Chines Ciinderella, Week 4, Post A

This week I noticed several small cultural differences. One difference was how Adeline and her siblings received ducks as pets. I think if any child here in the U.S. would have a duck for a pet, people would probably be worried it would be dirty and just think was weird. Also, the Chinese New year is mentioned in almost every chapter along with traditions that go along with it.

One big cultural difference mentioned was the arranged marriage between Adeline’s sister and Niang’s friend’s son. When Adeline describes the marriage she says that her sister is seventeen, while Samuel, her sister’s fiancé is thirty-one. In the U.S. this is illegal, and that age difference is unusual, even if Adeline’s sister was older. Also, because her sister is getting married, she is quitting school and not getting her diploma, and not going to college. I think that because this story takes place awhile ago, many women didn’t go to college, even in the U.S., but I’m not sure if this has changed now as much in China as it has in the U.S. When talking about the marriage Adeline thinks, “How can Big Sister remain so cheerful when her life is about to take such a ghastly turn? To be taken out of school and thrust into the arms of a stranger! […]What did Niang say to induce Big Sister to agree to such a fate” (pg. 86). I don’t know how anyone could just agree to marry someone they have never met. How would you know you would like them or want to spend the rest of your life with them?