20 care of all the children. Facing so many difficulties in raising the children, Father
is married again to a Eurasian woman, Jeanne , who becomes the children‟s
stepmother. They call her Niang another Chinese nickname for mother. Unfortunately, she is not very affectionate to her step children, especially Adeline
who always has her own opinion. Niang always tries to blame and torture her stepchildren by slapping and snapping at them. Father, Aunt Baba, and Ye Ye do
not do anything about Niang‟s attitude.
Below is the discussion of Adeline‟s character. Firstly, the writer introduces Adeline‟s character based on social point of view. Then, the writer
explains Adeline‟s character based on her personality.
Adeline is characterized as follow:
4.1.1 Solemn
Adeline is a solemn girl. Murphy said that in knowing a character “the
author can describe a person‟s appearance and clothes” p. 161. We often judge a person by seeing his or her appearance. Adeline‟s appearance is showed when she
was still a child. “Her memories of Tianjin are nebulous, from the photographs it can be seen that she was a solemn little girl with clenched fists. She had pressed
lips and serious eyes. She dressed in pretty western frocks decorated with ribbon and bows” p. 34.
A p erson‟s reaction forms person‟s character itself. Adeline is never
opposed to her Father and Niang‟s longing. She always does what they say and
advice. As she does when she wants to go study abroad, she wants to be a writer,
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21 but her Father does not allow her to choose it. Then, she chooses what her Father
desires for her: „A writer‟ he scoffed.
„What sort of a writer? And what language are you going to write in? Your Chinese is very elementary. As for English, don‟t you think the
English people can write better than you?‟ I readily agreed. Another of those awkward silences followed.
„I‟ve thought about it,‟ Father announced. „I‟ll tell you what the best profession is for you.‟
I was relieved. I would do whatever he advised pp. 116-117.
Adeline follows her Father‟s desire for her next education. She wants to show her Father that he can be proud of her.
4.1.2 Smart
Adeline‟s bleak past forces her to study hard. She has been a smart person since she was a child. This character can be seen from her mannerism as stated by
Murphy then, by using character as seen by another p. 162. Adeline always does her homework at home. She always tries to have the highest scores in all subjects.
At school, she always gets good marks so that she gets an appreciation from her school.
“At St Joseph‟s, marks were added together every Friday and the girl with the highest total received a silver medal which she could wear pinned on her
breast pocket for the entire week ” p. 36. It shows that Adeline is smart because
she receives a silver medal. Fortunately, Adeline always wears a silver medal for the entire week and almost continuosly than any other students in her school. For
that, she gets an award from the French Monseigneur: Soon I was wearing the medal almost continuosly. At prizegiving at
the end of 1941 my name was mentioned for winning the scholarship
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22 medal for more weeks than any other student in the school. I
remember my pride and triumph as I climbed up the steps, which were so high and steep that I had to go up on my hands and knees, to
receive my award from the French monseigneur p. 37.
She hopes that by having this prizegiving and winning the scholarship, her family, especially her Father, will accept and be proud of her. Unfortunately, her
Father does not come to her school to see Adeline‟s award receivement.
Aunt Baba even gives a comment and opinion about Adeline that she is brilliant. Aunt Baba always gives her pride to Adeline‟s achievements. “She made
me believe I was brilliant. Her pride in my small achievements was truly inspirational” p. 62. It shows that Adeline has achieved many things because she
is brilliant. This character is also showed when some of her friends in her school had
some problems with their homework, especially her friend Mary. Adeline likes to help her friends who need her help, especially about the subjects. Her friends give
her some nicknames not only because she spends much time in the library but also because she gets some scholarships. Spending her time in a library has made her
smart and she can help her friends who need some her help: She gave me that nickname because a math problem. I had helped
Mary solve proved to be more correct than the one in her textbook. It was probably just a printing error but the story made the rounds and
reached the other boarders, many came to me when they had problems with their homework p. 104.
Adeline also likes spending her time in library when she studied at St Joseph‟s boarding school. When there is an hour for recreation, she chooses to go
to library. “After tea, there was an hour of recreation. We were free to play with our dolls, read novels, skip rope, practice the piano, roller skate, compete in
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23 softball, or shoot a few baskets. I usually visited the library
“ p. 103. She reads books and magazines there. “I spent a lot of time in the library, flipping through
books and magazines” p. 113. Adeline also likes writing. She gets her abilities in writing because she
spends her time by reading books in library. One day, she joins a Hong Kong play-writing competition. She does not know that she has been nominated as a
first-prize winner. The announcement is written in front-page newspapers. It changes Adeline‟s life. Her family picks her up from the boarding school. Her
Father talks about Adeline‟s future and asks about her study: 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 given great prominence and carried as a front-page
insert. My name, age and school were mentioned as well as the fact that the competition was open to students from all over the English-
speaking world pp. 115-116.
Winning the writing competition supports Adeline to have education abroad, then. She asks her Father to let her study abroad joining her brothers,
Gregory, Edgar, and James in England. She is very diligent. Besides studying in Oxford, she transfers
herself to the convent school during summer vacation. “…I transferred myself to the convent school of Our Lady of Sion in Notting Hill Gate,
attended a tutorial school over the summer vacation and fulfilled my entrance requirements for medical school
” p. 124. After her graduation, she continues her life not only working but also
studying for her post-graduate. “…she spends two years working and studying for
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24 post-graduate degrees in Edinburgh. She becomes MRCP Member of the Royal
College of Ph ysicians London and Edinburgh” p. 140.
4.1.3 Brave
