Jennifer R Smith

 Why American Born Chinese Works as a Graphic Novel

By Jennifer Smith

One of the most distinctive features of American Born Chinese is its use of the graphic novel format to tell multiple stories that intersect and converge in surprising ways. The graphic novel format allows the author, Gene Luen Yang, to create a rich and complex narrative that explores the themes of identity, culture, and belonging from different perspectives. In this blog, I will analyze how the graphic novel format affects the narration of Jin Wang's story (and the story of others) in American Born Chinese, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of this mode of storytelling. Jin Wang is the main protagonist of American Born Chinese, and his story is told in a realistic and chronological way, following his struggles to fit in as a Chinese American boy in a predominantly white school and society. The graphic novel format enables Yang to show Jin's emotions, thoughts, and experiences through both words and images, creating a vivid and relatable portrait of his character. For example, in chapter two, when Jin first arrives at his new school, Yang uses a series of panels to show Jin's isolation and alienation from his classmates, who stare at him with curiosity, indifference, or hostility. The panels also show Jin's internal dialogue, as he tries to cope with his situation by making jokes or rationalizing his feelings. This is shown in the panels where Jin is discussing making his first friend, Peter the Eater, at Mayflower Elementary School. He uses internal dialogue to discuss the games they play:

Panel 1: “Kill the Pill”

Panel 2: “Crack the Whip”

Panel 3: …And Let’s be Jews. We usually had to steal an item or two from Mrs. Grabinski’s dresser drawer for this game (This panel shows Jin with a bra on his head).

Panel 4: Just before winter break during my fifth grade year (Peter was in the sixth), Peter told me he was going to visit his father in Pennsylvania. “The friggin government finally came to it’s friggin senses,” he said.

When winter break was over, Peter never came back (this panel shows Jin sitting on a bench by himself.

The graphic novel format allows Yang to convey Jin's conflicting emotions and feelings of loneliness in a visual and effective way.

However, Jin's story is not the only one that is told in American Born Chinese. Yang also introduces two other stories that seem unrelated to Jin's at first, but later reveal their connections and significance. The first one is the story of the Monkey King, a mythical figure from Chinese folklore who wants to be accepted as a god despite being a monkey. The Monkey King is a powerful and proud figure from Chinese mythology, who rebels against the gods and tries to become one of them. He is a symbol of the struggle for acceptance and recognition, as well as the desire to transcend one's limitations. The second one is the story of Danny, a white American teenager who has to deal with his embarrassing cousin Chin-Kee, a stereotypical caricature of a Chinese person. These two stories are told in different styles and tones than Jin's story, creating a contrast and a diversity of voices in the graphic novel. The Monkey King's story is told in a fantastical and epic way, using elements from traditional Chinese art and mythology. Using elements from American pop culture and media, Chin-Kee's story is told in a painfully humorous and satirical way. Chin-Kee is a caricature of the most negative and offensive stereotypes of Chinese people, such as having a thick accent, eating weird food, and being good at math. He is a source of embarrassment and shame for his cousin Danny, who tries to fit in with his white peers. In Melissa Schieble’s article, “Reading Images in American Born Chinese Through Cultural Visual Literacy,” she uses a quote from Yang to describe how he wants his readers to visualize Chin-Kee, "It's okay for you to find him funny, but I want you to laugh at him with a knot in your stomach (47). Both Chin-Kee and the Monkey King undergo transformations throughout the story, as they learn to accept themselves and their heritage. For example, Chin-Kee reveals himself to be the Monkey King in disguise, who has been testing Danny's loyalty and courage. The Monkey King also learns to embrace his true nature as a monkey, rather than pretending to be something he is not. By the end of the novel, both characters show that being Asian American is not a fixed or static identity, but a dynamic one that can change and evolve over time.

 

The graphic novel format allows Yang to experiment with these different styles and tones, and to create a dynamic and multifaceted narrative that challenges the reader's expectations and assumptions. By switching between these three stories, Yang creates a sense of suspense and curiosity, as the reader wonders how they are related and what they mean for Jin's identity. The graphic novel format also allows Yang to make subtle and clever connections between the stories through visual cues, such as colors, symbols, or motifs. According to Schieble, “Because students interact in a highly visual world through their Internet practices, video games, film, and television, teaching students to read media and images from a critical stance is increasingly important” (50). In the book, American Born Chinese, Yang seems to understand this importance by creating his story as a graphic novel. For example, in chapter six, when Jin meets Amelia Harris, his crush, for the first time, Yang uses the same color scheme (pink and purple) that he used for the Monkey King's encounter with Princess Iron Fan in chapter three. This suggests that Jin's attraction to Amelia is influenced by his desire to assimilate into the dominant culture, just like the Monkey King's desire to be accepted as a god. Another example is when

The graphic novel format also poses some limitations for the narration of American Born Chinese. One of them is the limited space for text and dialogue, which means that Yang has to be concise and selective in what he writes and shows. This can sometimes lead to ambiguity or confusion for the reader, who has to infer or interpret the meaning of some scenes or events. For example, in chapter eight, when Jin transforms into Danny after kissing Wei-Chen's girlfriend Suzy Nakamura, Yang does not explain why or how this happens. The reader has to deduce that this is Jin's way of escaping from his identity crisis and his guilt over betraying his friend. Another limitation of the graphic novel format is the potential for misinterpretation or misunderstanding of some images or symbols, especially when they involve cultural references or stereotypes. For example, some readers might find Chin-Kee's story offensive or insensitive, without realizing that Yang is using it as a parody and a critique of the racist representations of Asians in American media.

In conclusion, American Born Chinese is a graphic novel that uses its format to create a complex and diverse narrative that explores the issues of identity, culture, and belonging from different perspectives. The graphic novel format allows Yang to use both words and images to convey his characters' emotions, thoughts, and experiences; to experiment with different styles and tones; and to make subtle and clever connections between the stories. However, the graphic novel format also has some drawbacks, such as the limited space for text and dialogue, and the potential for ambiguity or misinterpretation of some images or symbols. Despite these limitations, American Born Chinese is an innovative and engaging graphic novel that challenges the reader to think critically about their own identity and culture.

 

 

Works Cited

Schieble, Melissa. Reading Images in “American Born Chinese” through Critical Visual Literacy,

May 2014, resources.finalsite.net/images/v1620142116/smhsorg/uaekobsklyfsx15tn1lf/ReadingImagesinBC.pdf.

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. W. Ross MacDonald School Resource Services 

Library, 2020.