In Under the Red Flag by Ha Jin, the author weaves together several stories to show individuals' struggle to go against their natural instincts, as a means to conform to standards of New China. These standards were dictated by political enforcers and established a new basic moral foundation that everyone is expected to abide by. Although the stories are quite different, the connection they share is clearly spelled out: everyone fights social pressures to change themselves or face the consequences of being different. Two characters in particular: Ding Liang and Zhu Wenli, reveal the result of two different choices made. Winds and clouds during a funeral brings to light the theme of the death of an old woman and her request which violates the protocol of New China. Before dying she tells her family that she wants to be buried; however, “today the government encourages people to cremate the dead to preserve arable land,” otherwise “there would be no arable land left if burials were not stopped” (46). The government explains that the lack of "cultivable land" is a direct consequence of the numerous burials that have occurred over time. According to them, if people do not act responsibly and instead cremate, they will contribute to future agricultural strains and essentially lead to the depletion of the nation's food sources. Here the audience is able to see the challenge that awaits them. Ding wants to fulfill her mother's last request, which is to give her a proper burial that respects her traditional mentality. However, he faces the pressure of being “the leader of the commune,” seeing the “thousands of eyes [that] stare at him” (49). His decision to go against the government's demands is pure paper, as experienced in the novel. They often encounter external pressures that society imposes on them, and if they choose not to conform, they are subject to the consequences of individualism. The laws of New China are underlying and not clearly expressed; however, there is a sense of social acceptance for the ethical construct of these new protocols. The power held by the group is represented in the characters' decisions to go against their innate desires and conform to what is considered correct behavior. Their fate is put in jeopardy, which spurs their changes in action. In conclusion, Jin's novel highlights the influence of communism and how many people are unable to live freely, as they reside in a society under the surveillance of the party's law enforcement and have no choice but to abide by the status quo. Red Flag, Ha Jin