JSFiddle - React, Tailwind, and code Playground
HTML
<ul id="jow">
<li><a href="">Item</a></li>
<li><a href="">Item</a></li>
<li class="active"><a href="">Item</a></li>
<li class="active"><a href="">Item</a></li>
<li><a href="">Item</a></li>
<li><a href="">Item</a></li>
</ul>
<div id="ieps"></div>
JavaScript
function simple(){
var li = document.querySelectorAll(".active");
var ul = li[0].parentNode;
var getULchild = ul.children[0];
var ieps = document.getElementById("ieps");
ieps.innerHTML += "ul will return = " + ul + "<br>";
ieps.innerHTML += "li will return = " + li + "<br><br>";
ieps.innerHTML += "ul[0] will return: " + ul[0] + "<br>";
ieps.innerHTML += "li[0] will return: " + li[0] + "<br><br>";
}
simple();