G6: American Born Chinese

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yang, Gene Luen. 2008. AMERICAN BORN CHINESE. New York: Square Fish (Macmillan). ISBN: 978-0-312-38448-7.

Three stories are presented in this graphic novel about the difficulties of finding an identity while being stereotyped by others. In this case, the search for a personal identity concerns Chinese in the U.S. The first story is the Chinese legend of the monkey king overcome by pride and self-importance. He loses his kingdom when he tries to be someone he is not and angers the wrong gods. This becomes sort of a parable for the other two stories, those of Danny and Jin, a high school and a middle school student. In each of these, an American of Chinese descent strives for acceptance. Danny wants to make the basketball team and find a school where people will see him for who he is, while Jin wants a date with the beautiful Amelia. Complicating Danny’s life is the arrival of his cousin “Chin-kee” (get it?) from China, who with his clothes, look, attitude and English pronunciation embodies every negative Chinese stereotype. These three seemingly different stories connect at the end and lead to new self-knowledge and personal awareness.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
What can a person say about a novel such as this one? Mature teen readers of any ethnic descent anywhere would understand get the message of the need to stay true to themselves and not to attempt to be someone they’re not. To drive home this message in a sometimes subtle and sometimes sledge-hammering way, Lang employs exceptional storytelling through words and pictures, in addition to a sense of juvenile and adult humor and a willingness to tackle culture, perception and misconception. (For a novel with a similar theme but a completely different storyline, see my JAR OF DREAMS review.) “Serious” moments by themselves are few and far between in a novel that can be characterized as “serious silly” in tone.

The plot opens with the popular fable of the Monkey King, ruler of Flower Fruit Mountain. In this section, Lang tells a story, but, more importantly, he sets the stage for the humor he uses in the rest of the novel to make his point. He also reveals the light and serious sides of Chinese culture. The Monkey King oversees his domain as a tough yet benevolent ruler, but he wants more. He wants immortality, which he can attain by mastering kung fu and “the four disciplines” (10). However, when he attempts to legitimize himself by attending a heavenly dinner party, he is asked to leave because he is still a monkey and smells like one, no matter what he has done to improve himself.

With the Monkey King brooding back at Flower Fruit Mountain, the plot then turns to Jin, the young Chinese boy whose upwardly mobile, well-educated parents just moved from the city to the suburbs. Jin’s story allows Lang to take advantage of the opportunity to discuss what happens to second-generation people of any descent when they leave their enclaves and attempt to settle in the “dominant” culture. The children must straddle the language and customs of two distinct and often colliding worlds. Jin is no exception, and the fact that he plays with a “Transformer” doll only shows his confusion. At school, Jin is subject to dominant culture stereotypes and ignorance: Chinese eat dogs, their names are easily mispronounced, their origins are misunderstood, they are indistinguishable from other Asians, and they all have overbites. Fittingly, he is bullied and isolated, only able to make friends with a newer Chinese student after first resenting him for being exactly what Jin was when he first came.

The plot then moves on to the story of Danny, opening with him distracted by the beauty of one of his American classmates during a study session. If Jin accepts his isolation, Danny does not. He strives to be “normal” (as if he is not) and shyly attempts to ask her out, only to be interrupted by the arrival of his cousin Chin-Kee. This is “Slam!” stereotypical humor at work here: Chin-Kee arrives with his luggage in Chinese take-out cartons, wears a “typical” Chinese outfit, has two prominent front teeth and slanted eyes, transposes his “Ls” and “Rs” (“Harro Amellica!”) and spouts flowery parodies of “Chinese-isms.” (“Chin-Kee happy as ginger root pranted in nutritious manure of well-bred ox!” on page 48 is particularly hilarious.) He also embarrasses Danny in front of Melanie by complimenting her beauty and stating that she should marry him. In Chin-Kee, readers see how close the fear of stereotyping is to all immigrants and their children. It is fitting that the picture of Chin-Kee on the back cover is in a television screen, reminding everyone how stereotypes are easily transmitted through mass media.

