A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Pgs 388-493)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Blogpost #5

            It was Christmas again and a year had passed since Johnny’s death. Since they had a bit more money, they went to buy Christmas presents for each other. After that, the Nolan family went to church and prayed for the repose of Johnny’s soul. Soon after, it was the beginning of 1917 and on the roof with Neely, Francie had some thoughts. She said that even though she loved her family, she had wanted somebody to love her in a different way. In the New Year, the Nolans became accustom to their new routine after Johnny’s death. While talking with Katie, Francie stated that she had disapproved with Neely’s shows in the saloons, which included playing the piano. A few months after, people were scared of the upcoming war and Francie, reading newspapers as her job, was asked by her mother if the war had started yet. Then on April 6^th, 1917, Francie read the title of a newspaper. The war had started and Francie, gathering certain objects, placed them in an envelope as a remembrance of that day. Since Francie’s boss fired everyone except her, he, his wife, and Francie tried to run the business alone. Soon, Francie was put off work and she went searching for a new job. Since Francie lost her job and the new school year was coming up, Katie began to worry about how she’ll send her two children to school. Francie took up a new job and became a typist; she thought that it was amazing that she could type something and people thousands of miles away would receive it. Francie’s job was during the night and Katie thought of a plan. Francie could still work at night and go to school during the day, but Francie refused. Even though she had fought for her education last year, now she reused to go to high school. Then Francie thought of something; she thought that if she could do that for college instead of high school, it would be possible. She went to a summer college and took classes. There, she met a guy named Ben, who was a honorable student and had his life planned out already. They befriended each other and Francie soon fell in love with him. Ben was 4 years older than Francie and Ben confessed that he liked her. When the summer education ended, Ben left but he promised that if she wrote that she needed him, he would be there. Then time pasted and by the beginning of 1918, Francie thought of her father, who she had not remembered in a long time. In the spring, Francie met a solider named Lee Rhynor and Francie soon fell madly in love with the man. The way she had felt about Ben was ‘like’ and the way she felt about Lee was ‘love’. Lee had to go back to his home before his unit leaves and before they separated, Francie had promised to devote herself to him. When she received a letter a few days later from his mother, Francie discovered that she was used and played by Lee, and that Lee had married someone else. Francie was saddened by this and thought that wants somebody to need her, not the other way around since her heart was broken. The next day, Officer McShane came over for dinner. He was an officer and long ago when Francie was little, he had asked her if Katie was her mother. Throughout the novel, he would show up and think to himself that he would marry Katie. He came over and proposed to Katie, who accepted not only because he was rich, but that she needed a man at night. At the end of Book 4, Neely and Francie talked about how they pity Laurie because she would grow up with money and that she couldn’t experience the fun times they did when they were growing up. Francie was soon leaving her job secretly and next week, she would be going to a college in Michigan, thanks to Ben’s tutoring. Ben had proposed to Francie but said that in four years he would receive her answer since she was still young. On Francie’s last Saturday, she visited all the old places that she had went to when she was younger. As Francie was packing for college, she went through all of the stuff she was going to pack. Then, when Neely asked Francie to iron a shirt, Francie saw how alike he was to Johnny. Then, the novel concludes with Francie saying bye to her younger self as she is about to leave her home.

“How do I look, Prima Donna?” (Smith 490).

I chose this quote as my last quote for this novel because while reading this part, I became emotional. In the beginning when Johnny was still alive, I remember reading about Francie, a thin little girl, ironing her father’s shirt before he left to do his job. While reading this scene with Neely and Francie, I saw also saw how similar Neely was to Johnny. In this scene, Francie, who is much older now, is doing the same action as she was doing for her father long ago, but now for Neely. When Neely asked Francie that question above, I remembered about the scene with Johnny and Francie long ago and how now this must have been very nostalgic to her. Also, Johnny would call Francie ‘Prima Donna’ as a nickname and here Neely is doing the same.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Pgs 294-388)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Blogpost #4

