Analysis of American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

The lesson of American Born Chinese is not particularly significant. Gene Luen Yang's three storylines unite to convey the message of being who you are. Fight the temptation to assimilate. Be pleased with your heritage and quit attempting to deny it. What makes this such a charming and compelling story is the way he lets it know. Yang tosses three contending stories at the reader, all of which end up uniting in thrilling and unpredicted ways. One of them is a cut of-life record of a youthful Chinese-American student who moves to another town and ends up on the receiving end of his all-white class. The second storyline is that of a legendary monkey-kind who is denied access to a festivity in paradise and reacts by attempting to lift himself to a higher class of divinity. The third storyline includes an all-American secondary school student who is tormented by his (mysteriously) Chinese cousin Chin-Kee, the embodiment of every unconstructive Chinese stereotype possible.
This narrative technique is what keeps the book from decentralizing into an oppressive investigation of both racism and self-loathing. By beginning with the brilliant story of the Monkey King, Yang starts the book on an incredible note. The shift to the account of Jin Wang, the youthful Chinese-American kid who just needs to fit in. Yang skillfully overlays humor into what is unmistakably a difficult story to tell. A portion of the humor ends up having surprising outcomes, such as when he tells an apothecary 's spouse that he needs to be a Transformer when he grows up, and she lets him know that he can do it effortlessly, provided that he would not mind losing his soul–and he ultimately loses the soul.
What truly gives the novel its energy is Yang's outrageously dreadful Chin-Kee, a stereotypical buck-toothed, yellow-skinned bonehead. This utilization of this sudden evil man of an ethnic stereotype who comes once every year to humiliate his blond cousin Danny is a bold decision by Yang. (Gomes and James 70). The utilization of a stereotype to tackle stereotypes is an unsafe move, yet the same strategy of substituting accounts that splits up the tone of Jin Yang's story serves to give a reprieve from Chin-Kee. He is amusing and unpleasant while evidently a satiric figure (who later serves a certain and unanticipated purpose), he seems to be beneficial exercise for the writer. Jin Wang meets another kid in his class called Wei-Chen, who was sent to America from Taiwan. Jin at first needs nothing to do with him. However, they, in the long run, get to become companions.
In the mean time, following Monkey Lord's adventure, he is reprimanded by god and covered under a heap of rock after he attempts to be anything other than a monkey. Things heighten from that point in each of the three storylines as things turn out badly for the majority of the characters. However, it is Jin offering his spirit that ends up being a focal moment for every one of the three stories. Yang's expertise as a storyteller is the thing that makes the narrative to be compelling. His humorous art, striking hues and clear formats make the book a delight to look at and read. The stories are deceivingly straightforward; however, small details later tackle more prominent importance in intelligent ways. The final result is an examination of some genuine and excruciating issues effectively coordinated with impressive characters and a convincing story.
Looking at the themes, the first theme of the narrative is acceptance (Yang 105). The author encourages the adolescents to acknowledge themselves for whom they truly are and to never assess individuals due to their looks, culture or ethnic backgrounds. All through the story, the key characters are influenced by an absence of self-acknowledgment due to the way in which the community that they wish to be part of treats them. These communities treat them in an extremely discriminating way because of ethnic and social contrasts. Due to the absence of self-acknowledgement that this treatment have an effect on them, the primary characters carry out actions that simply injure themselves as well as the individuals with whom they attempt to associate with.
An excellent illustration of how labeling and assessing individuals due to their race or way of life can cause pain to individual's feeling of self-acknowledgment, is how Monkey King acts all through the narrative prior to choosing to go with Tze Yo Tzu. All through the novel, it is not difficult to observe that previous to Monkey King mastering the 12 Kung Fu courses, he was as commanding as several Divine beings that he battled against. What caused Monkey Ruler's choice to be all more authoritative and conclude that "all monkey must wear shoes" (Yang 55), was because he was snubbed by the watchmen when he went to the social gathering which the other gods had made. At that point, after he secluded himself and turned out to be the more powerful, he considered himself another person instead of a monkey. He never liked to be named monkey and on account of this, he manhandled everybody that would not describe him as The Great Sage Equal of Heaven. Shortly, after he is liberated from Tze Yo Tzu's discipline, he says " I would have saved myself from five hundred years' imprisonment beneath a mountain of rock had I only realized how good it is to be a monkey." (Yang 223).