Once these stories are established, the rest of the plot moves toward the climax. The Monkey King attempts to “improve” himself but runs afoul of the gods and gets himself imprisoned under a rock mountain of his own making. Chin-Kee continues making Danny’s life miserable in a series of school scenes worth reading over and over for their humor. Jin falls in love with one of his classmates and gets a perm to change his look, only to be told by one of her friends that they shouldn’t be together because it wouldn’t look good socially as they move on to high school. In the climax, Jin decides to change his look and become Danny, Chin-Kee becomes the Monkey King sent to rescue Danny, and Wei-Chen, the “fresh off the boat” student who Jin befriends earlier in the book, becomes the son of the Monkey King, an emissary originally sent to save Jin. Oh, and Danny becomes who he was all along: Jin. (The scene where Danny fights Chin-Kee and gets beaten by a series of kung fu moves with Chinese food names should cause readers to laugh out loud.)

If the ending seems confused, it isn’t. “True identities” are revealed. Jin finally accepts himself and his background, and in the last scene is contrasted with Wei-Chen, who spurns his father’s (the Monkey King’s) teachings to adopt a Westernized Chinese “gangsta” lifestyle that evidently involves driving a fast car, smoking, and wearing too much jewelry. True to its comic book roots, this novel packs a lot of action, characterization, and commentary into its panels, so much so that readers will always seem to find something they missed. It might be a facial expression, a piece of dialogue, a side comment, a piece of Chinese lore, or a depiction of the rolling action of the story. Whatever these individual pieces might be, taken together they all add up to a powerful work on personal identity for all readers. Lang lays bare stereotypes and hopes and fears about growing up and does it all with drawings at once lifelike and stylized. Its design has a Chinese feel to it, with an abundance of ideograms in conversation and name seals on the top of every page.

This book is too good to miss, especially for high school students struggling to find out who they are, regardless of their ethnicity.

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
--The trivision approach and treatment are unique and moving. The art is simple, colorful, and both attractive and effective. (LIBRARY JOURNAL, March 2007)
--This graphic novel could be especially cathartic for teens and adults of Asian descent, but people of any ethnicity would find themselves reflected in the universal themes of self-acceptance, peer pressure, and racial tensions. (VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES, October 2006)
--This much-anticipated, affecting story about growing up different is more than just the story of a Chinese-American childhood; it's a fable for every kid born into a body and a life they wished they could escape. (PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY, June 2006)
--The stories have a simple, engaging sweep to them, but their weighty subjects--shame, racism, and friendship--receive thoughtful, powerful examination. (BOOKLIST, September 2006)
--Yang's crisp line drawings, linear panel arrangement, and muted colors provide a strong visual complement to the textual narrative. Like Toni Morrison's THE BLUEST EYE and Laurence Yep's DRAGONWINGS, this novel explores the impact of the American dream on those outside the dominant culture in a finely wrought story that is an effective combination of humor and drama. (SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, September 2006)

Review excerpts from BOOKS IN PRINT database.

AWARDS
--Michael L. Printz Award winner, 2007
--ALA Best Books for Young Adults, 2007
--Best Book of the Year: PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY & SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL

CONNECTIONS
--This novel would be an excellent addition to units on immigration, personal identity and growing up at the high school level.
--It would also be valuable to examine in English and visual arts classes on storytelling through comics, due to its “traditional” comic book style and characteristics.
--It was originally published on the Internet at http://www.Moderntales.com
--Other books by Gene Luen Yang:
ANIMAL CRACKERS: A GENE LUEN YANG COLLLECTION. 2010. ISBN: 978-1593621834
THE ETERNAL SMILE. 2009. Ill. by Derek Kirk Kim. ISBN: 1596431563
GORDON YYAMAMOTO AND THE KING OF THE GEEKS. 2004. ISBN: 978-0943151953LOYOLA CHIN AND THE SAN PELIGRAN ORDER. 2004. ISBN: 978-1593620059
PRIME BABY. 2010. ISBN: 978-1596436121
ROSARY COMIC BOOK: INCLUDES THE LUMINOUS MYSTERIES. 2003. ISBN: 978-0819864796
SECRET IDENTITIES: THE ASIAN SUPERHERO ANTHOLOGY. 2009. ISBN: 978-1595583987. (Collection with other graphic artists)
UP ALL NIGHT (SEVEN SUNSETS SEVEN STORIES). 2009. ISBN: 978-0061370786. (Collection with other graphic artists)