thesis statement for american born chinese

American Born Chinese

Gene luen yang, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese . Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.

American Born Chinese: Introduction

American born chinese: plot summary, american born chinese: detailed summary & analysis, american born chinese: themes, american born chinese: quotes, american born chinese: characters, american born chinese: symbols, american born chinese: theme wheel, brief biography of gene luen yang.

Historical Context of American Born Chinese

Other books related to american born chinese.

• Full Title: American Born Chinese
• When Written: 2001-2006
• Where Written: California
• When Published: 2006 as a print book (it began as a webcomic)
• Literary Period: Contemporary
• Genre: Graphic Novel; Young Adult Novel
• Setting: The mythical Heaven and Flower-Fruit Mountain; the California suburbs
• Climax: The Monkey King reveals that he’s actually Chin-Kee.
• Antagonist: Timmy, Peter Garbinsky, and Greg; Broadly, racism, prejudice, and self-hatred
• Point of View: Third Person in Danny and the Monkey King’s chapters; First Person in Jin’s chapters

Extra Credit for American Born Chinese

Beyond Superheroes. As graphic novels have grown in popularity and become a “respectable” medium, educators have realized their capacity to engage reluctant or struggling readers. Because of this, in addition to graphic novels like American Born Chinese that were originally published in the medium, it’s possible to find graphic novel adaptations of classic works like Beowulf , To Kill a Mockingbird , and The Diary of Anne Frank .

American Born Chinese by Gene Yang Literature Analysis Essay

Introduction, peculiarities of mise-en-scene, characterization through actions and speech, works cited.

American Born Chinese is a graphical novel that belongs to the genre of bildungsroman or coming of age story, depicting the challenges that are encountered by the young people in finding their identity and destiny and focusing on the psychological growth of the protagonist. The novel dwells on a Chinese boy who was born in America. Faced with the challenges of adopting two contrasting cultures together with the identity issues that come with teenage life, the boy is almost confused (University of Chicago 78).

Yang chose the tropes characteristic of traditional bildungsromane, such as a young protagonist, depiction of inner conflict, physical and emotional maturation of an adolescent to enhance the process of characterization. The mise-en-scene, frames, and sound effects were used by Yang to show the audience the characterization of Jin/Danny, the main protagonist of American Born Chinese, through his speech and actions for making the character believable.

The mise-en-scene in American Born Chinese is used for conveying the author’s main message, focusing on the characters and their facial expressions and leaving the landscape and surroundings in the background.

Every element of mise-en-scene is aimed at focusing the readers’ attention on the development of the characters. “The mise-en-scene organizes the different parameters of the image (framing, choice of point of view, composition, ‘actions’ of the characters, lighting, etc.) in accordance with the internal dynamic of the sequence, to produce an aesthetic or dramatic effect” (Groensteen 120).

In most screens of the comics a reader can see only the characters and their voice balloons in the forefront, while the rest of the details are not emphasized, some of the lines are blurred, and the faces of the characters placed at the background are indefinite or even blank. When Jin Wang, the main protagonist, retells a legend about a mother moving with her son to diverse places because of devastating effects of the surroundings on her child, the woman’s face is left blank, while the whole figure does not resemble a human being.

This approach is helpful for distinguishing between the screens depicting the main lines and screens depicting the incorporated citations of legends and secondary stories in order not to confuse the readers. The author’s choice of perspective is predetermined with the peculiarities of both bildungsroman and comics genres.

The details of the location are optional and just complement and frame the events taking place at the forefront. However, the change of the scenes is important for depicting the course of time and accelerated development and maturation of the main character’s personality.

Designing the screens of the comics, the author paid attention to meaningful facial expressions, incorporating particular symbols into the screens with the aim of intensifying the readers’ impressions. For example, the author uses the traditional indicators for communicating a particular message to the readers. Thus, for example, the markers “less than” and “more than” were used to indicate a phrase in Chinese.

