Falling Leaves Chapter 10

5 Comments
1] Ye Ye dressed in old fashioned chinese gowns and a skull cap.

2] Ye Ye developed diabetes in his last years.

3] Ye Ye had trouble walking and constantly slipped and fell.

4] Ye Ye died on March 27, 1952 from diabetes complications.

5] Aunt baba and Ye Ye never had a suitable marriage.

4 Questions
1] Why couldn't Father tell Aunt Baba in person himself that Ye Ye died?

2] Why did Father tell his employee to write a letter to Aunt Baba for him?

3] Why didn't Niang call for a doctor when she knew Ye Ye was sick?

4] How does the family cope afterwards?

3 Vocabulary
1] Repasts: A meal.

2] Loathing: Intense dislike.

3] Gesticulating: To gesture.

2 Literary Terms
1] "Each day passes like a year." -Metaphor.

2] "...as he swallowed his monotonous diet." -Metaphor.

1 Overview Sentence
Ye Ye died from diabetes on march 27, 1952.

Falling Leaves Chapter 9

5 Comments
1] Adeline had to stay at an orphange for a long time.

2] At the boarding school, sewing and such practical skills were taught.

3] In china, unwanted daughters were peddled as virtual slaves.

4] The orphanage was very orderly but very strict.

5] Adeline often looked out to the ocean from her barred window.

4 Questions
1] Why weren't the nuns as nice as they appeared to be?

2] Why didn't she ever have visits from her family?

3] Why did the other girls ridiculed her when they were also in the orphanage?

4] Why didn't her family ever send her anything?

3 Vocabulary
1] Commodity: Anything bought or sold.

2] Indelible: That cannot be erased, wasted out, etc.

3] Poignant: Painful to the feelings.

2 Literary Terms
1] "..just like being a nun, whether you wish to be holy or not." -Irony

2] "..Oracle across the ocean of time." -Metaphor.

1 Overview Sentence
Adeline is unhappy atthe orphanage but at least she does not have to put up with Niang.

Falling Leaves Chapter 8

5 Comments
1] Aunt Reine is Niangs older sister.

2] Victor, Adeline's cousin, was very nice to her.

3] Adeline went out to eat with her family for the first time in a while.

4] Adeline was being sent to a boarding school.

5] Niang was overcontrolling the family.

4 Questions
1] What does "coup de grace" mean?

2] Why was Uncle Jean [Niang's brother] so nice to Adeline, but Niang wasn't?

3] Why would Niang want to take Adeline out of a fancy restaurant?

4] Why was Niang suddenly nice?

3 Vocabulary
1] Pestilence: Virulent or contagious disease.

2] Erratic: Irrefular; odd.

3] Sporadic: Not regular.

2 Literary Terms
1] "No chinese was taught at the school." -Irony.

2] "Niang smiled and patted me fondly on the head." -Irony.

I Overview Sentence
Adeline is being sent to boarding school by Niang, which is also an orphanage.

Falling Leaves Chapter 7

5 Comments
1] Ye-ye became poor at the age of 65.

2] Lydia did not do good in school an decided to marry early.

3] Joseph had a feudal idea of male supremacy.

4] Niang was being greedy by collecting most of Lydia's gifts at the wedding.

5] Niang forced Lydia to marry Samuel Sung.

4 Questions
1] Why was Edgar mean to Adeline?

2] Why didn't Joseph accept that Adeline did good in school?

3] Why did they blame Aunt Baba for being an evil influence to Adeline?

4] Was Joseph misusing his fathers money?

3 Vocabulary
1] Harangue: A noisy or scornful speech.

2] Demurred: Objection.

3] Fibre: Threadlike parts.

2 Literary Terms
1] "Be a cold fish." -Metaphor.

2] "Father then began a harangue about my worthlessness." -Metaphor

1 Overview Sentence
Niang and Father accused Aunt Baba and Adeline of many wrongdoings.

Falling Leaves Chapter 6

5 Comments
1] The family then had to move out of Shanghai to the heart of the French Concession.

2] In the place they lived now, it was very fancy with accesories like Louis XVI.

3] Adeline and her siblings all received little ducklings as pets, but hers was the scrawniest.

4] Jackie, the family pet dog, was the favorite pet.

5] They often said "Suan le!" to cheer each other up.

4 Questions
1] Why didn't Adeline every talk about her family to her friends?

2] Why was she so happy with the scrawny duckling?

3] Why wouldn't Niang let Adeline invite her friends over?

4] Why did Aunt Baba give into Niang's cruelty?

3 Vocabulary
1] Conspirational: Join in a plot.

2] Contemptously: Scornful; disdainful.

3] Consternation: great alarm or dismay.

2 Literary terms
1] "Niang was about to wrench me away from the only person who ever loved me." - Metaphor.

2] "...hear were the squels of merriment wafting ip the stairs." -Metaphor.

I Overview Sentence
Niang jeopardized Adeline's chance at having friends by being cruel and kicking them out of the house.

Falling Leaves Chapter 5

5 Comments
1] The family gradually increased because Niang and Joseph wanted children.


2] The Japanese were taking uncomfortably closer looks at Josephs books, deciding to want him with their company.


3] Joseph sometimes worried the family by having many sleepless nights and one time going to the post office and never returned home.


4] Adeline's grandmother died, it seems like the family was going through a hard time with all of these deaths.

5] After this chapter, many tragedies happened.

