Chinese Cinderella Research Paper

Adeline Yen Mah is a Chinese girl growing in knowledge with a wealthy family. Then, a new threat arrises... Niang! She is the evil stepmother that tries to burden Adeline with as much issues as she can. Adeline tries to conquer these problems with the help of her other loving family members. In the novel, Chinese Cinderella, by Adeline Yen Mah, the author shows that being unwanted can be overcome by consulting family. She proves this by showing the help that Adeline received from her Ye Ye (grandfather) and her Aunt Baba.

The novel ‘Mao’s Last Dancer’ by Li Cunxin explores various themes. Two of the main themes displayed are perseverance and self-discipline. Perseverance and self-discipline are significant themes in the novel because they were the attributes that enabled Cunxin to amount to great success.

In the story chinese cinderella the main character Adeline faces a lot of adversity throughout the book. She faces the most her adversity at home with her parents and siblings being unfairly cruel toward her. She has a lot of courage for going through with all this pain and still staying optimistic about everything.

In the 1999 novel “Chinese Cinderella”, author Adeline Yen Mah explores the theme of acceptance and belonging throughout the novel, as a result of her tragic childhood. The autobiography reveals the experiences of a young Chinese girl called Adeline, and her sense of isolation. The young girl is neglected by her family because she is being held liable for the death of her mother, who died during childbirth and leaving the family in poverty. As a result of this his heart-wrenching story, the author challenges the idea of belonging in an unkind family, to ultimately depict a sense of loneliness

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

The autobiographical novel Chinese Cinderella, is about protagonist Adeline Yen Mah’s 1940 childhood in China. Our main antagonist in the story is Adeline’s stepmother, Niang, who is portrayed throughout the story as the ‘evil-stepmother’ figure. But is there the possibility that Adeline has unfairly depicted Niang? The time period in Naing’s life which this book takes place in, would have been an extremely difficult and stressful for her. She was forced into a marriage with man twice her age and expected to become maternal towards his five children from his previous marriage. Under Niang’s circumstances she also had to take measures to protect, manage and discipline 7 children, which we only see as cruel and violent because of the modern viewpoints.

To continue, Chin’s grandma has no money, therefore in order to experience a better quality life, she is sent to live with other relatives, however many of them consider her a burden because she’s just another mouth to feed. Each time Chin moves, she experiences harsh class differences, for example in some of the homes she stays at, they have no electricity or running water. While on the other hand, other families she has stayed with have been fortunate enough to afford color television, a maid and other luxuries. Fortunately, Chin is able to overcome class stereotypes with her intelligence, which allows her to attend a prestigious high school regardless of her class ranking.

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.

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.

In the autobiography Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, the narrator was influenced in many ways by the people around her. One character which influences the narrator’s life to a vast amount was her step-mother Niang. Her Aunt Baba also played a very big part on how Yen Mah turned out in her later and earlier years as well as everywhere in between. Her grandfather Ye-Ye was a constant support to Adeline Yen Mah.

Some people may think that Chinese Cinderella is very depressing, but it is inspirational. The author who wrote this lived this, and she may have been beaten, but she worked hard enough to go to college and get a better life for herself. Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, is a moving story about a girl who works hard in school to get a better life. She is loyal to her Aunt Baba, accepts that she is unappreciated, but still tries in her school work to try and impress her father, and gets back up every time she is abused. Adeline accepts that she is unloved, but still tries hard in her school work to impress her father.

Chinese Cinderella is often seen as a depressing novel, but if the reader looks past the gloomy atmosphere, they can see how motivating Chinese Cinderella truly is. With all of Adeline’s struggles, she also goes through experiences that inspire her to live a happier life. The novel, Chinese Cinderella, by Adeline Yen Mah is inspiring because despite being an unwanted daughter, Adeline got excellent grades in school, won a play-writing competition, and studied in England. Aunt Baba and Ye Ye encouraged Adeline to study hard so that she could do anything in her future. Adeline was always hindered by worry and loneliness, and so Aunt Baba motivated her by saying, “Mark my words, if you study hard, anything is possible” (Yen Mah 79).

The loneliness, the misery, of not being accepted into their own family. The story of Cinderella is told throughout the world, but is adapted to the cultural ways of the teller. The story, Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah, is told from the view of a chinese girl during the midst of World War II. She shares her journey to survive the advancing communists in China and more importantly, her family. There are many similarities and differences between the family values in Chinese Cinderella, compared to the ones found in the Western society.

After standing up to Niang's ill treatment of Youngest Sister, Adeline suffers the worst at the hands of her stepmother. She is denied warfare, frequently forgotten at school at the end of the day, and whipped for daring to attend a classmate’s birthday party against Niang’s wishes. Adeline records her entire childhood, through several schools and houses, through the people she meets and one very special duckling pet – Precious Little Treasure (or PLT for short) that she cares for. She records her sister’s wedding, her school friends, and her on-going quest for

Imagine being envied by siblings, neglected by parents, and the only people who care are being taken away. For Adeline Yen Mah, that is the story of her life. When Adeline was only a baby, her mother died the day after she was born, and was since then considered “bad luck” to her four other siblings and her father. To make matters worse, later on in her life her father remarried to a cruel French woman named Niang, who afterword had two children. Not only was Adeline neglected, but her older siblings were also not as popular as Naing’s children. In the book Chinese Cinderella, Adeline was a weak character when she would not stand up to her friends, could not stand up to her siblings, and would not even think about standing up to her stepmother.