In fact, in the beginning, I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so. I pictured this prodigy part of me as many di
fferent images, trying each one on for size. I was a dainty ballerina girl standing by the curtain, waiting to hear the right music that would send me floating on my tiptoes. I was like the Christ child lifted out of the straw manger, crying with holy indignity. I was Cinderella stepping from her pumpkin carriage with sparkly cartoon music filling the air. In all of my imaginings, I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect. My mother and father would adore me. I would be beyond reproach. I would never feel the need to sulk for anything.
But sometimes the prodigy in me became impatient. "If you don't hurry up and get me out of here, I'm disappearing for good," it warned. "And then you'll always be nothing."
What does the narration reveal about Jing-mei's character?
She works hard because she feels loved and accepted by her parents.
She wants to be perfect so that she can be better than anyone else.
She is afraid that she'll be a disappointment if she doesn't become a prodigy.
She doesn't really want to be a prodigy; she's just pretending.
