The Class Education Exhibition and The Rice Harvest

Ji-li performs her section of the exhibition at a preview and is praised by Chairman Jin. She is thrilled by this approval, and hopes it will overshadow her class status. Ji-li is called out of class to find Chairman Jin, and a thin faced man from her father's work waiting. They ask her to testify against her father to prove that he is guilty. They tell her that this will break her away from her class status. Ji-li is very upset by this and the men tell her to think about it, and they will return. Ji-li goes to perform at the exhibit the next day, and is told by Chairman Jin that because of her hesitation to turn in her father and her class status, she would not be allowed to do the presentation.

It is terrible that they put a girl her age in a situation like that. She should not have had to choose between her fathers safety and her future. I would be furious if this happened to me, but once again there was really nothing she could do to revolt against it without terrible consequences for her and her family. I felt so bad for Ji-li because she worked so hard for so long on the project. Everybody knew that her presentation was the best, and it definitely was not fair to her that they let another girl get credit for what she did.

Chang Hong speaks to Ji-li about working in the country for the summer. She believed that this would improve Ji-li's status. Ji-li agrees to work in the fields to harvest and plant rice. The chapter mostly discusses how miserable it was to spend the whole day out in the heat working. Ji-li accidentally cuts herself with her sickle. She refuses to stop working and eventually Bai Shan offers to help her cut her rice because she is so far behind. Ji-li refuses the help and continues her work. The next day, Ji-li works too hard and passes out. When she awakens, Chang Hong tells her that she was sent by the Revolutionary Committee to tell her that the theater her father works at wants her to go to the study sessions, and she must leave the farm that night.

Poor Ji-li was very misled whenever she agreed to go work in the country. Her hopes were so high, I felt bad that she was crushed once again. It seemed like there was no hope to escape her status except selfishly betraying her family. It was sad that she worked so hard through the pain and suffering, and then ended up having to go home anyway. However much she hated it there, I could tell that she would much rather stay to work in the rice fields than to return home and be forced to attend the study sessions. That poor girl had far too many disappointments in her life at a young age.