            After Johnny’s death, the Nolan family was numb with his loss. They forgot about Christmas and Neely’s birthday; ever since the funeral, Francie and Neely haven’t shed a tear. As they were wandering around in the streets, they let their feeling out and return home. When they came home, Katie announced to them that she was going to be both their mother and father. Katie, though she didn’t admit it to anyone, was lonely without Johnny because he would always provide some amount of money or food that would keep the family going. Now that he wasn’t there anymore, Katie had trouble because the job she was doing wasn’t enough. Katie allowed Francie and Neely to work for a bartender that was familiar with Johnny. When they baby was born, she was named Annie Laurie, or Laurie as she was called; she was named after one of the songs Johnny used to sing. Before Laurie was born, Francie was writing a play for her graduation. What she wrote about was what her English teacher called ‘ugliness’ because it was about the truth about man, poverty, hunger, and all the depressing topics. Francie didn’t understand why her writing was ugly and told her to burn them, while chanting ‘I’m burning ugliness’. When Francie did go home, she wrote some more about a rich spoiled girl who asked for fancy desserts. When Francie realized that she had just written about hunger in a twisted way, she burned all of her writing. After Laurie was born, Francie’s and Neely’s graduations were coming up. Since Katie was going to Neely’s, she wasn’t going to Francie so Sissy went instead. Francie, expecting no flowers on her desk for her graduation, was surprised that she found a bundle of roses from her dead father. A year ago, Johnny had told Sissy to remind him to send flowers for Francie’s graduation, in case he had forgotten. Francie broken into tears. After their graduation, Francie and Neely went to work, even though they were underage. They brought home their paychecks and presented it to Katie, who quietly shed tears of happiness for the extra cash. Six months later, Francie was laid off and she went job hunting. She was hired at the Model Press Clipping Bureau, where her job was to file out papers. Later, Francie’s job was to read and mark big time newspapers. When the school year was near, Francie asked her mother if she could continue her education. Katie had decided that Neely, who doesn’t want to, was to go back and Francie would keep working, which caused a disruption between mother and daughter. Even after Francie had apologized, they knew that their relationship wasn’t going back to the way it was before.

           

            “They had no one in all the world but Mama” (Smith 329).

            I chose this quote because what Francie was thinking to herself during this part made me very emotional. Francie was thinking in fragments about what would happen to her and Neely if their mother was gone and after that Francie began to frantically apologize to God. Before, Francie had told Neely that she didn’t believe in God since he took Johnny, who didn’t do anything wrong in her eyes. Now she was praying to God and begging him not to harm or take away Katie since without her, Francie and Neely couldn’t survive in the world. While reading this, I became caught up in her emotions that I even I started became hysterical in a teary way, not a hysterical terror way like Francie.  

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Pgs 195-293)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Blogspot #3

            Around Thanksgiving time, Francie did a few things: she told a lie, was found out, and discovered that she had a talent for writing. Her teacher learned that Francie was lying for her own selfish sake and told her to write down her imagination to separate it from reality; Francie did and discovered that she wanted to be a writer when she grows up. On the night of Christmas Eve, the poor children in the neighborhood go to the Christmas tree shop and there, the store owner throws unwanted trees to kids, where they stand and catch it; if they succeeded, they keep it and if they don’t then they don’t. Francie and Neeley both tried to catch the grandest tree there, which they achieve and dragged it home. Everyone in the building was surprised and they joined in with Johnny’s choir. Katie, watching all of this happened, thought about the future and how she doesn’t want her children to turn out like them and that an education is the key to not becoming in the place they were now. Katie thought about Francie and how she’s growing up and distancing herself away from her mother, how she might find out Katie’s affection towards Neeley more, and how Francie doesn’t understand Katie. This entire thought process she thought of when her family was merrily dragging the Christmas tree up to their flat.