Another great case of how terrible it is to generalize individuals and to not acknowledge one's identity is the tale of Jin Wang. When Jin begins to go class in the US, the primary observation he sees among his American colleagues is the racially prejudiced generalizations about the Asians. As he was initially introduced by a educator, the educator stated " He and his family recently moved to our neighborhood all the way from China!” (Yang 30). A classmate stated, " My momma says Chinese people eat dogs." (Yang 30). Every one of such sorts of generalizations makes him prefer to be an American rendition of himself in secondary school that is known as Danny instead of being known as an Asian. Even so, prior to becoming Danny, his absence of acknowledgment is the thing that drives him to be unconfident about pursuing the young lady he loved Amelia as well as what drives him to damage his companionship with Wei-Chen Sun.
Identity is another theme of this narrative. The teenage anguish of dealing with personality can be looked at through exploration of Jin Wang character. He is a youthful Chinese-American scholar who explores the second-era life while struggling with bullying, dating, as well as relationships. Despite the fact that his guardians do not assume an extensive part in the realistic novel, they are seen as having a more prominent association with China and the Chinese society, by communicating in Mandarin at home and utilizing Chinese therapeutic cures (Gomes and James 73). The realistic novel is among the first of its kind, telling a story from a Chinese-American perspective and having been composed by one, also. Jin Wang, breaks the model of Asian-American sidekick seen in different comics and realistic books. Jin is the hero of the realistic novel. Despite ethnicity, the binding topics of bullying, lonely love, along with familial humiliation make him compassionate. However, unmistakably Chinese social components, for example, the legends of The Monkey King in view of Voyage on the West, and the exaggeration of Jin Wang's cousin speaks to the Asian-American generalizations that keep on pervading oblivious circles. The three primary portrayals, of Jin Wang, of the fanciful Monkey King from Chinese fables, and Jin's "American" alternative self-image, Danny, entwine to demonstrate the depiction of East-meets-West, convention versus innovation battles that encompass Asian-American personalities.
The Monkey King is a similarity for the view of equality that all youngsters have before ethnicity is presented and social standards are taught. When conversing with different kings, the Monkey King sees himself as same as any other person. After he is rejected from a get-together on the grounds that he is a monkey, he attempts to become accustomed to the people by dressing in a human manner, walking like a person, and doing Kung Fu. He alters the size to be more human-like and gets caught; the best way to escape is to return back to his monkey size. The Monkey King takes after a comparable development as Jin. At first, they acknowledge themselves (Song 55). When others take note of their disparities, they begin to get so engrossed with assimilating. After they had fitted in, however, there is a highly contrasting perspective of character, that by being human or American, one needs to dismiss the life they were brought up with. Notwithstanding, they, in the long run, come to acknowledge themselves and perceive admiration in their traditions and the qualities that make them one of a kind.
Frequently exotified, Asian-Americans are still, on occasions, seen as more " foreign " in spite of the common nationality and relatable youth encounters. The social legacy stays imported and different from standard American society. In a discussion between Jin and his Taiwanese companion, Wei-Chen, Jin shows a progressive system between American society and Asian-American societies. He consistently reprimands Wei-Chen for behaving more like a new off the vessel and urges him to assimilate with the dominatingly white society of their school. Similarly as with different ethnicities, Yang looks into the dichotomized personality of being an American with a diverse social setting. Jin's cousin, Chin Kee, from China, symbolizes the negative Asian-American generalizations, as well as the personification of Jin's own thoughts of what Chinese legacy is. Chin Kee's name, homonymous with the ethnic slur, symbolizes the discriminations and the union of the Asian-American personality (Song 45). Chin-Kee who talks broken English, is fixated on getting an American spouse with big bosoms, and the stereotype of a straight-A scholar. Seen between the associations with the Caucasian understudies and Chin Kee, the individual with the best contempt for Chin Kee and his eccentricities is Jin. As Jin grows from youth to adulthood, he understands the value in his social and linguistic conventions as perceived in his communications from his Chinese cousin, and the Chinese cultivator's spouse. He is no more embarrassed about his social custom, however, understands that he does not have to choose between his legacy and his nationality.
