THE GREATEST FRIEND YOU COULD HAVE!!!

Do you have a friend that you know will stick with you through anything???? In the book Red Scarf Girl there is someone that isn't the "main" character but I think she is just as important as Ji-li Jiang (a.k.a. the main character.) Her name is An Yi and she was Jili's BEST friend. Jili had known An Yi since like they were born. They grew up together and were best friends. An Yi wasn't as popular as Jili but they were still REALLY good friends, then when the Cultural Revolution started they were both looked down upon and mocked and treated badly. Even when An Yi's grandma died (which was like the person that she was SUPER close to) she still didn't even talk about how much she missed her grandma but just comforted Jili because she was going through some serious stress and hard times. She was always there for Jili. No matter how hard of a time An Yi went through she would always put Jili first and comfort her instead. That's really amazing isn't it? Do you think that if someone had just made fun of you and made you feel like you were worthless and then you found out that your friend had just had a really rough day too, do you think that you would start telling her all about how it was the worst day ever and just feel sorry for yourself or would you say nothing about your day and just comfort your friend and concentrate on making them feel better...not yourself. I think that's really what a true friend is. It's not someone that you have sleepovers with, or someone that you always sit with or talk to and stuff like that. I think An Yi is a perfect example of a true friend,....she was there for Jili when no one else was and she comforted her and stayed with her until she felt better. That's the kind of friend I want to be to people and I hope you do too. That's the true meaning of friends and loving one another, this book shows how much Jili was brave and dealt with hard times and how amazing it was that she did all that.....but I think that An Yi was just as brave and amazing because she put others before herself even when she was really hurting inside.

Red Scarf Girl Post#3

Ji-li Jiang has changed so much ever since the cultural revolution. She started out as a young 12 year old girl that was really good at everything in school and was kind of "popular." Then The Cultural Revolution and her life changed completely. She found out things about her family that she would never have dreamed were true! Because of her family status she was treated like dirt at school and looked down on. She was denied chances to do things or be part of activities and clubs that she really didn't want to be part of. Even after all of that had started happening to her grandmother became very weak so she couldn't help around the house as much, her mom was always getting sick and dizzy so she couldn't do anything either, and her dad went to prison! So now she is almost 14 (by the way this has been happening for almost 2 years) and she has to take care of her 2 younger siblings, her grandmother and mother, and find some way to help her father. That would be so stressful and scary! But in the end she had her family and the one person that was always faithful and there for her: An Yi her best friend. She stuck with her and helped her through all of her hard times and when she was teased and stuff like that. Finally her father got out of prison and her mother got better so she could rest. And they all ended up moving to America. This is an amazing story about Ji-li's life and the way she went from being a little puny 12 year old good at everything kid. To being mocked and treated like garbage and taking the responsibility of keeping your family together and turning into a very mature and grown up 14 year old. She was a real trooper and an example of how we should all act when times get tough, we shouldn't just give up and say it's too hard, we should fight and WIN and stay faithful to eachother through the whole thing. I really enjoyed this book and if you didn't read it you should because it can teach you a lot about people's lives in the cultural revolution.