            Between Francie’s 11^th and 12^th birthdays, Francie noticed that she was growing up. She was looking past the little white lies her parents would tell to her and Neeley and her view was beginning to change. During the summer, Johnny had the notion that his children should love the sea and he took them and a neighbor’s child along to go fishing. The trip ended in disasters because the children became sick, the bought fish turned rotten and the neighbor didn’t understand Johnny’s idea and yelled at him. Ever since Francie found out she like writing, she kept a diary. She wrote about how she would never befriend a woman after she saw an incident with the neighborhood women. They were gossiping about a 17 year old single mother and how she shouldn’t stroll about with her child. Katie told Francie that she should be an example to her but Francie didn’t think like her mother and believed that women were devils. Francie wrote in her diary up to the fall and in the entries, she mentions her dad coming home quite a lot because he was sick. In her last entry she wrote a questioned asking if she was curious about sex, but then answered it with a yes. A sex crazed was going around with students in their school. They were curious about it and when Francie asked Katie about it, Katie told her; Francie was one of the lucky students that were told the truth, instead of having to go and test it out for herself.

            There was a rapist going around the neighborhood around this time and he killed a little girl down the streets. Parents protectively watched their children come home and the streets were quiet. When time went by without any trouble, the pervert struck again. He was about to attack Francie but Katie wounded him with a pistol. Francie wasn’t hurt but was given medicine to make her numb and she was told that it was all a dream, which she fell into believing. Sissy, Francie’s aunt, had wanted a baby terribly but her child was unable to survive for long so she came up with a plan. She heard about a family that was ashamed of their pregnant daughter; Sissy offered to take the baby after he/she has been born and she tricked her husband. Since there was no evidence that it wasn’t Sissy’s baby and since she stuck with it, everyone just believed her.

            Francie had a habit that she couldn’t go to sleep unless she was sure that her father, singing when he walks through the door, was safely home. When he did come home, he was singing the last verse of a song, in which he never sang before, which was about a death. Francie knew that her father wasn’t drunk but for some reason, she cried that night. When it was Christmas again, Katie was playing the piano and the children were eating their dinner; the atmosphere was tender but it changed when Johnny came home without singing. He started shouting how he hated how he hadn’t touch alcohol in a long time, and how he lost his job. Johnny died three days later. The first day he left, the second day he didn’t come home and everyone started looking for him. The third day, Katie was called to the hospital and saw that Johnny had contracted pneumonia. Katie used the money in the tin-can bank to buy a plot of land for the grave and on the death certificate, Katie told the doctor to write down pneumonia for the cause of death only, not including that alcohol was involved. After the funeral was done and the Nolans arrived back home, Katie started crying and Sissy tried to calm her down, saying that it wasn’t good for the unborn child, meaning that Katie is pregnant again.

“We’ll not have Johnny with us long” (Smith 208).

            I chose this quote because when I read it, I could interpret that Johnny was going to die soon. This also brought me back to a quote before, on page 123, “Francie didn’t notice that he said my last home instead of our last home” (Smith 123). When I also read this the first time, I didn’t fully understand what Johnny meant by this and ponder over this quote for a few minutes, but with no lead. As I read further into the novel, I began to think that something was going to happen to Johnny and it was confirmed by this quote. Even before in Francie’s diary, when she said Johnny kept being sick, my hypothesis grew stronger. Now I was sure Johnny was going to die and he did past away.  

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Pgs 98-194)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Blogpost #2

            When Johnny became of voting age, he drank a lot. Katie tried to prevent him from doing so and locked him in their room but he cried and wailed, causing a disturbance in the neighborhood. When Sissy, Katie’s sister came, she said that she would fix Johnny up. She held Johnny close to her like a mother would to her child (though she didn’t see it that way) and gave him the alcohol he needed until he calmed down. When Sissy was comforting Katie, she used a harsher method because she knows that Katie is strong while Johnny isn’t. After that, Katie was ashamed to stay in that neighborhood since the neighbors know too much of their family. They moved and Katie became a janitress to pay for the rent. The proceed to move was simple since they didn’t have a lot to move and Mrs. Rommely, Katie’s mother, sprinkled holy water in the rooms to welcome God to come in if He chooses.

