Falling Leaves

“Please believe that one single positive dream is more important than a thousand negative realities” (Yen Mah xii). This quote was written by the author of Chinese Cinderella who taught that one dream can be better than all your negative realities. This novel is very encouraging to have faith even when times are ruthless. In the story, Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, the memoir really inspires students to stand up for what they believe. Through Adeline's struggles, it teaches readers to work hard to succeed and also to realize how fortunate they are compared to Adeline. This book informs readers that to succeed in life, you need to work hard. In the newspaper Adeline's father read, “ It was announced today that 14 year old Hong Kong schoolgirl Adeline Jun-Ling Yen of Sacred Heart Canossian School, Caine Road, Hong Kong, has won first prize in the International Play-writing competition held in London, England, for the 1951-1952 school year. It is the first time that any local Chinese student from Hong Kong has won such a prestigious event. Besides a metal, the prize comes with a cash reward of Fifty English Pounds. Our sincere congratulations, Adeline, for bring honor to Hong Kong. We are proud of you” (191). This quote shows readers that all of Adeline's hard work has paid off. China was proud of her sweat and tears she has put into her education and her devotion into the competition. She shows students that working hard pays off in a matter of time. Adeline states, “…

Adeline Yen Mah takes you back to the 1940’s and describes her life as the unwanted daughter on the book Chinese Cinderella. Adeline describes her life in great details, she never leaves one moment untouched. She brings tears to your eyes with deep, dark and beautiful words. The most admirable quality of this book is the raw emotion and qualities Yen Mah demonstrates. Adeline Yen Mah started writing at a very young age. She was very fluent in english literature and writing. She would tell her…

Imagine being forgotten by your father, bullied by your step-mother, and tormented by your siblings. Adeline Yen Mah endured these things every day, with her only escape as school and her roommate, Aunt Baba, and her grandfather, Ye Ye. In the memoir, Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, Adeline has a troubled youth. The people that she looks towards for support are Ye Ye and Aunt Baba, and they help her to overcome her abusive childhood. Adeline’s grandfather Ye Ye cares for Adeline in a…

Having grown up with a supporting family, I have become ignorant to the hardships experienced in other households. However, after having read the novel Chinese Cinderella written by Adeline Yen Mah and interviewed Sarah Marcello, my outlook on this subject has been influenced. Chinese Cinderella follows the life of a young Adeline as she struggles through life as the unwanted child of the Yen Mah family. Sarah Marcello was sent to live with her grandparents in Italy following the discovery of…

The book A Chinese Cinderella begins in the fall of 1941. The main character is a young girl named Adeline and she is in kindergarten. Adeline has 4 birth siblings, Lydia, Gregory, Edgar, and James and 2 step siblings, Franklin and Susan. Adeline's meanest sibling is Edgar. Edgar goes out of his way to make Adeline's life miserable. He enjoys hurting her and making her feel like she is less than him. James, the youngest of the boys, is sometimes compassionate towards Adeline; however, he is in…

perseverance, her broken family relationships and realising her own self worth and importance. Through multiple positioning techniques and Yen Mah’s vivid vignettes, readers gain personal insight into Adeline’s childhood of being the ‘unwanted daughter.’ One of many themes depicted in Chinese Cinderella is Adeline’s perseverance. At the beginning of the novel, everyone in her family believed she was unintelligent, including her Big Sister; ‘…You don't know because you are stupid!’ (pg 16). She…

The book Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah tells a story of a girl who has many ways in which she needs to show courage throughout her life, such as when she walked home from school by herself, when she stood up for Youngest sister when Niang was unfairly scolding her and when she was alone in the school in Tianjin. Explained at the beginning of the book, after Adeline was born her mother died, which caused her to be a symbol of bad luck to her family and therefore caused this maltreatment.…

When The maid tells Adeline to go up to the holy of holies Niang slaps Adeline and calls her a “Liar”pg 114. She is getting physically abused by her own stepmother. When she has to go down to tell everyone to leave you can see blood dripping slowly down her face. Niang is saying to Adeline “ You planned it didn’t you to show off your house to your penniless little classmates. How dare you,” and Adeline didn’t do anything wrong pg.114. Her friends showed up to throw a surprise party for her…

Composers have the power to create different worlds and new messages. The autobiographical novel Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah and the drama Across the Barricades by Joan Lingard demonstrate the hardships faced by individuals in difficult circumstances and their ability to escape to new places. In these texts the composers have developed the concept of new messages having the power to change an individual’s lack of acceptance in their world. _In Chinese Cinderella, the protagonist…

Chinese Cinderella is the perfect title for this touching and emotional novel. Chinese Cinderella is a true story of Adeline Yen Mah's childhood where she was hated and despised by her family because she is believed to be the cause of her mother's death. Despite this, she is an extremely intelligent girl trying exceedingly hard at school, desperate to prove her worth. Some of the themes evident in this novel are perseverance, isolation, Tragedy, Acceptance and self-worth. One of the themes of…