15 Trisha T.

Huang 8-1

Now I Know

There is truth in the saying ‘no man is an island’. Adeline hardly made her way
through the hardships and challenges she had to face – luckily, her aunt, her grandfather
and her good friends were there for her.

For me, the most difficult situation she had experienced started when her friends
tried to give her a surprise celebration party. It was when they finally knew the truth –
being unloved and unwanted by her own parents. It was also when her parents told her
that she must go somewhere else, somewhere far from her Aunt Baba. That place was
actually back in Tianjin! Everyone was fleeing Tianjin yet she was coming from the
opposite direction! At first, I didn’t think that she could be compared to Cinderella and it
was only at that moment when I understood why she was called the Chinese Cinderella – it
was like her parents sent her there to get persecuted by the Communists.

It was obvious that she had a family that didn’t care about her – if she wanted to
survive, she had to depend on herself. It definitely affected every part of her – her
personality, attitude and her whole life. That’s why she became independent and
hardworking which was the only way she could survive and make her family proud. With
all the emotions contained inside, she took interest in writing (where she was able to
express her feelings), and reading. Thus, aside from being a doctor, she also became a
writer.

I guess the primary reasons of her being unwanted was Adeline causing her own
mother’s death and being a daughter. For that, she was considered bad luck and was less
preferred over her brothers, and these were just some of the Chinese values manifested in
the novel. The ones still present now that are shown in the novel are the studying and
valuing of the Chinese language, pre-arranged marriage, wearing new clothes on New
Year’s day, burning articles for the needs of someone who died (in the next world), calling
children names dependent on the order of their births at home, and having surnames come
first in Chinese names. I agree that we should still keep practicing these values because
they represent our culture and traditions and who we are, but remember that we should
still think first before we act and not lose our sense of right and wrong. The preference of
sons over daughters and considering a child over bad luck will never be right for any child
because he or she won’t be given an equal opportunity at everything if his or her thinking
will be like this throughout his or her life. I mean, they didn’t have a choice, right? If I were
told that I was to marry someone whom I didn’t even know, I wouldn’t. Although arranged
marriage could sometimes have happy endings, I still don’t think it’s the right thing to do.
Unfortunately, some parents don’t listen to their children so they still continue to practice
these traditions and cultural values even we don’t agree with them at all.

For the first time, I realized how one’s beliefs, tradition and culture could somehow
shape someone’s personality, attitude and eventually, the person’s whole life. Actually, I
was very fortunate to have been born in a loving family in an era of peace. I came to realize
how hard times were when there was war. Now, I know how lucky I am that there is no
favoritism in my family, were we all care for each other. I also came to understand the
importance of education. As you can see, Adeline was still able to succeed in the end even
though there were so many obstacles in her way, and I believe she was only able to because
she studied hard. Throughout Adeline’s childhood story, I also saw the fundamental key to
solving her problems and that if never giving up and lose confidence in yourself.

To all those children who suffered like Adeline or maybe even worse, I know that I
would never be able to fully understand what you’re feeling, but I just want you to
remember this--you are the master of your fate. You control your destiny. Just don’t give up
and you will succeed.