The Nolans were content with their new home and as time went by, the children grew, Katie worked more, and Johnny worked less and drank more. Francie wanted to make friends and was unable to because the other girls thought that she was different. Even though this happened to Francie, the Nolans were satisfied with where they lived, but that changed when Sissy came. In an incident involving Sissy, the neighbors started talk about the Nolans. Then another incident with Sissy which involved the children and a cigarette box made Katie and her other sister, Evy, to ban Sissy from going into their houses. In book three, the Nolans moved again into their new flat and in their new flat was a piano. It was left by the previous owners since they couldn’t remove it from the room. The piano became the Nolans most valuable item in their home and they hired a piano teacher to teach Katie. She taught Francie and Neely and in no time they could use it.

            Since Francie was lonely at home, she looked forward to school, a place where she could make friends and learn. Before she could go to school, her and Neely had to be vaccinated; they didn’t listen to Katie’s orders of washing themselves before going and Francie heard the cruel comments from the doctor and nurse. Her arm became infected later but Johnny cleaned it real good and it healed. Since the vaccination taught her something, she looked forward to school. Her image of school was destroyed when she went because the pampered and rich students were favored over filthy and poor children like her. Sissy, who was accepted back into the family, came to the school and threaten the teacher by lying to her and saying Francie had kidney problems; Francie was allowed to go to the bathroom from then on. The school was overcrowded with students and Katie, fearing that her children might catch a disease, scrubbed her children with smelly chemicals and garlic. Everybody stayed away from the Nolan children but Francie, already used to the loneliness, didn’t suffer as much. While walking around the neighborhood, Francie found a much better school far away from her home. They sent a letter to the principal with a false address and Francie was treated equally with all the students.  

“He removed it gently and edged as far away from her as he could” (Smith 150).

            I choose this quote because it struck me as odd. Johnny had come home and found Francie still awake. She had explained about her arm and the vaccination and he revealed the bandage to find himself seeing a swollen infested arm. He lied to Francie that when he was vaccinated, his arm was twice as worse and he cleaned it real good before wrapping it up in a clean shirt. The arm healed a few days later. When Francie went to bed, Johnny smoked a cigar and went to bed himself. Katie was already sleeping and in a rare act of affection, she threw her arms around his chest. Johnny removed her arm and shifted away from her. He then faced the wall, clasped his hands together under his chin and laid staring into the dark all night. How Johnny’s action struck me as odd is that he married Katie because they were in love and now he pushes her away. Also, when he clasped his hands and stayed awake in the dark, it made me wonder with he was praying for Francie to get better and for her arm to heal. Also, he lied to Francie about him being vaccinated, which he never was and it made my inference about him praying more stronger.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Pgs 3-97)

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Blogpost #1

            A Tree Grows in Brooklyn is about a girl named Francie Nolan, who is part Austria and part Irish, and her poor life living in the slums of Brooklyn, New York. The time is during the early 1900s and Francie is the eldest child of her parents, a pretty woman named Katie Rommelys and a singer named Johnny Nolan. She has a brother nicknamed Neely, who’s real name is Cornelius, and a year younger than Francie. She talks about her Saturday and what the routine is for the members of her household. Every Saturday morning Francie and Neely collect metal they found in dumps and trade it in for a few cents, half in which they save for themselves and the other half stored in a saving can.

Francie is a unique girl and no one wanted to be friends with her because she speaks differently. Every night, she and Neely would read a page from the Bible and a page from one of Shakespeare’s works in a small book, thus increasing their diction even though they don’t know what the meaning is. She also reads a book once a day and is very observant for a child her age. She notices objects such as a vase and she would say that once she grows up, she would have this and that in her house. She would read until dinnertime, the time when she had to buy groceries for dinner; stale bread, condensed milk, coffee, onions, and potatoes were the foods they mostly lived off of. Book One would end with the end of that Saturday and Book Two starts the history of how Francie’s parents met.

