English class - RSG Essay work – Thurs/Fri, April 16th/17th, 2015
Continue working on RED SCARF GIRL ESSAY
Independent class time to work:
1) Reference notes should be out [Old tests, Review sheets, writing responses from Unit].
2) Your Thesis statement [Topic and 3 arguments/supported parts] must already be completed and written on your Outline.
3) Work on FILLING OUT each body paragraph specifically on your Outline, using the book to cite evidence and for help in talking about specific events and getting Quotes, etc…
*You must SUPPORT your examples and evidence from Red Scarf Girl. Back up your ideas and go in detail with information from the book.
Tip #1: DETAILED writing à
a) Not enough to just say:
Ji-li was asked to testify against her father at a Struggle Meeting.
Instead, support it by saying:
Ji-li was asked to testify against her father at a Struggle Meeting. Even though Thinface was threatening her, Ji-li couldn’t imagine criticizing her father in public. She was worried he’d never forgive her. She wanted to be loyal towards Chairman, but she couldn’t betray her father to do it.
b) Not enough to just say:
The Red Guards ransacked Ji-li’s house and destroyed fourolds.
Instead, support it by saying:
The Red Guards ransacked Ji-li’s house. Since her family was in the Black Category, they were targeted. The Red Guards destroyed the family’s belongings and took away many of their fourolds. It was hard for Ji-li to still support the Revolution, especially when her treasured stamp album was taken away. She couldn’t imagine being that destructive towards another family, even if it meant supporting The Revolution.
Tip #2: Supporting a Quote…
Describe how the quote affected Ji-li or impacted her family [or the influence from the Revolution…]
Ex. 1 -
“We cannot choose our families or our class status. But we can choose our futures.” (Teacher Zhang, pg. 198)
By Teacher Zhang telling Ji-li this, it gives her confidence that she doesn’t have to keep losing opportunities, just because her family is in the Black Category. She can’t control what her family stands for, but she can prove to everyone her loyalty towards Chairman Mao.
Ex. 2 -“The names of many shops still stand of old culture, so the signs had to be smashed to make way for the coming of new ideas.” (Ji-li, pg. 21) People believed whatever they were told during the Cultural Revolution. Propaganda was so influencing that when fourolds were being destroyed, people wanted to join in. They felt that they were helping the Revolution grow.
Tip #3: Writing a Hook
You should introduce your topic with a few sentences that are engaging, grab the attention of your reader, are about your topic, or reference The Cultural Revolution. [Look at the word bank on your Outline]
Hook examples à
Topic – Perspective changing:
At the start of the Cultural Revolution, Ji-li was so passionate and excited. She hung off of every word Chairman Mao spoke and was immediately fascinated with all things Red. The longer the Revolution went on, the harder it became for Ji-li to show her support.
Topic – Power of Propaganda:
An entire population of people was controlled. All the information floating around China during The Cultural Revolution was powerful. The most influential aspect of material being spread was that it was believable, true or not.
Topic – Following Authority:
Everyone considered themselves a leader during The Cultural Revolution: Red Successors, Red Guards, neighborhood Committee members, etc… Anyone who supported the Revolution did so by following the ultimate leader: Chairman Mao. His instructions to spread Communism to make a truly ‘equal society’ instilled fear in those who didn’t follow. If you didn’t follow authority, you’d be punished.
Continue Independent work:
Fill out each body paragraph specifically on your Outline, using the book to cite evidence and for help in talking about specific events and getting Quotes, etc…
REMEMBER TO SUPPORT your examples and evidence from Red Scarf Girl. Back up your ideas by reflecting on Ji-li and her family and how they were affected and go in detail with information from the book.
Homework:
Outline – Complete and finished for Monday’s/Tuesday’s class.
*Everything BUT the Hook and the Conclusion.
*FILLING IN the bullet points on your ouline:
[Option 1]
*Ji-li’s perspective changed throughout the book because of her family’s Black Status.
-When Ji-li was being nominated as a Red Successor, a classmate called her out for having a Landlord grandfather.
-This label of ‘black category’ meant Ji-li’s family would be targeted.
-The Jiang family was vulnerable with this negative status and that meant that Red Guards would ransack their house.
-“This is a search in passing!” (Pg. 133) Six Fingers yelled as Red Guards burst into Ji-li’s house the first time, confiscating their family belongings.
-After her home was ransacked for the second time and many of their fourolds were destroyed, Ji-li’s perspective truly changed; it wasn’t worth supporting the Cultural Revolution if her family and home would repeatedly be hurt and destroyed.
-Subsequently, she stopped running away from her black status and embraced her family.
[Option 2]
*The power of propaganda was so influencing during The Cultural Revolution that people were influenced by what they saw.
-Newspaper articles and da-zi-bao posters easy places to write false information.
-The best way to spread propaganda was through these methods and people were quick to believe what they saw.
-For example, when Ji-li’s classmates wrote the da-zi-bao about her inappropriate relationship with a teacher;
-“It’s all lies…It’s so unfair” (pg. 51), Ji-li muttered to herself, but the truth was unimportant because people were influenced once they saw it, painting a big target on her back.
-In the book, a Newspaper article titled, ‘Half City Jiangs’ targeted Ji-li’s relatives but since propaganda is so powerful, people created more labels, like bourgeois and capitalist, to throw at Ji-li.
-Therefore, true or not, the influences from propaganda had the power to form someone’s entire opinion.
[Option 3]
*Ji-li was pressured to follow authority when Thinface threatened her.
-Ji-li still tried so hard to keep Chairman Mao and the Revolution at the top of her Universe of Responsibility.
-Thinface threatened Ji-li when she came to visit her father, reminding her that, “You will not come to a good end”
(pg. 190) if you follow your parents.
-This warning pressured Ji-li to choose The Revolution over her family.
-Though she was dedicated to ‘being red’ and being a Revolutionary, she was unable to give Thinface an answer. She felt she could still balance both.
-Consequently, she was sent away to the countryside to remold her ideology, in hopes of deciding to break from her family once she returned.