Chinese Cinderella Research Paper
Education is a very powerful force which is vital to our current society and impacts directly on later life. A perfect example of the power that education has over our life circumstances is the autobiography of Ms. Adeline Yen Mah, “Chinese Cinderella”. The power of education assisted and influenced Adeline in many ways, from becoming an accepted and highly respected individual to escaping her family circumstances and strengthening her self-esteem.
Adeline wished to be accepted by everyone and it was through education that she got the most acceptance. A driving force in her life was to please Father, who hardly looked at her throughout her early life. When she is finally noticed by him at age four, it is for winning an academic medal. Adeline’s …show more content…
Education provided such a vital way to escape from her life at home for many reasons. One stand-out reason is that she could easily lose herself in her schoolwork to block out the negative feelings towards her. As she says, “I love school and prefer to be here than anywhere else in the world” (pg.119) and “I was disappointed because I’d much rather go to school than stay home” (pg.108). As shown, Adeline vastly prefers being at school than remaining at home. In this way, she is utilising the power of education to escape her home. A stimulus for her education was when Big Sister (Lydia) was married off when Adeline was just eleven years old. This revolted Adeline, who expresses her feelings very clearly “I imagined Niang introducing me to a strange man and ordering me to marry him. The thought filled me with horror and fear” (pg.100). Adeline was terrified that the same thing would happen to her, so she studied even harder in hope of escaping the fate of Big Sister. This study evidently paid off, as at age fifteen, she achieved her lifelong ambition of going to university. Prior to this event, Adeline spent her days “dreaming of a time when I could board one of those ships anchored in the bay and sail away to fabulous institutions of learning” (pg.216). She dreamt of going to university to continue her education and escape her family. The power
Adeline wished to be accepted by everyone and it was through education that she got the most acceptance. A driving force in her life was to please Father, who hardly looked at her throughout her early life. When she is finally noticed by him at age four, it is for winning an academic medal. Adeline’s …show more content…
Education provided such a vital way to escape from her life at home for many reasons. One stand-out reason is that she could easily lose herself in her schoolwork to block out the negative feelings towards her. As she says, “I love school and prefer to be here than anywhere else in the world” (pg.119) and “I was disappointed because I’d much rather go to school than stay home” (pg.108). As shown, Adeline vastly prefers being at school than remaining at home. In this way, she is utilising the power of education to escape her home. A stimulus for her education was when Big Sister (Lydia) was married off when Adeline was just eleven years old. This revolted Adeline, who expresses her feelings very clearly “I imagined Niang introducing me to a strange man and ordering me to marry him. The thought filled me with horror and fear” (pg.100). Adeline was terrified that the same thing would happen to her, so she studied even harder in hope of escaping the fate of Big Sister. This study evidently paid off, as at age fifteen, she achieved her lifelong ambition of going to university. Prior to this event, Adeline spent her days “dreaming of a time when I could board one of those ships anchored in the bay and sail away to fabulous institutions of learning” (pg.216). She dreamt of going to university to continue her education and escape her family. The power