            Katie Rommelys came from a family of strong women with personality while Johnny Nolan came from a family of weak and talented men. While her family married the wrong men, his family died out quickly; since none of them had child, their bloodline never continued, except for Johnny. Katie was seventeen and Johnny was nineteen when they met. Katie’s friend Hildy had Johnny as a dance date but Johnny soon left her for Katie; within 4 months, they married. A year later, Katie was pregnant and during the labor, Johnny drank since he didn’t know what to do and forgot about his occupation, losing it in the same night. The couple was still young and life had just started for them, only for it to be ended at the beginning. Francie was a baby that was born skinny and had a blue look, making people believe that she wouldn’t make it; her mother compared her to the strong tree that survives in harsh conditions, which some people called The Tree of Heaven. Neely was born a year after Francie and was healthier than her, making Katie feel closer to him and she swore to herself that she would love him more than Francie but not let her know. As the years went by, Katie lost her tenderness for them and became hard and capable. Johnny became hopeless and jobless, making him a drunk since he knows that he has to keep a family alive. Though they had loved each other at first, the major difference between them was that she faced the harsh reality they were living in while he stayed stuck in his dreams.

“Johnny looked like a handsome, devil-may-care Irish boy instead of the husband of a scrub-woman and the father of two children who were always hungry” (Smith 38).

            I chose this quote because this describes Johnny, who was a young careless man instead of a father. Johnny did come from a family full of good- looking men but most of his brothers died before having children. Johnny was an acceptation but having children when he himself was just a childish and foolish adult drove him to drink. This led to him becoming a hopeless man that can’t even provide for his family of four and led to him drink even more because he knows of this. He knows that he has a wife that’s mostly providing the income since he can’t find work and two children who are undernourished. While other people may see him as a handsome young man, they don’t know about his life, his family, and most importantly, his emotions.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter (157-197)

            Her relatives were leaving soon and Yen Mah was going to ask her father if she could come along but she was reticent and didn’t say good bye to them. A little while after, her stepmother and Fourth Brother asked her to pack her bags and they took her away in the car. Yen Mah had thought about her grandfather and how she was one day going to rescue him. Along the way, her brother demanded to snack, so they went to a hotel and when Fourth Brother told the waiter of their Chinese surname, they were to wait for half an hour. Impatient, her mother gave them her French given name and they received their wish; Hong Kong was a British Colony and their people come before natives. Then Yen Mah is enrolled into a boarding school named Sacred Heart School and Orphanage, and she is left there by herself, just like when she was in Tianjin. Two years passed since she had last seen her family and everyday Yen Mah lives through her poverty at school. While her friends obtain gifts of rare snacks from their family members, she doesn’t receive anything; the students in her school interpret that her family doesn’t care about her. From the undersize brown dress and worn tennis shoes Yen Mah wore on free days, they could tell that she was different. They do know that she was a scholar and Yen Mah even skipped some grades. Against the beautiful and rich student Monica in writing, the teachers decide Yen Mah’s over hers, making her ignore her. It soon became summer break before all the girls left to their families, visiting hours were extended; this meant to Yen Mah that parents could have a tour of the place. While escaping the oncoming parents, she hid in the bathroom and overheard what Monica and another girl said about her. Thought their words were cruel at first, they concluded by saying that she was different, in a special sort of way. Once summer break started, Yen Mah was the only student left at the academy. When winter break was starting, once again Yen Mah is left alone at school and before two of her distant friends left, they made a pact to always be there for each other. During the winter, Yen Mah catches pneumonia and she was sent to the hospital, where she was given an injection to feel better. She was sent home for a week to recuperate and she is reunited with Thrid Brother and Ye Ye. They talk about what had happen since they’ve been separated and Yen Mah was asked by her brother what she wanted to become when she grew older. She replied that she was worthless, which Ye Ye protested against and said that he has faith and believes in her. Winter break was still not over by the time Yen Mah came back to school and while looking through a magazine, she found a writing competition. Taking her grandfather’s advice, she tries out for it and hopes for a letter from the writing board for half a year. Three months after the start of 1952, Yen Mah attended Ye Ye’s funeral. The rest of her family members didn’t shed a tear during the event, only stood there with impassive expressions. At home, Niang informed Yen Mah to find a job and support herself. She was only fourteen years old.  When she came back to school, her friends were playing a game: each girl writes something about themselves and the other girls write what they think of her. When it was Yen Mah’s turn, she wrote nothing but to her surprised, her friends said that she would be mostly likely to succeed; this is one of those times in which people believe that she isn’t worthless and that she is special. One day, Yen Mah was driven home and her father, who had never acknowledged her, summoned her in his room. In his room, her father praised her for being the victor of the writing competition, which impressed a business friend of his. At this time Yen Mah asked him if she could study in England like her brothers, which he agreed to. Though he rejected her path of writing, he set her on a medical major in college; she didn’t care as long as she leaves to England. Yen Mah received a letter from her aunt a few months later and she tells her a story about Cinderella and how she lived a life similar to Yen Mah’s. Then novel ended with her aunt dubbing Yen Mah as her very own Chinese Cinderella.

