Mental Strength In Chinese Cinderella By Adeline Yen Mah

Adversities are a natural part of an individual’s journey through life, but what is it that empowers us to persist through such hardship despite feelings we have reached the end of our capacities? Perseverance. Perseverance is the foundation that enables individuals to push through challenging situations. Both the novel, Walking Home by Eric Walters and the novel The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis are two works of literature that prove how perseverance is the key foundation for individuals to pass barriers set in their way. Muchoki and Parvana are characters who both persevere through family trauma that hits their household, they are able to preserve getting over the discriminatory mental barriers within their damaged countries and additionally are able to persevere through the physical agony faced upon them in their journey.

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

Li’s ruthless childhood experiences taught him to persevere through difficult times. Throughout his life, he had tolerated some enjoyable events like playing in the snow with his brothers, yet some draining events like discovering that his Niang fainted whilst on her trip to the dam. Li’s Niang was his number one supporter. She continually gave him tough love and encouraged him to take this “chance to escape from this cruel world. (and) Go, and do something special with your (his) life!” (p.96). The world of poverty was tough to escape but Li’s mental strength assisted him into doing so. If it weren’t for his Niang, he would not be where he is today. However, Li

Ji-Li successfully argues that in a time of despair, families can overcome their sadness and rise up again; Ji-Li is able to prove this point effectively by providing her own detailed story and including not only her perspective, but also the perspectives of different people such as her classmates and teachers.

Adel is a character in the story that we get to know quite well by Danny's descriptions of her. Physically Adel was very pretty. "The girls black hair fell to her shoulders, making a frame for her face. She looked tired, but her dace was tanned and her mouth was a warm red. Her cheeks were pink from the wind." And "In spite of her clothing, Adel w as attractive. Her hair was as black as he had remembered it and it hung in loose, natural waves. Here eyes were a dark blue. Underneath the too-large sweater, her breasts were made soft, noticeable mounds." Mentally, Adel is very shy. She rarely talked and when she did it was in a timid voice barely noticeable to hear. She didn't seem very confident with herself either if she was always wearing large, baggy clothing. Not to say that girls who wear baggy clothing are unconfident, but it just showed that she wasn't comfortable with herself. Even when Danny was living with her she was shy from him. It takes her a while to adjust to certain people, it seems. Before she can get comfortable with them.

As human beings evolve from infancy to elderly stages in life, times of struggle and hardship continually challenge their kin and personage; as life tests their mental fortitude and survival dexterity. In essays “My Father’s hands” by author Daisy Hernandez, and “Beginning Dialogues” by author Toi Derricotte, life and its whirl wind of ups and downs are expressed and exemplified. Both authors’ upbringings share various similarities on their evolutionary road trip through life. Struggling with hardship and abuse, how both authors’ dealt with their hardships, and how they ultimately survived/overcame these trying events, show similar correlations.

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.

This guidance is shown especially in the story of Lena St. Clair and her mother Ying-Ying. When Ying-Ying visits Lena and her husband at their new home, she senses the uneasy and precarious nature of their marriage, and tries to warn her daughter of this through subtle comments during her stay. One of these comments, “’You put something else on top, everything else fall down. Chunwang chihan” (163), leads Lena to recognize how fragile and superficial her relationship with Harold is, and that realization allows her finally stand up to him. Ying-Ying’s experiences in her first marriage taught her this lesson the hard way, when the buildup of her husband’s cruelty led her to an inability to carry his child. Although Lena’s circumstances are far less drastic than her mother’s, the same “last straw” mentality can be applied to both situations. Ying-Ying’s wisdom from her past helps Lena to save her future before that straw falls, in addition to showing her the cracks in a foundation that she thought was unflawed. In this action, Ying-Ying’s past in China aids her in guiding Lena towards a better life than she had, the ultimate goal of motherhood that is reinforced throughout the

Learned helplessness is something that a lot of people go through without knowing all of the factors that may trigger it. Learned helplessness is when someone suffers from powerlessness about repeated failing attempts to succeed. This paper will focus on some of things that are related to learned helplessness and a way to help reduce it, such as mental disorders, health problems, gender, job status, and race. One way to reduce it among women is counseling with another female. Learned helplessness can cause and/or is related to mental disorders such as depression and PTSD, health problems such as asthma & weight and it is also related to job status. There are studies that show that women can reduce learned helplessness if they are counseled by another female rather than a male.

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

What is the true meaning of finding your own strength to conquer life’s inhibitions? Just like many other amazing people throughout the course of history, I have had many barriers to cross, but one always will stay in my memory. I managed to let go of the anger and hatred for a person, and are now friends with him. I used courage and integity to end the war that I hated. Using Jackie Robinson’s nine values, I let go of my troubles and learned to shine, just the way I am.

The Roman poet Horace states that “Adversity has the effect of eliciting talents which in prosperous circumstances would have lain dormant.” By this, he explains the role these hardships play in shaping and developing a person’s character. I agree that adversity not only elicits talents, but also brings out the hidden aptitudes within a person that which they were unaware of before. Through learning experiences and observations, I have witnessed the significant outcomes that come from the result of adversities.

The film Cinderella Man shows multiple examples of perseverance. Perseverance is when someone is determined to go through tough obstacles and difficulties, no matter how hard they seem to be. If someone were to face obstacles that seem impossible, they could go through them, or persevere, and try their best to overcome it instead of just giving up. If someone was to have perseverance, they would be persistent and continuously stay in the state they are, no matter how hard their problems are. Cinderella Man has multiple examples of this because the main character, James J. Braddock, perseveres through the difficult time that is the Great Depression. He took risks to fend for his family and never succumbed to his negative feelings when he faced problems that would feel almost impossible. James Braddock had shown examples of perseverance in the movie Cinderella Man.

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.

Has anyone lived a life without misfortune? Doubtable; even the person with what could be described as the ideal life deals with some form of adversity. The novel, Speak, and the short story, The Third and Final Continent, both use plot as a way to convey themes of hardship. Moreover, these texts both use symbolism in order to develop their themes as well. The Art of Resilience and Speak utilize characterization as a method of developing their respective themes. Speak, The Third and Final Continent, and The Art of Resilience each deal with the theme that all people must learn to cope with adverse situations.