A Search In Passing, Fate, andJunior High School At Last

Ji-li, her grandmother, and her siblings spend the day in the park. The family is worried that they will be searched by the Red Guards, so to avoid the grandmother being involved in the conflict, if one would occur, they use a mop on the balcony of their home as a sign as to whether or not it is safe inside. Ji-li's family destroys old family pictures that are considered fourolds. At the end of the chapter, the family's home is searched, along with the Fourth Aunt's home. Ji-li's prized stamp collection is destroyed by the Red Guards, along with many other things. This sparks Ji-li to question why this is happening to her, but when An Yi arrives to help her clean up, she realizes that no one has control over what is happening.

I felt bad again because the family had to destroy their old memories. It had to have been terrible for the old woman to go through all of the stress of the searches. If my house was searched and one of my most prized possessions that was as harmless as a stamp collection was seized, I would be very upset and angry. Everyone had to have thought all of the demands were ridiculous, but there was really nothing they could do about it.

Ji-li questions their bad fortune more and more throughout the next chapter. Her sister returns from school in tears because children made fun of her "black" status and threw her schoolbag out the window. Ji-li trys to make her feel better by giving her the pencil box and schoolbag that she bought for school, because children her age still have not returned. Ji-li's brother, Ji-yong, is friends with two boys in the neighborhood. One's father hangs himself while at work, the other is publicly humiliated and labled a criminal by wearing a red dunce cap. The boy whose father was humiliated makes comments that seem as though he is indifferent and thinks his father deserves it. Ji-li wonders how the boy could feel that way about his own father. An Yi's mother is beaten daily and forced to climb a chimney by the Red Guards. At the end of the chapter, the two girls discuss fate and wonder how long the bad luck will continue.

I thought it was nice of Ji-li to give her little sister her school items to make her feel better. She really did a good job of supporting her younger sister who was probably even more confused by everything than she was. I was surprised by the boy acting as though his father deserved being punished for practically nothing. I agreed with Ji-li when she thought he might just be pretending to keep attention away from himself. I thought An Yi's mother being forced to climb the chimney was pretty ridiculous. The poor girls had to have been so confused, I do not even know what I would do if I were put in a situation anywhere similar to this.

Ji-li finally starts junior high school. She is thrilled when she realizes that she has been placed in a classroom with no one that knows of her black background. She feels that she can start anew. Ji-li's father is forced to attend a political study class, which make Ji-li wonder about his past and what he has done wrong. Ji-li receives a perfect grade on a math course, and is praised by her teacher and admired by the class for doing such a good job. The teacher tells Ji-li to stay after class. Everyone is frightened, until the teacher tells them it is for the newspaper. After basking in her classmates' praise, Ji-li worries about getting good grades because that is what made people discover her background and dislike her at her old school. She leaves the classroom to avoid going through the same thing again.

I was happy for Ji-li and An Yi when they did not have to be in classes with the kids that were mean to them. I was also glad that Ji-li got to have a somewhat fresh start in the new class. It had to have been discouragin for Ji-li whenever the students wrote the da-zi-baos about her, but I was still upset that she let this keep her from excelling and taking part in the newspaper. I'm not sure if her reasoning was smart or not. I thought it was a legitamate fear, but I still think she should have tried it. Even though I say this, I would probably do the same thing if I were put in her situation.