“In fact, we have voted you most likely to succeed” (Yen Mah 188).

            I chose this specific quote because despite what she thought of herself, it wsn’t what everyone else thought. Ever since she was young, Yen Mah was constantly told by her grandfather and aunt that she wasn’t trash or worthless but instead special and unique. Yen Mah begs to differ and she loathes that she is just that. What she doesn’t see it that she has a talent in writing and learning, which is why her being top of the class since kindergarten is proof of this. Even after hearing about how different she is, Yen Mah doesn’t accept that she’s special until her father, the person who she wants the most recognition from, praises her. It is at this time she realizes that she had made her father proud and doesn’t care about which path she takes in life; it seems that she doesn’t realize her importance until the end.

Chinese Cinderella The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter (123-156)

When Yen Mah arrives to the airport, it is crowded with many people trying to fight for tickets. To her surprised, about 10 people boarded the plane. The younger Yen mah didn’t know of it at the time but Communists were advancing towards Beijing and Tianjin, their destination. While people were running away in the opposite direction, they were going towards the danger. On the plane passengers were required to fill out an information sheet to her dismay, Yen Mah’s father forgot her Chinese name and birthday; her father gave her the same birthday as his since they didn’t know. In Tianjin, everyone was speaking Mandarin, not in the Shanghai dialect she speaks at home. Once getting picked up, her parents immediately dropped her off at her old school where she went for kindergarten; it was night and when she settled into bed, some beds were empty, indicating that students left before the Communists came. The next morning, Yen Mah discovers from another student’s mother that they were drawing near and she should be fleeing this area and was wondering what her parents was thinking in leaving her there. Since families were leaving the city, there were fewer students attending school each day and soon Yen Mah was the only one left. The nuns allowed her to roam the place and avoided her since they didn’t know what to do with her. Even when Christmas and New Years Day pasted, her parents didn’t show up. To past the time, Yen Mah learned how to do origami and one of the nuns gave her an origami books for Christmas. One day a nun ran up to her and exclaimed that her aunt was here to pick Yen Mah up. With her hopes rising, she rushed to see that it was her aunt from her mother’s side, one that she met when she was only 4 or 5 years old. With her aunt, uncle, and their two children, Yen Mah sailed on a boat to Hong Kong. Along the way, she experienced a loving family where everyone was fair and loves each other. She also saw the brotherly love her cousin was giving to his sister, one that she would never feel because her brothers treat her like dirt. Once in Hong Kong, they made their way to her parents’ jam pack home, where her stepsiblings and grandfather also lived. Yen Mah discovers that her grandfather had succumbed to her parents and though her name was mentioned, her parents didn’t look at her at all. In the next few days, the family would go out and explore while Ye Ye and her would stay at home. Yen Mah didn’t know how to read Chinese and Ye Ye explains to her the Chinese symbols and writing. When her grandfather decided to travel along with them, there was no room in the car for Yen Mah. Niang pestered to leave her at home but her cousin, Victor, stepped out and stays home with Yen Mah. Having felt gratitude, Yen Mah gave him her prized origami book, which he is grateful but doesn’t fully understand the reason.

“To receive a letter addressed to me. Just one letter. From anyone” ( Yen Mah 131).

