CHINESE CINDERELLA 1
Student`s Name
`Falling Skies` is a book that was written by Adeline Yeh Ma as ahistorical account of the occurrences that had taken place within thepast one hundred years in China. The story is however told from theperspective of the eyes of a Chinese little girl. The little girlgrows and becomes an accomplished woman due to the difficultiesexperienced during childhood years. The author explains the culture,economy and the Chinese family in the book `Falling Leaves.` On theother hand, “, is an autobiography that waswritten by Adeline Yeh Ma to give readers an insight of her life`sjourney from childhood to adulthood. In this book, Adeline finds andan avenue to elucidate the complications and hitches she underwent atthe hands of her step-mother. These two books are written by thisauthor hence use the same story to pass different information.However, in both of these stories, Adeline portrays her life assimilar to that of a Cinderella. Ma becomes her prince charming inthe end contrary to the normal American Disney Cinderella stories. Mabreaks for the traditional cultural expectations of the community soas to be able to define her future in a way that satisfies her., by Adeline Yen Mah, set in the early 20th-centuryChina, and featuring a small, unloved Chinese girl, could notpossibly have any appeal to the 21st-century American audience is astatement that demonstrates to be untrue within the contemporaryworld.
The modern day world similarly offers different challenges todifferent individuals within the society. The coping techniques, aswell as the overall involvements that Adeline goes through, can beused as guidance criteria for dealing with the difficulties oneundergoes during different times of their lives. Adeline is theprotagonist in both the novels `Falling Leaves` and `ChineseCinderella`. Both the two books follow the life of Adeline fromchildhood through to her departure to England in search of a betterlife during her teenage years. Adeline is viewed as an outcast by amajority of her family members as her birth resulted in the death ofher mother. The role supposedly played by Adeline when it came to thedeath of her mother was the primary reason for the apathy that herfather felt towards her. Additionally, there is animosity betweenAdeline and her elder siblings due to their belief in her role in thedeath of her mother. “ is a book that can be usedin the contemporary world to show us how the early lives andexperiences of an individual can be solid ground and points throughwhich one shapes what they become in the future. Due to her yearningfor parental and family support and love, Adeline peruses academicexcellence leading to the right performances in school. Adeline isadvised by both her aunt Baba and her grandfather, the people sheoften turned to for comfort and guidance.
According to the story line of `Falling Leaves`, the emergence ofhistory and life provides Adeline with a platform of improving herstrength to become one active person that emerges triumphant over allthe challenging situations she faces. Unlike in ‘ChineseCinderella`, `Falling Leaves` is a story that the author has not beenable to elicit pity from the readers. The author has been able tofind her strength through the communist revolution as she uses thisrevolution as the backbone of the story instead of emotional value.The communist revolution assists with the restoration of the people`shopes by fighting against the corrupt government. Adeline borrowsthis attributes in ensuring that her readers become aware of thepotential they have in using changes.
Adeline’s story is one that is solely marked by the feelingsthat the author held regarding her childhood and how her unfortunateexperiences were able to modify her adult life for the better. `i wasoverwhelmed with horror. My whole life was desolate` (p 213). This anillustration in the book where the author`s voice unveils theemotions felt by the author (Ma, 1999). The book has been used tocapture all of the highs and the lows of Adeline in a unique way thatcan be exploited by readers to encourage and guide them towards thejourney of reaching their dreams, regardless of the situation. Thestraightforward descriptions that have been used by the author toexplain her emotional deprivation since her childhood provides thebook with a unique insight of high strength that can be held byindividuals seen during their meek moments.
In spite of the fact that Adeline is part of an affluent family,she is still neglected, deprived and ignored by her family members.However, being a part of a wealthy family might have significantlyprovided Adeline a better life in comparison to other families whosesocial status are lower compared to Adeline’s social status.Adeline described to having seen a girl for sale when she enteredPeninsula hotel with Niang (p 181). This makes a reader wonder howAdeline’s life would have been had she been from destitute family.Adeline, however, feels the children in the streets are loved morethan her. As a result, Adeline’s life seems to be similar to thatof the children in destitute yet appears to be entirely different atthe same time (Ma, 1999).
During the time that Adeline was a young girl the Chineseculture allowed for the discrimination that the author faced duringher childhood life. Different beliefs placed Adeline as the keycharacter that caused the death of the author`s mother. Food andspiritual beliefs are part of Adeline and her family`s life asillustrated during Nai Nai`s funeral (p. 22) (Ma, 1999). Language andwriting similarly appear to be a major role of the likelihood ofAdeline and her family. Adeline’s father is happy when she wins thewriting competition and as a result agrees to send her to England forfurther studies in medicine (p. 220). Due to the advancements in theChinese culture, Adeline’s aunt Baba and her grandfather can adviseon going after educational pursuit as they believe it is througheducation that Adeline can get the life that she desires to have.Moreover, it is through education that Adeline has the capability ofgetting out of her current unfair situation.
From the analysis of the story and experiences of Adeline, it isquite clear when it comes to the time as well as cultural changesthat the different characters within the study have undergone. NaiNai, who is the wife of Adeline’s grandfather, Ye Ye, had her feetbound when she was a young girl. This is contrary to the customs thatthe Chinese culture represents to Adeline during her childhood life.The cultural norms within China change as time goes by and hence thereason as to why Adeline peruses her education and academic ambitionswith passion and with success. Thus, the contemporary world presentsdifferent cultural norms and challenges that individuals have thecapabilities of surpassing according to their efforts (Ma, 1999). ACultural Revolution is this a component that individuals use toestablish their success in the modern day world.
`Falling Leaves` is a better story avenue in comparison to`.` ‘Falling Skies` has not thrived on theemotional pity from readers but has rather used the downs that theauthor has undergone as stepping stones towards her story. On theother hand, “ has represented the artist as aperfect person who is somehow entitled to all of the things she ratesfor throughout her life.
References
Ma, Y. A. (1999). : The Secret Story of anUnwanted Daughter.