When a Chinese boy comes to the main protagonist and wants to make friends with him, starting the conversation in their native language, the boy’s confusion is expressed through the three dots at the beginning of the utterances and meaningless interjections. During the communication exchange, the boys are placed into empty boxes with a corner of the table in only one of them. This peculiarity of the mese-en-scene is aimed at concentrating the readers’ attention on the facial expressions of the characters.

The last two boxes depict only the main character’s eyes. Still, the eyes expression is enough for evaluating the boy’s attitude to the current situation. The author shifts the emphasis from the main character to another boy in order to demonstrate the changes of his mood, while Jin/Danny is reluctant to establish the rapport with his compatriot; his face is insignificant in the context of this situation.

Observing these changes in the characters’ facial expressions, the readers can follow their inner emotions and feel the atmosphere of the situation through these aspects are not reflected in the text. Another example of meaningful face expressions contributing greatly to the readers’ perception of the text is the situation when the main character is introduced to his classmates. The author managed to show the boy’s confusion and the aggression of his classmates through their facial expressions and postures.

Coupled with the voice balloons, this technique intensifies the impression from the scene making the readers sympathize with the main protagonist. The boy lowered his gaze and bit his lips, looking helpless. His classmate, on the contrary, eagerly raised his hand ready to humiliate the newcomer. The teacher’s eyes are closed in both boxes depicting the scene, and this fact is rather symbolic. The educator was reluctant to influence the children’s attitude to the Chinese boy and seem not to notice the situation in the classroom.

These are the peculiarities of mise-en-scène that make the audience focus on the development of the characters through their speech and actions, comparing and contrasting those two images as well as the image of Danny and Jin Wang as those belonging to different cultures.

As opposed to movies, the genre of comics does not allow incorporating of the sounds, moving pictures and plenty of inner dialogues into the text, using specific characterization tropes and diverse sound balloons, the author managed to make his characters realistic and believable.

Despite the fact that the screens depict the two-dimension characters, the peculiarities of the mese-en-scene coupled with diverse sound balloons, switch on the readers’ imagination. “The speech balloon in comics is effective as a ‘phonostylistic element’ because it is direct: there is no narrator acting as an intermediary between the character’s ‘voice’ and the reception of this ‘voice’ by the reader” (Varnum 159).

The author uses various techniques for revealing various emotions of the speakers, such as incorporating the text in bold, three dots at the beginning of the utterance and alliteration. A reader can easily decode these messages interpreting their meanings and deepening one’s knowledge of the situation context. Another peculiar technique used by the author is the contrast between the voice balloons and the pictures aimed at creating the comic effect.

For example, a boy tells about his so-called friend and their games, but the reader can see that the older boy just eats Jin’s sandwiches, humiliates and offenses him. The contrast between the picture and the imitated sound display the naivety of a young boy that is significant for watching the process of his following maturation.

In the frames of the bildungsroman genre, the readers follow the process of young personality’s evolution, and the author has brought out a clear fact that as children grow up into adulthood, they face certain problems. Danny has been used to display some of the challenges that a young boy goes through, especially when he starts thinking about dating and relations with the opposite sex. Teenagers have a feeling that they have all the ability to obtain anything and be what they wish to be in life (Samovar 68).

Another hidden message within the book that makes the audience support one of the characters is that each of them undergoes certain changes and finds his genuine identity after coping with a number of challenges. Often, teens are depicted as the ones that look at people around and develop their personal ideas about the good and the evil which does not always coincide with the social norms.

Generally, they dislike their peers and adults who dare to criticize their behavior and resist any kind of negativity. In this respect, the author clearly conveys the idea of imitation obtained by teens. All teens in the book try to imitate someone, and even the monkey king tries to pretend to have necessary features to be taken for the Chinese.

The main tropes used by the author of American Born Chinese, such as a focus on facial expressions, diverse sound balloons, and development of the plot lines, were predetermined with peculiarities of the comics and bildungsroman genres and aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of characterization through speech and actions. The peculiarities of mese-en-scene and sound effects contributed to creating believable characters and depicting the process of the main protagonist’s personal maturation.

Groensteen, Thierry. The System of Comics . University Press of Mississippi, 2007. Print.

University of Chicago. The American journal of sociology , Volume 81, Issues 1-3 California: University of Chicago Press., 1975.