            I chose this quote because knowing that she is always alone, I can predict that she would want a simple wish such as this. The meaning of the quote changes because as I read on about her experience back in this academy, she is still alone. From the start, there was a decrease in students and the classes were separated by the student’s ability to speak English. She was placed in a beginner’s class and was surrounded by students younger than her. Also, she was promised by her aunt that she would write back but with the country’s condition at that time, to deliver a letter seemed impossible. Of course, reading the new information about her stay, I could understand why she would want a letter from anybody.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter (72-122)

After Yen Mah’s father and stepmother returned from their trip from Tianjin, the seven children got a gift from old family friends. They gave each child a baby duckling and after her siblings had chosen theirs, she was left with a tiny duckling. Yen Mah named her Precious Little Treasure (PLT) and the duckling became her best friend. They got very close to each other since Yen Mah was protective of her and told her all of her feelings as if she understood. Yen Mah would even feed PLT worms she dug up in the garden, even if Jackie, a large dog that belonged to her father. On the roof terrace was the duck pen and Second Brother found Yen Mah favoring her own duckling by giving her a worm. When that worm was taken away and she went to dig up a new one, Jackie bit her wrist and the only person who noticed was Aunt Baba. They decided not to tell anyone unless they notice and head to dinner. After dinner, the father and Niang was talking about Jackie’s obedience lesson and decided to test it out. Ironically, the lessons have been failing since Jackie only listens to her father and step family. Her father told his children to bring down one duckling and it turns out to be PLT. Yen Mah could only watch as her close companion was killed; the next morning she buried it in the garden when her father left with Jackie. In school, Wu Chun-mei begged Yen Mah to attend her birthday party, which after much pestering, Yen Mah agreed; she didn’t have time to retake her answer back because it would’ve ruined her friend’s mood. Her aunt knew of the event and gave her a silver coin so she could buy a gift. The party was on a holiday in which only her school had the day off so without telling her stepmother, Yen Mah attended the party. She soon had to return for lunch at home, causing Niang to become suspicious of her behavior. She found out that Yen Mah was lying and Aunt Baba was going behind their backs so her father decided to separate them. Wu Chun-mei did not know what happen and went on with the lie that Niang told her about her not being able to return back to the party. In school, there was an election for class president and run like a democracy, the students voted for Yen Mah but in her speech she refused and passed it onto her friend in fear of being late to go home. At home, her aunt tried to ask her what Yen Mah’s parents said yesterday but her grandfather said to leave her alone and don’t tear her down. The next day her friend won and Yen Mah went home like always but her friends secretly followed her home in hopes of a celebration. They don’t know the life she lives through and Yen Mah becomes afraid; her parents heard the commotion in their living room and they become furious at Yen Mah. In a separated room with the door open, they yelled insults and punished her; Yen Mah’s friends heard everything and left home, understanding her situation. Yen Mah’s punishment was that she is to live somewhere else, away from her aunt since Niang believes that her evilness rubbed off. In school the next day, Yen Mah was voted for class president, making her feel at home, but when she comes home, she finds out that she is to leave the next day to Tianjin with her parents and without her aunt. The chapter ends with Yen Mah and her aunt talking about how they would stay in contact with each other, how her aunt would always be with her and how Yen Mah is special.

“Let her study! She won’t disappoint you. When you’ve reached my age, you know which children are weak and which are strong. Don’t ask her too many questions. Don’t criticize her or tear her down. I don’t want her to grow up like Big Sister. She is going to be different!” (Yen Mah 110).

            I picked this speech by her grandfather because once I read it, they way he said it jumped out to me. Knowing what she had went through in life and a gist of her pain, I feel like there are some people like her grandfather and aunt that still believe and care for her, even when everyone else in the family doesn’t. When I read the last sentence of his speech, I knew that he still had confidence that Yen Mah wouldn’t turn out like her sister, who submitted to Niang when gifts were given to her. I also know that he knows that she is strong, which is true because she was only around ten years old and she has to encounter all of these depressing feelings swirling around her life. Also, when I read this, I imagined Yen Mah still mentally standing while her sister is crumbled down with the criticized and questions.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter (42-71)

