Chinese Cinderella 3-7

"To her, we are not seperate people. Here we have become one single unit known as all of you. Seems like this is how it's going to be from now on." pg 25. This quote is very significant to the whole plot thus far. Adeline is talking about how her Niang(mother) has come to see the four children that were not born to her are, and how her own two children are reated with higher respect and much more power even thought they are many years younger.

In chapter 3 it discusses one of China's most known customs, the bounding of girl's feets. Adeline talks about how her grandma had arthritis, and could never walk properly since the age of 3. "It hurt so badly I couldn't sleep. I screamed with pain and begged my mother to free my feet, but she wouldn't. In fact the pain has never gone away." pg.8. I never understood why they found little feet so attractive in China. You would think that they would stop this custom from going into the future due to the fact that the bounding could ultimately lead to death. I just do not understand why they would even want to do that.

In chapters 4,5 6,and 7 it discusses her life in Tianjin without her father her two youngest siblings and her Niang. They never were told where her father and the rest of her family was living, but to Adeline it never mattered because life seemed to be much better without them. She was respected more by her siblings. But then that ended when her Nia Nia(grandma) died. Her grandma's death led them to be whisked away to Shanghai where they were reunited with her father and Niang. Life in Shanghia is much worse then life in Tianjin. For one her siblings and her are all given one floor to themselves where they all must share rooms and answer to their half-siblings half their ages. They are also disrespected by their father and Niang and they are banned from going to friends houses having friends over to their house. They are basically asked to go to school and then come home and do chores.

Adeline begins school in Shanghai and absolutely adored it. She was always top of the class and met many new friends. But on the downside she and her other siblings that were enrolled in school were never given pocket money for the bus to school and were told to walk even thought their schools were well over 3 miles.

These chapters have really opened my eyes to how children were allowed to be treated by their parents. It is kind of horrific to think that a child would get beaten and whipped for simply bringing home a friend or taking the bus to school.