. Birkway should have done this? Explain.

The reading of excerpts in the journals cause such a stir in class because Mr. Birkway is reading the students' private thoughts about their own personal matters. He shouldn't read out everyone's own thoughts out for everybody else to hear and listen. I don't really think Mr. Birkway should have read those journals. It hurt other peoples' feelings even though he changed the names of the people discussed in them. He read out loud most peoples' personal feelings about many things and embarrassed (in Sal's case definitely) many people immensely. He, himself was hurt when he read out loud Phoebe's feelings about Mrs. Cadaver, his twin sister.

Why does Phoebe's father tell her that her imagination is running away with her? Do you agree? Why or why not?
Phoebe's father tells her that her imagination is running away with her because she considers unrealistic concepts like her mother being kidnapped or chopped up, even when it was obvious she wasn't. Her mother would never be allowed by her kidnapper/murderer to write notes make dinner for them. I also agree with Mr. Winterbottom. Phoebe is definitely going through a hard time but its better if she tries to look at things more logically, it would be better for everyone, even if it might be her way of missing her mother of worrying about her.

Why does Phoebe conclude that the young man at the door is a lunatic?

Phoebe thinks that the stranger at the door is a lunatic because she likes to dramatize everything. Or, its part of her character. Her life is so prissy, and prim, and respectable that she probably tends to get bored and wants some excitement. She seems to find a story behind everything, though they often end up being a bit exaggerated and slightly unpleasant for the most part. Like the story of Mrs. Cadaver killing Mr. Cadaver, her story of the stranger being the lunatic seems irrational and far-fetched. The stranger just came and asked where Mrs. Winterbottom was, there was nothing peculiar about that, but Phoebe goes on to say that the poor man had gone mad. Its an absurd theory, but it seems that its in her character to be so startled and make such rash decisions. Her own mother seemed to be slightly similar too, telling Phoebe and Sal to call the police on the slightest of odd noises. Of course Phoebe might just see everyone that way-either uncannily perfect or a murderer or a lunatic.

Why do you think Sal is so observant of everything Mrs. Winterbottom does?

I think that Sal is so observant of everything Mrs. Winterbottom does is because she might think that the way Phoebe sometimes treats Mrs. Winterbottom was the way Sal treated her mom near the end (before her mom left). It seems to Sal that Phoebe and Prudence take everything their mother does for them for granted and never offer her any help. Nor do any of them notice that she is obviously crying and even attempt to offer any form of sympathy. Sal however, felt everything her mother felt, and is possibly surprised that Phoebe and Prudence don't feel any form of sadness at their mother's obvious distress. It might just be the way the Winterbottom family is built, but Sal's thoughts about the way they seem to behave to their mother doesn't seem to delighted.

Compare the Finney family to the Winterbottom family. Which family do you think is happier? Explain.

I think the Finney family is comparatively happier than the Winterbottom family. They seem to enjoy their day and look on the bright side, other than the playful bickering among Mary Lou and her brothers and cousin. They seem to help each other and take the time to laugh and think and enjoy their presence. The Winterbottom family however, are stiff and prissy. I am under the impression that Prudence and Phoebe are a bit spoiled. Their father seems too serious and their mother seems stressed about something. And yet, though it seems that Phoebe wants her family to be like Mary Lou's, she doesn't seem to make any effort to try accomplish this.

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