Chinese Cinderella, written by Adeline Yen Mah is a depressing story because of the hardships Adeline has to cope with like being cognizant of the fact she’s an unwanted child, constantly being blamed for her mothers death, and lastly being looked upon unfairly by Niang and father. Adeline was like a flower whose stem was broken. Because she had all the potential and brilliance in the world, but she didn’t have the one thing she really needed, support. From a reader’s standpoint, Chinese Cinderella is a depressing book because of the lack of care and nourishment Adeline obtained throughout her entire childhood. I like to refer Adeline’s upbringing to a bag of Original Lays potato chips, sure they’re average, but they aren’t near as satisfying …show more content…
For example, when your only father asks, “I’m afraid I have forgotten your chinese name. Is it Jun-qing?” (pg.124) you know you’re as worthless as money that isn’t in circulation anymore. Perhaps, the family member that should know the most about you knew the very least about Adeline. As the sun retires and the moon awakes, every night I would loathe upon the idea of my dad not even being observant of my own name. That isn’t the only time where Adeline was neglected. For instance when father demands,”Since you’re not happy here, you must go somewhere else!” (117) To Adeline’s amazement she was shipped off to boarding school as if she were cargo. After slightly bending Niang’s rules, Niang was granted the perfect opportunity to rid Adeline from her life. She was enrolled in one of her previous schools as a boarder in Tianjin during a communist war. Her family not even concerned about Adeline’s safety considering most of the children had already been withdrawn from the school. Despite all of these misfortunes weighing down on Adeline like an anchor, she had to deal with yet another affliction, her mom’s …show more content…
Then you blink and that presence you once felt with your mother is gone forever. Suddenly the attention is shifted to your mom, but it’s too late. Little did Adeline know that looking into her mother’s eyes was the last connection she would ever share with her. Finally, you are brought home for the first time and everyone is extatic to see you until they realize that its just you and dad. Everybody is asking where mom is. Within one minute of explanation you are dreaded by most of your family. Unfortunately that was the case for Adeline. Due to being blamed for her mother’s death, her family ignored her. One time Adeline came home from home school and had a silver medal pinned to her chest because she got an award for leading her class in academics. Instead of earning praise from her Second Brother she received a loud smack to the face. Second Brother proclaimed,”This’ll teach you not to show off your medal!”(pg.9) Another time she was awarded at assembly for her outstanding grades, but not one of her family members was there to congratulate her. Adeline’s siblings also taunted and toyed with her as if she was a puppet on their strings. During a family meal, father was vaunting about Adeline,”You must continue to bring honor to your family name,”(pg.11) in front of Adeline’s siblings after eating the main course. It was time for dessert. Of course on this night it was Adeline’s
She overcame this “terror” with different methods. In the beginning of Adeline’s schooldays, Dai Dai (Father) made a joke about Adeline. “Is this medal for leading your class?” (11) he questioned. Adeline nodded in pride. Being little, she remembered this moment and treasured it next to her heart. When Adeline was turned on by Dai Dai and Niang, she tried to remember the one time Father was proud of her excellence in school. This proves Dai Dai was actually following the evil intentions of Niang, not turning on adeline out of the supposed coldness of his heart. When Adeline receives new friends at Sacred Heart boarding school and orphanage, they motivate Adeline with an inspirational pep talk. “We must get away, stand on our own feet and create our own destiny.” (176). Although similar to what Ye Ye said, Adeline takes this advice from the few friends she had and used it against the emotional pain of Niang’s taunts and torture. This proves Adeline has used all of her advice and information to “defeat” Niang and go to college in England. She has broken free from the bonds of torment and restriction, free to go and roam the
Adeline comes home from her first week of kindergarten, all smiles because she had been chosen to lead the class and has received a medal and a certificate for her achievement. Her aunt Baba is full of pride and files the certificate and medal in her safe deposit box. She described the certificate as “some precious jewel impossible to replace” (page 2). Adelines academic achievements are how she eventually gains acceptance within an uncaring family. She had a lot of pride over the metal it shows the sadness she is facing everyday, with her siblings hating her achievements and her dad only caring when she receives them. “I was winning the medal every week and wearing it constantly. I knew this displeased my siblings, especially Big Sister and Second Brother, but it was the only way to make Father take notice and be proud of me” (page 15). Adeline starts to mature when she starts to realize that her achievements should only matter if it makes her happy, not just her father. Adeline's parents threaten to move her to a far away school. Adeline is elected class president. Everyone is excited, her classmates and more importantly her. Her classmates decide to celebrate at her house and this is when her parents lash out and get
Everybody knows the story Cinderella, how Prince Charming saved Cinderella from her evil stepmother and stepsisters. “...the heroine falls in love with the hero first and she is left at his mercy, even if she is an Amazon at heart, Her actions are centered on him and whether or not he will save her. ”(Schmidt) Prince Charming went through a lot of trouble to find Cinderella because of true love. Sleeping Beauty have the same hero as in Cinderella.
Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah is depressing book about a little chinese girl faced with abuse, neglect and her left feeling tossed aside and that almost no one cares about her accept her aunt, Which is later taken away from her by her abusive step-mother Niang. Later she overcomes the grasp of her parents through education and help from friends. She achieves her dream and makes it to college in England.
Well Although cinder and cinderella are different like one is cinder gets along with one of her sisters and ella doesn't get along with any sisters . But overall i think they have more difference than similarity in my opinion. Well i'll be telling u reason there different and the similar . First i'll start with differents .Because they have way more differences than similarities. So ill be telling u first there difference than similarities
Chinese Cinderella, by Adeline Yen Mah is a heart-rendering autobiographical novel. Throughout the text, Adeline describes her cruel family and the trauma she was confronted with at school, trying to satisfy her heartless father with educational achievements. Together we relive the childhood life of Adeline through her words and hear, what it feels like to be a rejected and unloved daughter. Furthermore, Adeline owns a special quality that helps her to handle the cruelty of her upbringing and rise above many obstacles. Adeline has been always resilient. She is very strong and tackles everything that comes her way. By being friendless and having a pet duck as a friend, she distracts herself from her coldblooded reality.
As Adeline suffers at the hands of her parents, it causes Adeline’s life to be very lonely and hopeless.
Adeline is unloved and unwanted by most of her family, with the exception of her Aunt Baba and Grandfather YeYe. Because of her mother's sudden death after Adeline was born her siblings gave her no kindness nor respect as they believed she was the reason their mother died. “...But then Mama died giving birth to you. If you had not been
In the book Chinese Cinderella it is apparent that Niang has had a positive and also a negative impact on Yen Mah. In the book Chinese Cinderella Niang makes the narrator feel a mixture of negative emotions such as neglect, foreignness, and also a feeling no one should feel, insignificance and humiliation. This is shown when the narrator writes “Niang predicted a hopeless future for me.” (Page 124). This had a very pronounced effect on Yen Mah. Therefore as a result of Niang suppressing her, the narrator was able to aim for something greater and also bring recognition to herself. Niang also affected the narrator’s mental stand point because Yen Mah was treated as a servant when compared to Niang’s own children. In which the way Adeline Yen Mah was treated was very immoral because it gave Yen Mah the feeling of being not as wanted as Niang’s own children. If Niang did not treat the narrator the way she did Adeline Yen Mah may not be the person she is – one that aspires to succeed and also one that sees something beyond her circumstances. In Chinese Cinderella,
Adeline is true to herself throughout Chinese Cinderella. Adeline shows she is true to herself by being a good person during all her negative experiences. For example, “I was winning the medal every week, and wearing it constantly. I knew this displeased my siblings, especially big sister and second brother, but it was the only way for father to take notice and be proud of me.” (Yen Mah 15). This quote is important because Adeline realizes that her achievement should only matter if it makes her happy, not father. Another quote from the book proves she is
It all came from her Aunt Baba. Her mother died giving birth to her, and her family considers her to be bad luck. She has a hard time with everything except being nice and getting good grades at school. Adeline never gave up as a kid, even when she was said to be nothing. “I meant so little to him(Father), such a nobody, that he didn’t even remember my name!”(Page 124).
The theme of acceptance is demonstrated in the novel when Adeline is born. She is the cause of her mother’s death and is rejected by the family. This shows how acceptance is lacking in the Chinese culture. The lack of acceptance causes her to crave attention, particularly from her father. Adeline's happiness comes from the approval of her father and she only gets this approval when she achieves highly at school because in the Chinese culture school success is important.
Adeline is not noticeable to most people. For example “I was the only one left. Nobody had come for me” ( Yen Mah 27). Adeline is invisible to most of her family. Nobody noticing Adeline important because it is an example of showing why she is invisible. Another example is “Where are you?” Father aid in an uneven voice, quite calmly and sudden, with a pang I realized nobody had missed me” (p. 29). Nobody really cared that Adeline was missing. Most people at her house didn’t even notice she wasn’t there. Overall, Adeline is usually not noticed and her parents don’t even know when she was born.
Adeline’s step-mother, Niang, never fails to be uncouth towards her, not just by damaging her self-esteem, but also through verbal and physical abuse (whipping, hitting, etc.). “I approached her gingerly, trembling with terror. She slapped my face so hard I almost fell… …she slapped me with the back of her hand against my other cheek” (Mah 114-115). This is significant because it shows
The plot and structure in this autobiography makes the story of Adeline’s childhood flow better. The orientation started by Niang marrying Adeline’s father. At Adeline’s birth her mother died so Adeline was treated badly and unfairly. In the complication, Adeline was unwanted from the start. She was sent away to an orphanage because she was wanted by no one. In the resolution Adeline decided after winning the playwriting competition that she wanted to be a writer. She studied medicine at Oxford University with Third Brother. The reflection is that no matter what your conditions are you can achieve anything like Adeline did. In the story Adeline read a newspaper article that said “It was announced