Chinese Cinderella (4th Form Exams)

ideas + perspectives (6 bullet points)

• self-deprecation (father encourages)

• power imbalance between her + other characters

• academic success

• gendered expectations

• resilience + hope (doesn’t give up on her dreams)

• search for identity + belonging (struggles to feel accepted within family)

language: “possible typhoon the next day“

• pathetic fallacy

• tone of uncertainty

language: “Full of foreboding“

alliteration of fricatives emphasises dread = challenges expectations because home is usually a place of comfort

language: “stretch out my hand to reach the stars“

• metaphor = opportunity

• cosmic scale

language: “like entering heaven“

simile deifies England → emphasises how desperate she is to escape

language: “How marvellous it was to simply be alive“

hyperbole suggests desire to study + escape home

structure: “Sit down! Sit down!“

• father characterised as domineering

• imperatives show authority = power imbalance

structure: “smiled“, “relaxed“, “happy“

semantic field of positivity juxtapose AYM fear + anxiety

structure: “Is it possible? Am I dreaming? Me, the winner?“

• triad of rhetorical questions emphasises low self-esteem

• tone of disbelief

structure: “Women will always be having babies. Women patients prefer women doctors“

• presents opinions as fact → father controlling + domineering

• stereotypical gender roles