The story is not limited to Asian-Americans. The setting is for the most part white suburb, and the juxtaposition of Jin along with the two Asian students, a Taiwanese teenager, and a Japanese-American young lady show the miniaturized animosities that take place even at the present time. A few students inquire as to whether Chinese eat dog. Jin and the Japanese-American young lady, the only Asian-American teenager when he first got there, are asked whether they are kindreds since they are both Asian-American (Doughty 36). Nonetheless, as the kids grow up to be adolescents, Jin meets individuals more liberal and tolerating of social contrasts. While Jin still attempts to fit into standard society, by diverting a Caucasian alter ego Danny, he is instilled with the generalizations. Excessively judgmental of Chin Kee's conduct, he additionally compares the American society and the Chinese society with the tropes of the "American, macho basketball player" and the geeky, socially unbalanced Chinese teenager.
With Jin's enchantment on Amelia, an editorial on the truth of interracial couples exists. While his companions are reluctant, yet encouraging, Amelia's Caucasian companion, Greg ceaselessly prevents the maturing relationship and attempts to discourage Jin from further seeking after her for no other explanation than the dubiously hidden prejudice (Yang and Lark 18). Wei-Chen and the Japanese-American girl’s correlation have little discourse apart from middle school-esque punching demonstrating a more prominent resilience and desire for same-race relations. Characters like Jin symbolize the Chinese-American experience. From his own encounters, Yang gives his character equity with the intricacy and sometimes, opposing conduct. He breaks the generalizations of Chinese-American characters while recognizing they exist and highlights the real voice of a conflicted youngster.
The realistic novel not only makes one profoundly identify with the Jin Wang, but it also makes them analyze their privilege. The subtleties between the American subcultures are uplifted and exotified while the standard culture that people grew up in has never been addressed nor have they ever needed to protect it. The responses towards some of Jin's conduct and the conduct of his white associates makes one get embarrassed as they related the many chances in their own life where small scale discriminations towards subcultures have, and keep on existing. America is regularly called the blend on because of the large number of migrants and ethnicities that are present. Nonetheless, the issues of minority mistreatment still continue in the depreciation of social standards. Rather than perceiving Asian-American society as a part of American society, it is still seen as a diverse subculture and, sometimes, counter-culture. Chinese-Americans have a combination culture that is commemorated in the realistic novel yet, additionally, an advancing culture that should be better recognized and celebrated by different ethnicities.

Works Cited
Doughty, Jonathan. More Than Meets The I: Chinese Transnationality in Gene Luen Yang's American Born Chinese. Asian American Literature: Discourses & Pedagogies 1.1 (2010): 7-7.
Gomes, Cheryl, & James Bucky Carter. Navigating through Social Norms, Negotiating Place: How American Born Chinese Motivates Struggling Learners. English Journal (2010): 68-76.
Song, Min Hyoung. "" How Good It Is to Be a Monkey": Comics, Racial Formation, and American Born Chinese." Mosaic: A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature 43.1 (2010): 73.
Yang, Gene L, & Lark Pien. American Born Chinese. New York: First Second, 2006. Print.
Yang, Gene L. American Born Chinese: Histoire D'un Chinois D'amérique. Paris: Dargaud, 2007. Print.
Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. Macmillan, 2007. Print.