Falling Leaves - Literary Luminary

Katherine Harrison

Mrs. Pasic

Language and Literature 7B

Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Falling Leaves – Literary Luminary

My group and I are reading Falling Leaves, written by Adeline Yen Mah. My job is to choose a paragraph or sentence from the book to discuss with my group. 

1.       “At last my luck had changed. I did not know it, but I had been nominated first-prize winner of the play-writing competition I had entered seven months earlier. The review board wrote to the Hong Kong educational department which released it to the newspapers. The announcement was give great prominence and carried as a front-page insert.” (Pg 115, paragraph 8)

I chose this paragraph because it is of great importance to the story and is a turning point in Adeline’s life. Adeline was disliked, ignored and abused throughout her life by her father, stepmother and children. As a child, Adeline has competed against her siblings for her father’s love and approval. She is disliked by her family due to the death of her mother which was a result of her birth. Therefore, she has never experienced unconditional love and attention, and her desire to be noticed by her father grows throughout the novel. Her success in the play-writing competition provides a chance for her father to recognize her true potential and for her to earn his love and pride. This event is also very important for Adeline’s future and self confidence, it is a proof that she is intelligent and can be successful. After winning the award, her interest in academic career increased, as well as her interest in literature and in writing.

2.       “Despite these problems, it was a wonderful period of my life. The whole world of science was opening up to me. I could not wait to get to classes every morning. Physiology, biophysics, pharmacology and biochemistry were like pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle depicting the mysteries of life. Experiments reminded of intricate chess games. My opponent was the great ‘unknown, about to be unmasked. Along the way, there were tantalizing clues. (pg 127, paragraph 3)

I found this paragraph to be inspiring and fascinating. I admire her love for science and desire to learn and pursue a career in the medical field. As an Asian woman studying in a medical school in England, Adeline was the victim of racial and sexual discrimination. Her determination to succeed, make her father proud, but most of all, to prove to herself that she can be successful, despite all the hardships she had encountered along the way, is inspiring and something to be looked upon.  Her life story is a proof of the human will to endure. 

3.       “Others proclaimed that we were capriciously ‘robbing’ qualified males of entry into medical school and those on scholarships and grants were ‘wasting’ government-subsidized educational funds.” (pg. 126, paragraph 3)

I believe that this paragraph is important to the setting of the novel, as it emphasized the sexual discrimination women had to endure. Women were regarded as inferior to men, and were told to undertake more menial duties, such as staying at home and taking care of the house. A boy in the family was considered an honour, while the birth of a girl was a cause of regret that it was not a son. This paragraph made me compare present day sexual discrimination with what it was like before, and made me think about whether the way women were treated has changed.

4.       “I was driven directly to the Buddhist temple in my school uniform and saw Ye Ye’s photograph placed on top of his coffin. I started to cry and the tears would not stop, though I could see that no one else was crying. Father and Niang, James, Franklin and Susan sat stony-faced in front of the maids, the cook and the chauffeur. There were no other mourners.” (pg. 114, paragraph 2)

I chose this paragraph because it demonstrates Adeline’s character. The reader can see that Adeline is more sensitive and experiences more emotions than the rest of her family.  Ye Ye was like a mother to Adeline.   She was closer to Ye Ye, and had a more personal connection with him than anybody else. The reader can feel Adeline’s sorrow, as Ye Ye was one of the few family members who encouraged her and cared for her. 

5.       “Falling leaves return to their roots.” (pg. 274) 

At the beginning of the novel we meet Adeline and her family gathered in the attorney’s office to read the will of the deceased father.  Adeline’s stepmother appears to be in charge and have a full control. None of the children, now in their adult age, dare question that they will not inherit anything even though their father died very rich.  Adeline uses the Chinese proverb “Falling leaves return to their roots” to describe the collective docility of the family, the passive attitude towards the greedy stepmother and the lack of interest in financial matter. The proverb means that our roots make us the way we are, the way we think. Our roots determine our fears, our attitude, our behaviour.  The roots meaning the people we grew up with or met, the places where we lived or visited, and experiences we had.  The hardships Adeline encountered in her childhood, the absence of mother, lack of unconditional love and rejection by her own father, made her the person she is.  The same applies to her siblings. The painful experience they had in their childhood and youth, made them obedient and submissive. Accordingly, the reading of the will and the issue of estate and cash seemed to be irrelevant.