American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang
 

I read American Born Chinese at some point last year and remember thinking it was interesting, but didn’t really understand what all the excitement was about. I knew it had received all kinds of awards and the author was garnering a lot of praise, but the greatness of the book seemed to be lost on me. I don’t know if I was just in a different mood when I read it this time, or if I was familiar enough with the format that the Monkey King storyline didn’t throw me off as much as it did during the first reading, but I feel like I really got much more out of the book this time than last time.

I felt the message of the book – to learn to accept yourself for who you are and what you can do – was delightfully communicated in each of the three stories, and then came together at the end of the novel in a way that really connected all three. While the message is not a new one for a young adult novel, the characters, the style of the graphic novel itself, and the three intertwined stories really gave this theme a new twist through such a unique and interesting medium.

I have had a couple students read this novel as a choice book in class, and they have really enjoyed it as well. However, (and I haven’t heard this reaction from anyone yet) I did wonder if high school students would feel uncomfortable with the overly stereotyped Chin Kee character. I know that when I found myself reading such a blatant racial stereotype, I felt uncomfortable. I think the Chin Kee character was a necessary part of the book, and I completely understand the author’s intention of using him to highlight everything that Danny was hiding from, but reading anything so stereotypical makes me squirm in my seat a little bit. In this case, it makes me wonder if students would be thrown off, as well. I don’t know for sure, but I’m guessing that the stereotyping was part of my problem when I remember not enjoying this book so much the first time I read it.

From a critical standpoint, I think Yang does a brilliant job with character development in a medium that can often lack in this area. Because a graphic novel, by its nature, does not allow room for a lot of background character description or insightful paragraphs about what a character is thinking, it can be difficult to fully develop a character’s persona. However, Yang succeeds in creating full, complex characters who grow and change through the course of the novel. More interestingly, he shows the commonality between three very different characters, constantly reiterating the theme of acceptance.

Beginning with the Monkey King, we are introduced to a character who desires acceptance from everyone, not just his own people/monkeys. When he is not allowed into the heavenly party of the gods because he is a monkey and has no shoes, he is hurt beyond his imagination. He is told, “You may be a king—you may even be a diety—but you are still a monkey” (p.15). As the Monkey King tries to change who he is, to become stronger and more powerful, we are cleverly introduced to two other characters attempting the same feat.

Jin Wang experiences everyday racism typical of a homogenous American school. He is called by the wrong name, introduced as being from another country, and shunned by most of his peers. He even initially avoids the only other Asian in the school, denying his own identity in this way. Once he does make friends with two Asian students, he still tries to deny his own culture by curling his hair and changing his appearance in an attempt to impress one of the white girls in his class.

Lastly, there is Danny—a white, athletic, popular student. We soon find he is hiding his identity when his cousin Chin Kee comes to visit. Chin Kee is the most offensively stereotypical character in the book, yet he is the only one who refuses to shy away from his true self. Of course, Danny is overly embarrassed by his cousin’s annual visit, which ties him to a culture he is ashamed of.

As each of these stories develops, Yang keeps the theme in tact through the three main characters. Each character, human or monkey, is shown to have the same issue: they want to fit in. No one wants to be the outcast, and no one wants to be discriminated against—for any reason. But, we are left with the question of the legitimacies of avoidance and denial in the face of prejudice.

By the end of the novel, each story comes together to show the reader the value in accepting himself, whether others do or not. This theme, while well established in works of literature the world over, is given credence in this book through the complete development of the characters. If we didn’t care about these characters or simply dismissed them as bratty kids, we would not be able to understand their predicaments. Instead, we are able to relate to their feelings of exclusion and empathize with their desires to change. Through this process, we come to understand the real meaning of acceptance—self-acceptance—and respect the characters for the journeys they have travelled.