Gene Luen Yang effectively uses humor throughout American Born Chinese to address topics like identity, acceptance, stereotypes, racism, and discrimination. Yang’s humor engages readers and makes them feel comfortable to distract from the unfortunate realities of growing up Chinese or even Asian in general. To make sure apprehensive readers stay engaged and receive the education in cultural awareness that Yang is offering, Yang discusses racism in a manner so light-hearted that even children can digest.
The story of the Monkey King explains how difficult accepting one’s own identity can be when their environment does not support their identity. The Monkey King is perfectly happy being a monkey until he is shunned from a gathering of Gods and deities because he is not wearing shoes (Yang 13). He is not wearing shoes because he is a monkey, and it does not make sense for a monkey to wear shoes. Because he is shunned, he noticed the “thick smell of monkey fur” that he had “never noticed before,” and is illustrated as sulking (20). The shunning of the Monkey King alludes to how Chinese Americans are often shunned for not looking like their white counterparts even though no one chooses what DNA they are born with. Because the Monkey King is shunned, the Monkey King becomes ashamed of himself, noticing the “thick smell of money fur” he had never paid attention to before. Yang could have easily told a story about a Chinese boy committing suicide because he could not come to grips with his identity being different than his peers, but Yang instead choose a light and digestible atmosphere to ensure his story reaches a wider audience.
The story of American born, ethnically Chinese student Jin Wang also effectively utilizes humor. Because Jin is at first the only Asian boy at his school, he befriends a white kid, so plays games with him, such as “Kill The Pill,” “Crack The Whip,” and “Let’s Be Jews” (35). Again, Yang could have illustrated a much darker story, showing Jin beaten and bruised by Peter, his “friend,” for being Chinese. Instead, Yang only alludes to it, showing panels of Jin being comically tossed around like a sack of potatoes (35). Even though Yang neglects to illustrate the more violent side of Asian bullying, he still creates an emotional connection with the readers, showing Jin on a picnic, alone and friendless (35). For children, not having any friends to play with at recess is tough, and that is reality everyone understands regardless of their race.
There are many other parts of American Born Chinese that demonstrate Yang’s effective use of humor, such as Danny’s cousin Chin-Kee serving as a hyperbolized version of Chinese racist stereotypes. By making readers feel comfortable by utilizing humor, Yang highlights the importance of inclusivity and understanding in a way that is palatable to apprehensive readers. Without being too dark and scaring people away, Yang conveys the difficulty of being a Chinese kid growing up in predominantly white America in a way that makes the book an easy read for adults and children alike.
I too agree Gene Luen Yang effectively uses humor to make light of social issues within his novel "American Born Chinese". Specifically, I believe he highlights both stereotypes and discrimination with humor in the story of Danny's cousin, Chin-Kee. Initially, Yang establishes the tone of the novel by naming the antagonist a racial slur, Chin-Kee. If that was not enough, Chin-Kee is drawn with every Chinese offensive stereotype in the book. When Chin-Kee comes to town it essentially is shown as "ruining" his cousin, Danny's life. Chin-Kee does not know how to act at school, follows the stereotype that he is a good student by comically answering every question ultimately leading for Danny to beg for him to "put [his] hand down]" (Yang 111). Later in the day, Chin-Kee is shown eating "crispy fried cat gizzards with noodles" making all the surrounding students want to "hurl" (114). The myth and stereotype that Chinese Americans eat dogs and cats has been present for years, and is highlighted with the disgust of Chin-Kee's classmates. By using humor Yang is able to show an exaggerated version of how Chinese Americans are treated in American culture and opens the eyes of the readers to both stereotypes and discrimination.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that Gene Luen Yang has taken more of a light-hearted approach to racism in American Born Chinese, but sometimes the “humor” that Yang incorporates is not exactly meant to be humorous. I think this is emphasized the most in Chin-Kee’s sections. Yang has incorporated sitcom elements into Chin-Kee’s sections, such as the usage of “ha” and “clap” at the bottom of the panels. I do not think that is meant to make the reader feel comfortable. I think the reader is supposed to feel uncomfortable because they know that Chin-Kee should not make them laugh. There are other elements as well, such as when Chin-Kee constantly answers the teachers’ questions, or, as has been mentioned by another person, when Chin-Kee is eating “crispy fried cat gizzards with noodles” (114) at lunch. This is technically “humor”, but it is meant to make the reader feel uncomfortable. The reader knows it is both extremely cringey but also a negative Chinese stereotype. However, the commentary on Chin-Kee is still easy enough to grasp for a young reader, and this allows Yang to get the point across to readers, both young and old, that making fun of Chinese stereotypes, or any other culture’s stereotypes, is not ok.
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