Analysis of 'Chinese Cinderella'

‘Chinese Cinderella’ is a true story of a girl from a rich family who was rejected by her father,
stepmother and siblings. The extract studied is at the end of the book, where the
protagonist and author Adeline was finally permitted by her father to continue her
education.

Adeline’s worries are shown early on in figurative language. She described the thought of
leaving school as a “persistent toothache” (line 7), showing not only that the idea was
painful to her but also that she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She also considered being
called back home, an event that was usually associated with bad news, to be as tense and
frightening as a “nightmare” (line 15). She also described her heart as being “full of dread”
(line 20) on her way home, using a metaphor to express her fear for what she might find out
when she returns.

Throughout much of the passage, the writer uses rhetorical questions to show her doubt
and tension. When she followed her summons and arrived in her father’s room, she noticed
his apparent good mood and asked herself if it was only a “giant ruse” (line 38), and if she
dared to “let [her] guard down” (line 39). This shows that Adeline was accustomed to her
father’s insensitive and cruel behaviour, doubting whether she could expect any good news
from him and wondering if she should be emotionally prepared in case he said something
disappointing or nasty.

Rhetorical questions were later used to show her surprise and joy. When she heard that she
had won the International Play-writing Competition, she questioned whether it was
“possible” and whether she was “dreaming” (line 51). This showed that she thought such a
thing could only happen in her dreams. Dreams are not real and often associated with
hopes, so it conveyed both her joy and her surprise at being a winner. When her father
allowed her to go to study in England, she couldn’t decide on what to study and thought
that studying overseas was “like entering heaven” and wondered “does it matter” (line 73)
what she did in heaven. The heaven simile expresses her joy, and the thought that it didn’t
matter what she did after getting to England shows how overwhelming the idea of overseas
study was for her, as she couldn’t begin to think of what could happen after.

Her joy at the prospect of continuing her studies was reinforced in her reply to her father’s
instructions to study obstetrics despite her talent in writing. She thanked him “very, very
much” (line 91), which communicates that she was used to being ordered around by her
father, and even though she didn’t get exactly what she wanted – to study literature – she
was still extremely grateful and felt that she couldn’t ask for any more than what her father
had suggested.

Overall, this passage uses the expressive capacity of metaphors, rhetorical questions and
dialogue often and well to convey Adeline’s worries, doubts and joy.