Reflection : Adeline Ng Ai Choo ( To be assesed for ACE )

Adeline Ng Ai Choo

After reading the short story "Adeline Ng Ai Choo", I find that Adeline is a filial yet foolish student. She does not want to disappoint her parents as they hope for her to achieve good grades for the examinations. According to her diary, she is afraid of failing because it would cause her father to be ashamed in front of his friends who have smart children. Her mother also says that she will die if Adeline does not pass the examinations. Thus, Adeline is under a great amount of pressure to get a passing grade, also shown in her diary.
Adeline's father tells her to study three hours each day in the room, but this is not the way to ensure she gets good grades. She should occasionally take a break, so that she can concentrate on studying later. Three hours of studying might backfire and cause her to have too much stress. Yet, her father does not understand this and thinks he is doing the right thing for Adeline. Even after her death, her parents still do not realise the cause of her plunging to her death. Instead, they blame her for her own death.
What I disagree most with them was a sentence they said," We've done all we could as parents, so you've got nothing to reproach yourself with." This is an extremely irresponsible sentence to say, as they have obviously not tried to understand Adeline's needs and just drive her to do well in studies. However, I find that Adeline is also too rash ; she took the plunge just because she was refused one mark by her teacher to get a passing grade. Do grades really matter that much, more than her own life?