American Born Chinese Essay: ‘American Born Chinese’ is a famous graphic novel authored by Gene Luen Yang. It has a special type of structure where three different stories are related to each other and finally converge in the end. Each story is based on a central character that feels being judged and tries to fit in. The story features many stereotypical ideas and opinions prevalent in America throughout the twentieth century. The American Born Chinese stories represent a combination of humor and reality. Gene Luen Yang’s American Born Chinese focuses on the life of a typical Chinese boy facing challenges of modern-day stereotyping. It gives readers a flavor of the emotional and creative storyline. The author joins three very separate stories very subtly to illustrate the experience of a Chinese-American boy within an environment that is not always very welcoming to his real and perceived differences.
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Long Essay on American Born Chinese Essay
The Storyline
The first story is about the monkey king who is deprived of some authority and desperate to prove his superiority over others. He practices martial arts to increase his abilities, and to show off his skills. His feelings of superiority lead him to take certain inappropriate steps. When he was advised that he should be content with what he is, the monkey king refuses. He was punished for his poor choices and freed himself back only after hundreds of years by reducing himself to his original size. After that, the monkey king sends his son Wei-Chen on a journey but takes the disguise of Chin-kee to keep a watch on his son and his activities.
In the second plot, Jin is a young Chinese American who can’t find himself fit with the school environment. He made a friendship with Wei-Chen who is also an immigrant and also develops a relationship with Amelia. Then Amelia’s friend Greg insults Jin, which makes him wish he were white. When he wakes up, he finds himself changed as white, and he renames himself Danny, which leads to the third story.
Danny is in high school but decides to change schools every year following the visit of his cousin Chin-kee who completely embarrasses him by his typical Chinese racial stereotype attitude. Danny becomes angry with Chin-kee’s behavior and hits him in the face. This punch breaks the disguise and brings him back to the original figure of the monkey king. The monkey king also reveals Danny’s actual form by turning him back into Jin. The monkey king explains how Wei-Chen had decided not to live a virtuous life any longer and went away. Jin decided to wait every night until finally one night Wei-Chen returned. The two boys became friends once more.
The Underlying Message
Graphic novels can represent stories much better through most genres, because of the format that uses the power of visualization and lighter mode. This book is also not an exception to that. A sensitive topic like racism that would normally be fairly tough to discuss, is done in a manner that it appeals to the readers. There is an inner flow of message passing through all the stories which say there is nothing like a happy ending and life has a continuous movement. However, the characters find a better way of understanding themselves during interaction with others. Chin-Kee could be viewed as problematic to some readers, but the thought process that accompanies his actions makes it clear that he is meant to be a representation of all the negative traits that westerners view of the Chinese. At first, the reader may find the three stories separate, but when these are merged together at the end it creates an impact that makes this novel really interesting.
Short Essay on American Born Chinese
American Born Chinese is a famous graphic story written by Gene Luen Yang. It has won the Michael L. Printz Award in 2007, National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature in 2006, the winner of the 2007 Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album, and Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year.
The Theme
The novel features strong themes of racial stereotypes, particularly Americans’ perception of the Chinese and other East Asian communities. For example, Monkey King serves as a symbol for minority races particularly those who want to hide their backgrounds to assimilate into the majority culture. He is determined to prove that he is more than just a Monkey and desires to be recognized as powerful as others. The character of Chin-Kee is also an example of a Chinese stereotype who is being discriminated by racial remarks generally used for unskilled Chinese workers.
The Moral of the Story
Anyone who ever felt like they didn’t fit in can relate to the characters of the novel. Jin Wang feels like an outsider at school as he is the only Chinese-American student there. Danny feels embarrassed while dealing with the yearly visit of his cousin Chin-Kee who is a Chinese stereotype. The monkey god finds him inferior in the eyes of the other deities and wants to rise too fast to face recognition from the other gods. But Yung conveys the message in the story that one has to be comfortable with oneself, not to make fun of people due to their communities, and to accept people from all backgrounds as friends. The novel depicts transformations of identity as the theme and the narrative structure helps to establish the characters as the key elements of the way the story is told.
FAQ’s on American Born Chinese Essay
Question 1.
How many plots are there in the main novel ‘American Born Chinese’?
Answer:
There are three separate stories in the novel that are merged at the conclusion.
Question 2.
Who are the protagonists in each of these stories?
Answer:
The first story has the monkey god as the leading character, the second story revolves around Jin as the protagonist and the third plot narrates the story of Danny.
Question 3.
What is the underlying message in the story ‘American Born Chinese’?
Answer:
The message of the story is to be comfortable with who you are, not to bully others due to their ethnicities, and to accept people from all backgrounds in your community.