Chinese New Year was a holiday not only for children but for adults also. New clothes are worn on that day to signal a new beginning. When Yen Mah’s parents gave her and her older siblings traditional Chinese clothing, they are disappointed in their gifts because their stepmother’s favored children received western clothing. Yen Mah was included along with her older siblings in an act to rebel against their parents by writing an anonymous letter to their father complaining about their needs. Their older sister, the leader of the group, soon was pursued to join their stepmother’s side and the group’s plan doesn’t follow out. In school Yen Mah found a passion to write fictional stories and is accepted into the class but they suspected something was off in her family life. Though Yen Mah tries to act like she has a normal family, she hides the negative emotions in her. Wu Chun- mei was an athletic classmate that befriends Yen Mah when she saw her walking to and from school, even in dangerous weather. During this time, World War II had ended when America dropped the atomic bomb on Japan and American influences came in to their country since America was their hero. Wu Chun- mei let her borrow a book similar to Yen Mah’s life and she became attached to it since she could relate to the protagonist’s feelings. In the spring of 1946, her father, older sister, and step family went north, staying away for three months. During this time, everyone in the household had more freedon and her brothers rebel against the rules their parents set up. One heated summer day, Yen Mah was tricked in drinking contaminated orange juice by her 3 brothers. She cried, not because of their cruelty but because Third Brother’s, her kindest and youngest older brother, nicer side disappeared.

“They didn’t know that in front of them, I was desperate to keep up with the pretense that I came from a normal, loving family” (Yen Mah 54).

            Yen Mah had put up a façade in school in order to try and fit in with her other classmates who don’t live under the same family conditions as her. Little do they know that she was distressed in finding a place where she could fit in and be treated as someone special, unlike the behavior her family gives her behind doors. Only a young child at around the age of 10, Yen Mah had this pressure of being unwanted and a child as young at her shouldn’t be harboring these kinds of feelings. In my opinion, I think children her age should be still acting like a child and free from such heavy burdens on them self.

Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter (1-41)

Chinese Cinderella: the True Story of an Unwanted Daughter by Adeline Yen Mah tells the factual story of an unwanted daughter in a rich Chinese family. Her birth mother dies after childbirth and at a very young age, Yen Mah has been hated by her family members for something she didn’t intentionally do. Yen Mah’s grandparents, who are the head of the family, are nice to her and don’t have the hatred that everyone else holds. Beside her grandparents, Yen Mah is close to her Aunt Baba but deep down her aunt has a grudged against her for killing her best friend. Though Yen Mah is recognize in first grade for her achievements, her siblings mistreat her behind the adults’ backs and are ashamed of her. There are times in which no one remembers to drop and pick her up from and to school. Yen Mah’s father is wanted by Japanese business men during World War II and he flees their home; her stepmother, Niang, and her young stepbrother leaves with him for a year and a half. Yen Mah and her siblings live a life with more freedom and happiness in their life, though Yen Mah is still abused. During this time, her grandmother Nai Nai experiences a stroke and pasts away. Later, Yen Mah and her siblings moved to Shanghai to be reunited with the rest of their family in their overly decorative home where there are treated as a group by their parents rather than individuals. Niang takes over as the head of the house and everyone dares not to talk back to her. She expresses her hatred to Yen Mah by threatening her and when Yen Mah needed tram money, she refuses to beg before her stepmother, unlike her siblings who did. At a young age she was already looking out for herself.

“Hearing this, I’d feel a stab of anguish because I was the only one always excluded” (Yen Mah 41).

When I read this sentence and many of the other sentences relating to her feeling, I felt pity for Yen Mah and what she had to go through as a child. She lived as a person being hated and she didn’t do it on purpose but her family members don’t see it that way. They think that she was the cause of her mother’s death though it was really a disease that murders her mother; they just put their disgust on her by blaming her. She was always excluded in the family and as a child she doesn’t have the say in the family. When her grandmother was alive, Yen Mah’s life was better than the one she was experiencing after her death. This is an important quote because as a young child she was already experiencing negative emotions which she could’ve encounter when she’s a bit older.