Chinese Cinderella

Chinese Cinderella

by

Adeline Yen Mah

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Chinese Cinderella makes teaching easy.

Big Brother (Gregory) Character Analysis

Big Brother is eldest son of Father’s first marriage, stepson of Niang, and second eldest of the stepchildren. Though he is occasionally kind to Adeline, Big Brother is most often depicted as a mean and selfish prankster, though he does share some kinship with his own brothers. When Father decides that he wants to watch his dog kill one of the children’s pet ducklings, Big Brother picks Adeline’s since he knows she will not retaliate, demonstrating his cowardice and further showing how a toxic family can condition children to be cruel to each other. Big Brother is also initially the most defiant to Niang’s mistreatment, though he is the first to be sent to study overseas, and so he receives the earliest escape, thus having less presence in the memoir.

Big Brother (Gregory) Quotes in Chinese Cinderella

The Chinese Cinderella quotes below are all either spoken by Big Brother (Gregory) or refer to Big Brother (Gregory). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Physical and Emotional Abuse Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1: Top of the Class Quotes

“But then Mama died giving birth to you. If you had not been born, Mama would still be alive. She died because of you. You are bad luck.”

Related Characters: Big Sister (Lydia) (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Niang (Jeanne Prosperi), Father (Joseph Yen), Third Brother (James), Big Brother (Gregory), Second Brother (Edgar)
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5: Arrival in Shanghai Quotes

As we climbed the stairs, Big Brother muttered, “To her, we are not separate people. Here we have become one single unit known as all of you. Seems like this is how it’s going to be from now on.”

Related Characters: Big Brother (Gregory) (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Niang (Jeanne Prosperi), Father (Joseph Yen), Big Sister (Lydia), Second Brother (Edgar)
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9: Chinese New Year Quotes

We began to question Third Brother’s sanity—had he imagined that Niang overheard us?—but he stuck to his story. “Perhaps,” he suggested darkly, “we’re being kept deliberately in a state of uncertainty because that’s what Niang most enjoys. The cat-and-mouse game.”

Related Characters: Third Brother (James) (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Niang (Jeanne Prosperi), Big Sister (Lydia), Big Brother (Gregory), Second Brother (Edgar)
Page Number: 48
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10: Shanghai School Days Quotes

Did Third Brother truly understand what he was up against? By wanting to have things both ways and straddling the fence, was he aware that each compromise would chip away at his integrity? ... It was the loss of the nicest parts of Third Brother that saddened me.

Related Characters: Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang (speaker), Third Brother (James), Big Brother (Gregory), Second Brother (Edgar)
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11: PLT Quotes

“Since it’s so hot tonight,” Father suggested, “why don’t we all cool off in the garden after dinner? It will also give us a a chance to test Jackie’s obedience.” He turned to Big Brother. “Go fetch one of those ducklings…We’ll have some fun tonight!”

Related Characters: Father (Joseph Yen) (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Big Brother (Gregory)
Related Symbols: PLT
Page Number: 81
Explanation and Analysis:
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Chinese Cinderella PDF

Big Brother (Gregory) Quotes in Chinese Cinderella

The Chinese Cinderella quotes below are all either spoken by Big Brother (Gregory) or refer to Big Brother (Gregory). For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Physical and Emotional Abuse Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1: Top of the Class Quotes

“But then Mama died giving birth to you. If you had not been born, Mama would still be alive. She died because of you. You are bad luck.”

Related Characters: Big Sister (Lydia) (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Niang (Jeanne Prosperi), Father (Joseph Yen), Third Brother (James), Big Brother (Gregory), Second Brother (Edgar)
Page Number: 3
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 5: Arrival in Shanghai Quotes

As we climbed the stairs, Big Brother muttered, “To her, we are not separate people. Here we have become one single unit known as all of you. Seems like this is how it’s going to be from now on.”

Related Characters: Big Brother (Gregory) (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Niang (Jeanne Prosperi), Father (Joseph Yen), Big Sister (Lydia), Second Brother (Edgar)
Page Number: 25
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9: Chinese New Year Quotes

We began to question Third Brother’s sanity—had he imagined that Niang overheard us?—but he stuck to his story. “Perhaps,” he suggested darkly, “we’re being kept deliberately in a state of uncertainty because that’s what Niang most enjoys. The cat-and-mouse game.”

Related Characters: Third Brother (James) (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Niang (Jeanne Prosperi), Big Sister (Lydia), Big Brother (Gregory), Second Brother (Edgar)
Page Number: 48
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10: Shanghai School Days Quotes

Did Third Brother truly understand what he was up against? By wanting to have things both ways and straddling the fence, was he aware that each compromise would chip away at his integrity? ... It was the loss of the nicest parts of Third Brother that saddened me.

Related Characters: Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang (speaker), Third Brother (James), Big Brother (Gregory), Second Brother (Edgar)
Page Number: 69
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11: PLT Quotes

“Since it’s so hot tonight,” Father suggested, “why don’t we all cool off in the garden after dinner? It will also give us a a chance to test Jackie’s obedience.” He turned to Big Brother. “Go fetch one of those ducklings…We’ll have some fun tonight!”

Related Characters: Father (Joseph Yen) (speaker), Adeline Yen (Jun-Ling / Wu-Mei)Niang, Big Brother (Gregory)
Related Symbols: PLT
Page Number: 81
Explanation and Analysis: