Graduation, The Sound of Drums and Gongs, and The Propaganda Wall

In the next chapter, Ji-Li's class was told that they no longer had to take an entrance exam to go on with their schooling. Ji-li realized that this would eliminate the chance of her getting into an elite school and she became very upset. Not long after this, teacher Gu informed Ji-li that she and her best friend would get to attend the school she wanted, because the teachers were assigning the students themselves. The students ended up graduating, but no ceremony was held for them. In the summer time, Ji-li and An Yi were thrilled about getting to attend the school of their dreams, until they found on that the policy had changed and they would be attending schools by district. At the end of the chapter when Ji-li mentioned her favorite books being destroyed, it seemed like her thoughts on the revolution were beginning to get more and more negative.

I can imagine how excited they all initially would be about no entrance exams, but I felt bad for Ji-li when she realized it would cripple her chance of getting into an elite school. I also felt bad for Ji-li because she had to constantly worry about who she was seen with to try and make up for her family's background. None of the accusations the other children were making about her, or about teacher Gu being a corrupter of young, were true. When Teacher Gu told Ji-li that the teachers had assigned her to the school she wanted to attend, I was excited that there was a little bright spot in the so far unlucky story of Ji-li. I felt terrible for her when the teacher assignments were canceled. It's sad that a little kid had to go through so many disappointments so early in their life.

In The Sound of Drums and Gongs, searches begin taking place in Ji-li's neighborhood. Instead of just destroying public items, the government began seizing and destroying any personal items that related the any of the four olds. Ji-li's family seems very nervous about this, and end up letting the housekeeper Song Po-po go so they are not accused of exploitating her. Ji-li begins taking up a lot of her grandmother's responsibilities, like cooking and buying groceries. The family comes up with ways to keep the items they have that are considered fourolds, and Ji-li's grandmother trys to hide how upset she is.

The idea of people searching my house and thinking my political views mirror my belongings is pretty terrifying. I would have been even more paranoid that Ji-li's family about it. The poor families had to have been really scared when this began, especially the children. It made me sad to think about how the families had to give up so many sentimental items, like the silks and chests that belonged to Ji-li's grandmother. It was probably very hard for the elderly people to go along with all of Mao Zedong's harsh new ideas.

The Propaganda Wall, began with Ji-li explaining the previous artwork on the wall. Then new mural was a painting of Chairman Mao, that Ji-li said inspired her. Ji-li and her brother go watch Jia Hong-yu speak about how wonderful seeing Mao Zedong was. The end of the chapter gets more eerie, and talks about the red guards punishing her neighbor for not letting them borrow his bicycle. The man is forced to sit in the sun with a washboard on his back for hours until he passes out from the heat. An Yi's grandmother commits suicide by jumping out of a window of their home. While at the short funeral, a man warns those at the funeral about "allying themselves with a bad class."


I was surprised by how eager Ji-li still seemed to be about the revolution, even after what she had to go through. I thought that maybe after being accused of so many untrue things, she would begin to go against the revolution. I was even more surprised by this after the old man was tortured, and after the death of An Yi's grandmother. It would be very upsetting to have to witness so many terrible things. It's very strange how Ji-li thinks everything Mao Zedong says is right, even if it's morally wrong. I guess that's what they had to do to survive though.