Assignment #5
In chapter 18 Adeline describes what literature has come to mean to her. "I was alone with my beloved books. What bliss! To be left in peace with Cordelia, Regan, Gonoril, and Lear himself--characters more real than my family back home or my schoolmates downstairs... What happiness! What comfort!" Books were an important source of comfort for Adeline. Chapter 5 of Help Your Child to Thrive talks about how books and/or movies can help young people to see situations from different perspectives and imagine constructive solutions. How is Adeline an example of this? In what ways does Niang seem to fit the profile for Narcissistic Personality disorder? (200 words or more)
Kitty Lui
Since Adeline didn’t see much of her family while she was in school, she buried herself in reading books in the library, while every one else was with their families. By doing this, Adeline didn’t lose all hope in herself even with no support from her family. By reading books, she was able to see that she wasn’t the only one in the world going through situations like she was. Especially when she was reading King Lear, she felt that it was a reflection of her own life. She felt that when Lear was kneeling to his evil daughter Regan, she imagined her own Ye Ye doing the same to Niang.
Niang seems to fit the profile for Narcissistic Personality disorder because she has an inflated view of herself and also she lacks empathy. She believes that she’s entitled to all the power of the household. When she feels like others are belittling her power, she lashes out in rage and anger. She seems to not care about anyone, but herself and only acts like she cares about others only if it’s in her own self interest. Niang feels that she is superior to everyone else around. If she perceives anyone as a threat to her superiority, she will do whatever it takes to take away that threat.
Nancy Lu
Adeline reads books because that is her escape from her own reality. Due to the lack of kindness and love that she receives from her family, she feels a sense of security when she's reading. The more she reads, the more she's able to have an idea of the world and that there is so much to learn from. Whenever she reads, she is able to understand herself more and she feels protected. In Help Your Child Thrive, the book emphasizes the importance of books being a source of comfort. This is the case because it helps young people understand situations from different perspectives and experiences. Adeline was able to relate to this one book she read, King Lear, because one of the characters reminded her of her grandpa.
Niang is the perfect role for naracissistic personality disorder because Niang shows little empathy towards others other than herself. She feels grandiose due to the power that she has with the family. Since Niang has more power over the household, she is able to do whatever she wants and able to treat her step-children with lack of care and affection. Niang is able to belittle Adeline whenever she wants to. Even though Adeline has shown several signs of success, Niang sees her as a threat and shuns her.
Omar Sarreal
Adeline began to read books as a means of escaping from her miserable reality. At first I felt like she was only reading to pass the time while she was bored. After reading Help Your Child to Thrive, I came to realize that reading was allowing Adeline to gain a different perspective and step into the shoes of the characters in the book she read. Characters in books may think differently than how we all normally think, but allowing one’s self to be immersed in the text will allow you to see things differently. Having the ability to approach a problem with different strategies will give an advantage to a child that is plainly narrow minded.
Niang embodies narcissism in the story of Adeline. She treats others with little understanding, and always expects things to be done her way. How Niang views herself surely seems “Inflated” and “grandiose”. Since Niang controls the power in the family, it is that power that allows her to constantly disparage Adeline or anyone else that opposes her. The root cause or narcissism is low self esteem. Although we always see Niang as harsh and unforgiving, it is certainly possible that NIang may have self esteem issues. She may have to resort to taking out her anger about her insecurities onto her children. Perhaps Niang may feel inadequate as a stepmother, or anything else imaginable.
Aliyah Deiz
Despite all the tough and harsh experiences Adeline went through in her life, she was able to gain different perspectives and be more positive about her situation through reading her books. In her books, these characters showed strength and courage when faced with grave troubles and problems. This showed Adeline to be resilient, in spite of the unfortunate events in her life she never gave up on herself and her immersing herself in literature proves that.
According to the Help Your Child Thrive, characteristics of Narcissistic Personality Disorder include having an “inflated view of self and grandiose feelings” (p104). Niang fits the profile for Narcissistic Personality Disorder because she appears to have an inflated view of herself and makes it known. I think the mere fact that she competes with children shows that, she constantly has to puff her self up to make a presence in the room so that her husband will only focus and tend to her. Niang also portrays “grandiose feelings” because of the fact that she shows no empathy to the children. She is far more preoccupied about thinking about herself, instead of caring for the children and being like a mother to them.
Angel Moreno
After reading chapter 18 of Chinese Cinderella, I was able to understand and realize that Adeline reads books in order to escape from her harsh reality. The new world that she escapes through by reading books provides peace and comfort because she is nowhere near her father, siblings, Niang and her hierarchy. She grows fondness towards the characters in her books because she is able to relate to their life and problems. The author of “Help Your Child to Thrive” in chapter 6, mentions how it is known for children to utilize stories from books and movies to visualize aspects from different point of views. Sharing stories during dinner or just during family gatherings, can allow children understand oneself and others on a much deeper level. The constant reading that Adeline does on a daily basis guides her into seeing the characters as real people and real friends. She can apply her character’s experiences in books into her real life and situation with her family and search for circumstances that give peace to her heart.
Besides narcissistic personality disorder being defined as someone who has a major sense of self-importance, the other characteristic of this mental disorder is that these people do not have empathy for others. Niang fits this characteristic perfectly in relation to her step-children, but especially with Adeline. Since the beginning of the book, Niang has destructed Adeline’s emotional stability and physically harmed her. Niang has slapped her in front of her friends to even not caring about how Adeline gets to school and home. In addition, after abandoning her own biological daughter, Little Sister, they reunite and everything goes wrong. Little Sister resists Niang and as a result, she is slapped and mistreated. The self-importance can be seen in this hierarchy of power that she has established in the household. She has placed herself at the top over everyone, even Adeline’s father.
SUMMARY
Reading Chapter 18 emphasized how much Adeline enjoys reading and how much it calms her down. It allows her to escape from the reality where she feels unloved and uncared for. Reading books give her a sense of relaxation and is relatable to her life. We also agreed how Niang plays the role of a narcissistic character because of how little she cares for others other than herself. She has little to no empathy for those around her and only sees fit if she's at the top of the hiearchy.