Informative Essay on Chinese Cinderella

Chinese Cinderella Essay In the book, “Chinese Cinderella,’ by Adeline Yen Mah, there are many things that happen to Adeline throughout her life. The book is based on the original Chinese Cinderella, had a similar life to Adeline. Both were maltreated by their stepmothers, both original mothers die and both gradually become more powerful and renowned throughout their lives. The two girls were severely maltreated by their stepmothers throughout their childhood years. Chinese Cinderella, Ye Xian, was bullied by her stepmother.
In the letter from Aunt Baba about the Chinese Cinderella, it said, “Her stepmother maltreated her, showing preference for her own daughter. ” So what Ye Xian’s stepmother did was, she ate Ye Xian’s only friend, her goldfish, then she hid it but then Ye Xian found out. Adeline Yen Mah was also maltreated by her stepmother. Her stepmother was always biased and only treated her own children and the elder children (siblings of Adeline) well. For example, Niang never gave her any tram money but she gave it to the other children.
Also, Niang and her father never cared for her when she was young. What Adeline’s parents did affected her a lot in life. Adeline would strive to achieve more throughout her time at school to show what she could do, which made her more confident to work harder and have a better future. Both of the girls’ mothers die when the girls were very young. Ye Xian’s mother died first, and then her dad passed away a short time later. So the only carer for Ye Xian was her father’s other wife, her stepmother. She had her own child and didn’t care much for her, leaving Ye Xian on her own.

Adeline’s mother died when Adeline wasn’t even in kindergarten yet. But Adeline wasn’t told much about her mother, even how her mother looked. On page 3, it said, “Do you have a picture of my dead mama? ” But her aunt hesitated a bit and said no. This changed Adeline’s life because this could have made her work a lot harder at school so she could get a good job and try to recover her mother’s history. The two girls were afraid and weak when they were young but proved they could do well and become powerful when they got mature. Ye Xian was a professional at being a potter.
She made many pots once and traded them for a pair of golden shoes. She wore them to a festival but lost one. A warlord found out it was Ye Xian’s shoe and married her. This is how Ye Xian was successful at the end. Adeline Yen Mah also became powerful at the end after all the years of suffering. She got very good marks at school and entered a writing contest once and won first prize. Her father was proud of her for one time and let her go to university in England. She was successful and got married and became a mother, which was a very big responsibility for her.
How they became powerful was a big step for the two girls because they could have courage in themselves, giving them more opportunities they had never done before and not be afraid to encounter problems. I think that Aunt Baba sent her this story because she wanted to tell Adeline she wasn’t the only person that was treated that way and wanted to give her more faith in herself. In conclusion, Chinese Cinderella and Adeline Yen Mah had pretty much the same life, but just different people in their stories.