Graphic Novel: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

Yang, Gene Luen. 2006. AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. New York, NY: First Second. ISBN 978-159643-152-2.

Plot Summary: American Born Chinese is comprised of three separate stories that overlap and eventually converge at the end of the book. The first story is about the Monkey King who is extremely unhappy about being a monkey and instead fancies himself a god, the second plot involves Jin Wang, born in America of immigrant parents, always feeling out of place and different, and the third is about a Caucasian teenager, Danny, who is embarrassed by his visiting “cousin” Chin-Kee, who embodies almost every negative Asian stereotype.

The three stories are cleverly resolved as the Monkey King realizes that there is nothing wrong with being what he is, a monkey, Jin Wang’s innermost wish is fulfilled as he becomes white, and Danny (in a plot twist, this is the character that Jin Wang becomes) is confronted by the Monkey King, who has been incarnated in the form of Chin-Kee in order to teach Jin Wang (Danny) a valuable lesson – to be proud of your heritage, to stand up for your beliefs, and to remain true to yourself.

Critical Analysis: Yang’s frank portrayal of teenage angst compounded by the impact of negative racial stereotypes is a brilliant morality play couched in the entertaining format of a graphic novel. Funny, poignant, and clever, American Born Chinese draws the reader into the three separate tales which are seamlessly woven into the book’s narrative. The final twists, that Danny and Jin Wang are one and the same and that Chin-Kee is really the Monkey King, are brilliant and serve to reinforce the book’s themes of pride, acceptance, and tolerance.

Yang’s beautiful illustrations are crisp, colorful, and clever and supplement the dialogue without distracting the reader from the intricate plot. This is a book that can actually be read twice, once using the dialogue and once just looking at the illustrations, which almost stand alone and definitely enhance the reader’s understanding of plot and characterization. The use of stereotypes is a rhetorical device that is at the heart of this graphic novel. The toy that appears at the beginning and the end of the story, a Transformer, is a metaphor for the desire of the main characters to be able to change into something else, something entirely different, and therefore escape their own particular reality (being a monkey when you want to be a god, being an Asian when you want to be just like everybody else, and being stuck in a bad situation – as Danny is when Chin-Kee comes to visit).

The main characters are three-dimensional, enhanced by not only the illustrations but also the internal dialogues of the main characters. The use of humor adds to the charm of the story and reminds the reader that life in high school, regardless of one’s race or ethnicity, can be both fun and painful. In this way, the novel is appealing not just to American-born Chinese but to anyone who has lived through (or is living through) their teenage years.

Reviews:

Award Winner: Michael L. Printz Award (2006)
Best book of the year: San Francisco Chronicle (2006)
National Book Award Finalist

Publishers Weekly:

“Yang accomplishes the remarkable feat of practicing what he preaches with this book: accept who you are and you'll already have reached out to others.”

School Library Journal:

“A well-crafted work that aptly explores issues of self-image, cultural identity, transformation, and self-acceptance. A satisfying coming-of-age novel that aptly blends traditional Chinese fables and legends with bathroom humor, action figures, and playground politics. A finely wrought story that is an effective combination of humor and drama.”

Booklist:

“With vibrant colors and visual panache, indie writer-illustrator Yang focuses on three characters in tales that touch on facets of Chinese American life. Each of the characters is flawed but familiar, and, in a clever postmodern twist, all share a deep, unforeseen connection. Yang helps the humor shine by using his art to exaggerate or contradict the words, creating a synthesis that marks an accomplished graphic storyteller. The stories have a simple, engaging sweep to them, but their weighty subjects--shame, racism, and friendship--receive thoughtful, powerful examination.”

Connections:

Read other books by Gene Luen Yang: The Eternal Smile, Rosary Comic Book, Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, or Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order.

Create a display of other Graphic Novels and Manga. Examples might include:
Runaways: Dead End Kids by Joss Whedon and Michael Ryan (Marvel, 2008)
Rapunzel’s Revenge by Shannon Hale, Dean Hale, and Nathan Hale (Bloomsbury, 2008)
Laika by Nick Abadzis (First Second, 2007)
Robot Dreams by Sara Varon (First Second, 2007)

Discuss stereotypes. Identify the stereotypes presented in American Born Chinese and give examples of other stereotypes. Examine how stereotypes, while used as a literary device, can be hurtful when used in real life. Use the web site Authentic History (www.authentichistory.com) to research other common stereotypes (Teaching Diversity with Multimedia). From the web site:

Stereotypes can be both positive and negative, and can lead to a form of bias called prejudice (an attitude), and even used to justify discrimination (an action).

Older students can research stereotypes used for the following groups: Native Americans, African Americans, Latino, Jewish, Irish, and even women.

Have students interview friends and family to discover an interesting family story. Next, create a rough-draft storyboard with illustrations and text. The finished work could be an eight-panel cartoon. Create a display of the students’ finished products. A good resource for this is provided by the National Association of Comic Art Educators: (http://www.teachingcomics.org/attachments/137_howtodrawfinal.pdf)

Research Chinese folklore/mythology (the Monkey King is a central character in the book). Have students identify the creatures/characters with their attributes or legend and create a graphic organizer. Discuss what lessons these have for modern life.

Use the Teaching Tolerance web site (www.tolerance.org) to explore issues of intolerance, prejudice, and bias. For older students, take the ‘Hidden Bias Test’ to self evaluate. Be sure that the students can take the test privately and do not have their results revealed to the class. This should, however, serve as a springboard for a very relevant class discussion. Students may even volunteer instances where they were stereotyped or participated in stereotyping others.

Examine the contributions of Asian Americans in the arts, science, literature, and culture.

Reader’s Theater: Adapt portions of American Born Chinese for reader’s theater. This can be done by the teacher/librarian or by the students themselves, working in small groups.

Research the graphic novel and the use of cartoons in history. A good web site is Graphic Novels (http://www.graphicnovels.brodart.com/history.htm). Students can examine the ‘Yellow Kid’ from the age of Imperialism, the anti-Communist cartoons of the 1950s, as well as the evolution of the comic book/graphic novel in the last 25 years.

After listening to the song (or seeing a clip from the movie) have students analyze the lyrics from ‘You Have to be Carefully Taught’ from South Pacific and apply them to the issues brought up in American Born Chinese. Babies are born 'color blind'; where does prejudice come from?

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear
You've got to be taught
From year to Year
It's got to be drummed
in your dear little ear
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught
To be Afraid
Of people whose eyes
are oddly made
And people whose skin
Is a different shade
You've got to be carefully taught

You've got to be taught
Before it's too late
Before you are 6 or 7 or 8
To hate all the people
your relatives hate
You've got to be carefully taught

(Rodgers and Hammerstein, 1949)