4 Questions
1] Why didn't Joseph attend his mothers funeral?

2] Did the book "Lengend of the Monkey King" came out back then too?

3] Why did Niang favor her two own children Franklin and Susan more than the rest of her family?

4] Was Josephs mother a big impact or important eprson in his life?

3 Vocabulary
1] Endeared: to make beloved or very sympathetic.

2] Rickshaw: 1887, shortened form of jinrikisha, popularized by Kipling, from Japanese jin "a man" + riki "power" + sha "carriage."

3] Ruse: a trick, stratagem, or artifice.

2 Literary Terms
1] "Ye-Ye carried on with this life and death charade for a few months." Metaphor

2] "..then give me a resounding slap.." - Metaphor

1 Overview Sentence
In this chapter, Adeline talks about her childhood memories up until the point where her grandmother died and her family beginning to fall apart.

Falling Leaves Chapter 4

5 Comments

1] Adeline and her family had a great life in Tianjin mostly because they were wealthy and had more than others.

2] Joseph married Niang and the family didn't seem bothered by it.

3] Jeanne Virginie Propsperi was half french, half chinese. [She became married to Joseph]

4] Joseph tends to spend a lot of money on useless extravangances.

5] After their marriage, they seemed to become distant from the rest of the family.

4 Questions
1] Why was Joseph so into marraige?

2] Why couldn't the children keep their chinese names?

3] How did Joseph get over his previous wife's death so quick?

4] How come Franklin's babysitter quit?

3 Vocabulary
1] Surrogate: subsitute.

2] Sumblimate: express in acceptable forms.

3] Allure: tempt; attract.

2 Literary Terms
1] ".. make children ees grow large and bright." -Metaphor.

2] "I think Niang was happy at first." - Irony.

1 Overview Sentence
Niang (Jeanne Prosperi) married Joseph and is on her way to dominate the household in a dictating way.

Falling Leaves Chapter 3

5 Comments
1] Shanghai was a wealthy city.
2] Joseph married Aunt Baba's best friend, Miss Ren Yong-ping.
3] The couple had many children.
4] The oldest child [Jun-Pei] was born with paralyzed left arm.
5] Her mom died 2 weeks after giving birth to Adeline.

4 Questions
1] What are gipaos?
2] Why didn't Joseph consider arranged marriage?
3] How did Adeline's birth caused his mothers death?
4] What was her mother diagnosed with?

3 Vocabulary
1] Leisure: free time for rest, play, etc.
2] Haughtiness: Scornfully proud.
3] Gauche: tactless.

2 Literary Terms
1] ".. a dark cloud hung over the entire family." -Metaphor.
2] "..The young couple were inseperable as each other's shadows." -Metaphor

1 Overview Sentence
Joseph met Miss Ren Yong-ping from Grand Aunt. He later married her and had 5 children. Adeline being the last, her birth causing her mothers death.

Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese daughter Chapter 2

So far this book is pretty good. =] Although it talks so much about business.



5 Comments
1] Joseph (Adeline's father), excelled in English.
2] Joseph went into the field of business by the age of 15.
3] Ye Ye had was wealthy, but he invested all of his live's savings to help Joseph's business.
4] Joseph was the typical business man. Often on his typewriter immediately after dinner at the dinner table while his family watched in awe.
5] At the time (around 1918 many areas around the asian countries were bieng invaded and taken over.



4 Questions
1] Why didn't Joseph finish high school?
2] Did Ye Ye know that he could trust all of his investment in Joseph? Or was it just luck?
3] How did a 15 year old get to work in this business industry?
4] What were the laws back then?



3 Vocabulary
1] Prosperity: Prosperous condition; especially financially successful circumstances.
2] Concubine: A woman who cohabits with a man to whom she is not legally married, esp. one regarded as socially or sexually subservient; mistress.
3] Malaise: A condition of general bodily weakness or discomfort, often marking the onset of a disease.

2 Literary Terms
1] ".. money poured back into China.." - Metaphor
2] "..Father began to be known in the business chircles as the 'miracle boy' who had the power of converting iron into gold." -Metaphor.

1 Overview Sentence
In this chapter, it talks about Joseph [Adeline's father] being successful in the business industry. He became wealthy over time.

Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese daughter Chapter 1

5 Comments
1] Adeline had a big and successful family.
2] Her Grand Aunt found China's first Shanghai's Womens bank. She was a business mogul.
3] Many women around the years 1886 had to have their feet bound. It was an excruciating process.

4] Around 1886, the wars, like the First Opium War were just clearing up. There was still a lot of tension between Britain and China.

5] Shanghai was China's center of trade.

4 Questions

1] Why did women in China had to get their feet bound?

2] Why wasn't Adeline's mother mentioned in the first chapter, but the rest of her family was?

3] Why were many people in China around 1886 had to be in arranged marriages?

4] Did the first Shanghai's Women's Bank become successful?

3 Vocabulary

1] prestigious: indicative of or conferring prestige

2] unchaste: not chaste; not virtuous; not pure

3] impoverish: to reduce to poverty

2 Literary Terms

1] "Behind round, wire rimmed tinted glasses, her large eyes were penetrating." -Metaphor.

2] "... you will become the willing pisspot and spittoon of the Yen's and we will be proud of you." -Metaphor.

1 Overview Sentence

In this chapter, it was mostly about how Adeline's Grand Aunt became successful in finding her own bank.