Varnum, Robin, and Christina Gibbons. The Language of Comics: Word and Image . University Press of Mississippi, 2001. Print.

Yang, Gene & Pien, Lark. American Born Chinese. London : Lark PienEditionreprint, illustrated.

Yang, Gene. American Born Chinese (Graphic Novel) . New York: San Val, Incorporated, 2009.

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IvyPanda. (2024, February 26). American Born Chinese by Gene Yang Literature Analysis. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-born-chinese-by-gene-yang-literature-analysis/

"American Born Chinese by Gene Yang Literature Analysis." IvyPanda , 26 Feb. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/american-born-chinese-by-gene-yang-literature-analysis/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'American Born Chinese by Gene Yang Literature Analysis'. 26 February.

IvyPanda . 2024. "American Born Chinese by Gene Yang Literature Analysis." February 26, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-born-chinese-by-gene-yang-literature-analysis/.

1. IvyPanda . "American Born Chinese by Gene Yang Literature Analysis." February 26, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-born-chinese-by-gene-yang-literature-analysis/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "American Born Chinese by Gene Yang Literature Analysis." February 26, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/american-born-chinese-by-gene-yang-literature-analysis/.

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American Born Chinese

73 pages • 2 hours read

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Sections 1-3

Sections 4-6

Sections 7-9

Character Analysis

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Summary and Study Guide

American Born Chinese is a graphic novel published in 2006 by the American author and illustrator Gene Luen Yang. Through three interweaving stories that span from the 16th century to the present, the novel explores issues of Chinese American identity, anti-Asian racism, and assimilation. American Born Chinese is the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award. The novel also won both the Printz Award from the American Library Association and the Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album.

Note: The book covered in this study guide contains racist and offensive language. The author utilizes this language to educate readers on the harm inflicted by racist stereotypes. Because this offensive language is so central to the book and its themes, some of that language is reprinted in this guide.

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Plot Summary

Three storylines move the plot of American Born Chinese forward , and the novel is divided into nine separate sections. The three storylines alternate, allowing each one to develop before they all intersect towards the end of the novel when the characters reach a revelatory climax together.

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At the start of the novel, the first storyline begins when a mythical Monkey King attempts to enter a dinner party attended by the deities of Chinese folklore. He is denied entry because he is a monkey, and the Monkey King responds in anger and shame, returning home to his jungle to ponder the qualities of being a monkey that make a him inferior to others. He studies kung-fu in order to become more powerful, and he learns how to transform himself into a giant to intimidate others into giving him respect. Thanks to his aggressive shows of strength, the Monkey King draws the attention of the emissaries of Tze-Yo-Tzuh , the creator of the universe and the Monkey King himself. Tze-Yo-Tzuh tries to persuade the Monkey King to accept himself for who he is, but the Monkey King refuses to heed this wisdom. Tze-Yo-Tzuh buries him under a rock for 500 years, and only when the Monkey King acknowledges his true self to a humble monk named Wong Lai-Tsao is he able to free himself from the rock prison.

Meanwhile, a young boy named Jin Wang tells his story. His parents immigrated to San Francisco, California, arriving to the same airport within a week of each other. Later, they met as graduate students, married, moved to Chinatown in San Francisco, and raised Jin in a small apartment. When Jin and his parents move away from San Francisco to the suburbs, he finds himself in a third-grade classroom full of White students where even his teacher makes offensive assumptions about Jin’s appearance and culture. He makes friends with a new student from Taiwan named Wei-Chen and a girl of Japanese descent named Suzy Nakamura . The three friends are the only Asians in their class, and together they endure racist comments from their classmates while trying to navigate the complex experience of American middle school. Jin develops a crush on a White classmate named Amelia while he struggles with his identity as an American boy of Chinese parentage. In frustration and confusion, Jin lashes out at his best friend Wei-Chen after another White classmate humiliates him, destroying his friendship with Wei-Chen.

The third storyline involves a handsome White boy named Danny who is tormented by his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee. Chin-Kee, who embodies many negative Asian stereotypes, visits Danny and insists on attending classes with him at the local high school where Danny is a student. Chin-Kee shows off in class, demonstrating that he knows more about American subjects than the American students, and he behaves in other attention-seeking ways that humiliate Danny. The two argue, and their fight becomes physical. When Danny punches Chin-Kee in the face, Chin-Kee’s head falls off, revealing that Chin-Kee is the Monkey King in human form. Danny transforms as well, and it is revealed that he is, in reality, Jin Wang’s idealized White self.

At this point, the Monkey King reveals to Jin that his son is Wei-Chen, Jin’s estranged friend. He tells Jin that Wei-Chen, who is a monkey prince, has spoken highly of Jin, but Wei-Chen is now disillusioned by the petty impulses of humans. The Monkey King leaves Jin with an address to a Chinese café, and Jin waits there every day after school for a month, hoping to find Wei-Chen. When Wei-Chen finally appears, the boys drink boba tea and Jin apologizes to Wei-Chen. Their friendship resumes as Wei-Chen offers to take Jin to another Chinese café he knows, where the boba tea is the best he ever tasted.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Books — American Born Chinese

Essays on American Born Chinese

Prompt examples for "american born chinese" essays, identity and assimilation.

Explore the theme of identity and assimilation in "American Born Chinese." How do the characters grapple with their dual identities, and what does the book convey about the challenges of being both Chinese and American?

Stereotypes and Racism

Analyze the role of stereotypes and racism in the graphic novel. How do stereotypes affect the characters, and how does the book address the issue of racial prejudice?

Cultural Traditions and Conflicts

Discuss the clash of cultural traditions and conflicts experienced by the characters. How do cultural expectations and family dynamics shape the characters' lives and decisions?

The Power of Storytelling

Examine the importance of storytelling in "American Born Chinese." How do the three interconnected narratives in the book illustrate the transformative power of storytelling and myth?

Social Acceptance and Belonging

Consider the theme of social acceptance and belonging in the graphic novel. How do the characters seek acceptance from others, and what does the book reveal about the desire to fit in and be true to oneself?

Transformation and Self-Acceptance

Explore the concept of transformation and self-acceptance in the book. How do characters like Jin Wang and the Monkey King evolve over the course of the story, and what lessons can be drawn from their journeys?

A Topic of Cultural Identity in Gene Yang’s American Born Chinese

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Reading Reflection on American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

A review of the role of toni morrison and gene luen yang on the identity triumvirate, cultural colonization in "its wavering image", american born chinese book analysis, let us write you an essay from scratch.

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Gene Luen Yang

Graphic novel

The Monkey King, Tze-Yo-Tzuh, Wong Lai-Tsao, Jin Wang, Amelia Harris, Wei-Chen Sun, Suzy Nakamura, Greg, Danny, Chin-Kee

2006, by Gene Luen Yang

The story of American Born Chinese consists of three seemingly separate tales, which are tied together at the end of the book. The first story is about a Kung Fu practicing Monkey King of Flower-Fruit Mountain. The second story line follows a child of Chinese immigrants named Jin Wang. And the third story line follows Danny, an "all-American boy" and his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee,[3] who comes to visit every year.

American Born Chinese possesses strong themes of racial stereotypes, particularly American stereotypes of the Chinese and other East Asian ethnicities. The major themes also include identity, friendship, self-acceptance, and assimilation.

American Born Chinese is widely used in schools, as it is a great resource to help academically struggling students (particularly struggling readers) and students with social-cognitive disabilities to find motivation to learn, to relate a piece of text to their lives, and to use the graphics to help them understand/relate to the words.

“It's easy to become anything you wish . . . so long as you're willing to forfeit your soul.” “To find your true identity within the will of Tze Yo Tzuh...that is the highest of all freedoms.” “I do not make mistakes, little monkey. A monkey I intended you to be. A monkey you are.”

Relevant topics

• A Modest Proposal
• The Alchemist
• The Crucible
• A Rose For Emily
• Between The World and Me
• The Monkey'S Paw
• Consider The Lobster
• A Long Way Gone
• The Gift of the Magi

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