"American Born Chinese" is a graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang that explores themes of cultural identity, assimilation, and transformation. The story revolves around three main characters: Jin Wang, a Chinese-American boy struggling to fit in with his peers; the Monkey King, a legendary figure from Chinese mythology seeking acceptance among the gods; and Danny, a white American teenager whose life is disrupted when his cousin Chin-Kee, a caricatured representation of Chinese stereotypes, comes to visit. All three stories are tied together by the idea of transformation and acceptance of their identities.
Throughout the novel, each of these characters undergoes a transformation. Jin Wang begins the story wanting to assimilate into American culture and distance himself from his Chinese heritage, but through his experiences, he learns to accept and embrace his identity. He becomes more comfortable with who he is and gains the confidence to stand up to the bullies who had been tormenting him.
The Monkey King, on the other hand, starts out as an arrogant and selfish character who believes that he is entitled to a higher status among the gods. But after being humbled by the gods and realizing the value of humility and selflessness, he transforms into a more compassionate and empathetic figure.
Danny's transformation is more subtle but no less significant. At the beginning of the novel, he is embarrassed by his Chinese heritage and goes to great lengths to hide it from his friends. But as he learns more about his family history and begins to understand the struggles that his parents and grandparents faced as immigrants, he begins to appreciate and embrace his Chinese identity.
Overall, "American Born Chinese" explores the idea that transformation is an ongoing process, and that embracing one's cultural identity is an important part of that process.
I think that noting the transformations undergone by the main characters of this novel is really important, and you did a great job summarizing their individual obstacles, weaknesses, and transformations. I also think however, that it is important to mention how each of the three stories tie together to make these transformations possible. For example, the Monkey King does begin as arrogant and entitled, but as he learns to accept the fact that he is a monkey, and starts to serve a higher purpose, he sets a precedent that is then followed by other characters. His son, Wei-Chen, tries to follow in his father's footsteps, but gets stuck when Jin forces him to lie for his own selfish gain. Jin is then taught the hard way by the Monkey King, disguised as Chin-Kee, not to turn against his friends and family because he is ashamed of himself. Jin faces a lot of internal struggles throughout the novel, which all tie in to another character's story, so one could argue that while the individual transformation of each character is very important, their tie to each other is what really solidifies the theme of embracing oneself to overcome obstacles and undergo transformation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the novel focuses on each character's transition from an identity they are self conscious of, into an identity they are proud of. The specific instance that I think represents this the most has to do with Jin Wang's experience. Prior to Jin's move to the suburbs, his cultural identity was not something he thought too much about. Considering the fact that he lived in China Town, he grew up with people who all shared the same culture, and looked the same as himself, he never felt out of place. Therefore, his move to the suburbs was a cultural shock, causing him to begin to notice how he was different and associating a negative connotation to these differences. Thus, he makes active efforts to minimize those differences by doing things like changing the foods he eats and getting a perm, among other things. Once Chin-Kee appears in the story to Jin and shows himself owning every aspect of his Chinese identity that Jin is ashamed of, it allows Jin to see the importance of valuing himself as he is. It is this that causes Jin to go through his transformation, coming out at the end of the novel as a person who does not shy away from their identity, but celebrates it.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a big part of this novel was developing the themes of cultural identity and transformation. The transformation of Jin Wang as he grows up seems to be very important due to his transition from not wanting to anything to do with his culture at school, but then beginning to embrace his heritage as he experiences different aspects of life. I think that all of the characters wanting to be a different person, but realizing towards the end of the novel that they should love who they are plays a very important role in demonstrating the various themes. However, I think the way that these three stories ties together is the most important part of this novel and should be discussed. The end of the novel with the monkey king actually being Chin-Kee and Jin Wang’s almost “alter ego” being Danny was very shocking but it completed the graphic novel in such an interesting way. After the monkey king accepts who he is, he then can help others to accept who they are. I also agree that Danny’s transformation in his story is less significant until you learn the plot twist of who he really is. The different aspects of assimilating into a new culture while maintaining some of your own cultural beliefs and being proud of them is very well illustrated in this novel.
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