Summary
This graphic novel has three different stories that intertwine at the end of the story. First is a monkey king, who is frustrated with the gods who don't take him seriously. So he begins to train to outsmart and out win the gods. He then gets punished by the gods and must eventually become a disciple to one main god to survive. The next is a boy, Jin Wang, who moves to a school with no other Asian Americans, and he is bullied and picked on. He eventually ruins his one friendship with a student from Taiwan, by kissing his girlfriend. Finally, is the story of Danny. Danny is an American, whose cousin Chin-Kee comes to visit from China every year. Chin-Kee ruins Danny's reputation and Danny always has to switch schools because of it. This year Danny crosses a line, and finds out that Chin-Kee is no who really thought he was and he is not really Danny. At this point all three stories intersect in a really neat way.
Suggested Activities
A section of the library could be dedicated to stories that embrace other cultures- and one could focus on Chinese cultures. Also, you could do a big display of Chinese books and information during the Chinese New Year! With stories about Chinese Myths and Legends to go with the Monkey King story and other stories would be a great way to focus on a minority that doesn't get as much focus. Books like
The Joy Luck Club could be included for all students to read and enjoy.
Reviews
Is it so bad to grow up Asian in America? One might be forgiven for asking upon encountering “American Born Chinese,” a graphic novel that, with its dark exploration of Asian-American adolescence, won last year’s Michael L. Printz Award for young adult literature and was also a finalist in its genre for a National Book Award.
After all, Asians are widely perceived to have it easier than other minorities in the United States, especially African-Americans, whose coming-of-age struggles have been chronicled for decades by writers like Walter Dean Myers, Jacqueline Woodson and Sharon G. Flake. But in “American Born Chinese,” Gene Luen Yang makes growing up Chinese in California seem positively terrifying.
The narrative is divided into three parts: the coming-of-age tale of the Asian-American Jin Wang, which centers on his relationship with his best friend, Wei-Chen Sun; the fantastical tale of a Monkey King who does not want to be a monkey; and the deeply disturbing story of Chin-Kee, a grotesque who takes every Chinese stereotype and wraps it into a leering, drooling package.
Yang seems to use Chin-Kee to express his deepest fears of how others perceive Asian-Americans. In the book’s more realistic sections, Wang’s friend Wei-Chen is embarrassingly “fresh off the boat”; Chin-Kee is less embarrassing than monstrous. He comes to the United States for an extended visit with Danny, his blond, blue-eyed cousin, and enters with a shout of “Harro Amellica!” (The author uses Chin-Kee’s L/R switch to great effect — at one point he says he’s having a “lorricking good time” in his new school.) He wants to bind the feet of Danny’s attractive study partner. His eyes are pupil-less slits. And he dominates Danny’s classes, reminding us that the image of a Chinese student filling out all the SAT bubbles correctly can be as damaging as one eating “flied cat gizzards.”
More disquieting than Chin-Kee himself is the reaction of his American peers. They accept him with blank, idealized political correctness. Only when he begins to engage in truly disgusting behavior do they turn on him. It is as if Chin-Kee is trying to make others despise him.
While Chin-Kee’s coolie outfit harks back to the 19th century, Yang — who teaches high school computer science in San Francisco — also takes from modern sources. In one scene, Chin-Kee dances on a table singing “She Bangs” in the style of William Hung, the Berkeley student who turned a ridiculed “American Idol” audition into a brief singing career in 2004. Hung’s hooks were his geeky appearance and accent; his music video soaked him in bling and surrounded him with backup dancers to drive home the point that he would never have bling or backup dancers.
“American Born Chinese” blends Chinese and American cultures in inventive, unexpected ways. Structurally, its interwoven stories form a trilogy — a familiar Western construction — but the tale of the Monkey King is dominated by groups of four: four Major Heavenly Disciplines of kung fu; four emissaries of Tze-Yo-Tzuh, creator of all existence (an invention of Yang’s). Thus four, a cursed number in Chinese numerology, dogs the Monkey King until he comes to terms with his identity. At the end of his story, in the book’s most clever ethnic synthesis, he turns four to his favor, becoming one of four emissaries to the West who replace the wise men in their pilgrimage to see Jesus.
This image of the blending of Asian-American and white cultures will be tested in the coming years. As the white population in America falls below 50 percent, around 2060 (according to census projections), the definition of “white” is once again set to expand as it did for Italian- and Irish-Americans. Who will get to join the club? Or will the club finally fall to pieces?
Caught up in these complex questions, it is easy to forget that “American Born Chinese” also functions well as a comic book. (Many graphic novelists are taking back this once-disparaging term.) The art blends the clean lines of anime with a bold American palette. Yang is equally adept at depicting a high school cafeteria and the Monkey King’s fantastical realm.
“American Born Chinese” is sometimes needlessly crass — it opens with a joke about breasts and peaches — and it is hampered by a confusing ending that stretches to resolve the three tales. But with Chin-Kee’s striking embodiment of ethnic confusion and self-betrayal, Gene Luen Yang has created that rare article: a youthful tale with something new to say about American youth.
Vizinni, N. (2007, May 13). High anxiety. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/13/books/review/Vizzini-t.html?_r=0
My Thoughts
I had such a hard time getting into this book. I really did not understand why the story about the monkey king was involved and why Danny had a Chinese cousin. But the more I read, the more I suspended my beliefs and just went along with it. I began to enjoy the stories of these three characters and their trials more. I could not picture how the stories would link up in the end- but they did! I think that Yang did a pretty decent job throwing the stories together at the end, although it was a little confusing and a little bit fast. But overall, I enjoyed this book and the message it sent. I think a lot of Asian Americans would relate, but also any one who has tried to deny a part of their culture, past or personaltiy can relate too.
Bibliography
Yang, G. L. (2006). American born chinese. New York: First Second Books.
