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Chinese Cinderella

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Chinese Cinderella
Text Response: “Chinese Cinderella” by Adeline Yen Mah
Explain the main theme (idea) in your text and comment on why the theme is so important.

An important theme in the book “Chinese Cinderella” by Adeline Yen Mah is the power of knowledge and perseverance against all problems be they small or big. The book demonstrates the importance of these themes by portraying a character: Adeline who through her adversities, perseveres to overcome obstacles and empowers herself by excelling in academic studies.

The theme in the book “Chinese Cinderella” is important as it highlights, how the impact you have in the world and that the success some enjoy are not due to pre determined social status or by the amount of money you have but by determination and dedication to a cause or goal. It teaches us that the ability to achieve goals and harness the great potential that lies within everybody cannot only be accomplished by possessing skills or intelligence. In contrast while the latter may be vital determination and perseverance is even more so as without the ability to persevere towards a better tomorrow and without the fortitude to achieve it, our skills and intelligence become a useless commodity, our capabilities and potential lie dormant within, waiting for us to gather the strength and courage to achieve them.

Adeline demonstrates to the reader the importance of education and perseverance on several occasions during the story the most obvious being when in order to go to England and receive a higher education, she despite being constantly rejected, neglected and abused by her family strives to achieve her goal. As her grandfather, Ye Ye says in the book: “you have your whole life ahead of you everything is possible”. “You are precious and special; being top in your class merely confirms this”. But you can only vanquish the demons, only you can convince yourself of your own words”. These words summarize the moral of the story and the lessons, which one can learn

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