Chinese Cinderella
A young Chinese girl, Adeline Yen Mah. Born the fifth child to an wealthy Chinese family her life begins tragically. Adeline's mother died shortly after her birth due to complications bought on by the delivery. This situation worsens by her father's new marriage to a lady who has little love for her husband's five children. She displayed carelessness and hatred towards all of the children, particularly Adeline, She favors her own younger son and daughter born soon after the marriage. Adeline's struggle to find a place where she feels she belongs. Denied love from her parents, she finds some relationships with her grandfather Ye Ye, and her Aunt Baba, but they are taken from her. Adeline only way to make this better is for academic achievement luckily she is very smart, but also for its own rewards as she finds great pleasure in words and school success.
I had seen infants wrapped in newspapers left to die in doorways. Beggar-children in rags routinely
rummaged the garbage-cans searching for food. (p.131) I picked this quote because it shows how they are living when children are unwanted.
As Adeline enters the Peninsula hotel with Niang she sees a girl for sale
(p.181).I picked this because at this point Adeline feels for the first time that no one can help her not aunt baba or ye ye.
Does it matter what you do after you get to heaven? (p.220)I picked this because it shows that she knows there is a better place somewhere.
Nai Nai, Ye Ye.s wife, has had her feet bound as a child this changed when Adeline was born because of Chinese culture and was under new rule by the French
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