A. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yang, G. L., & Pien, L. (2009). American born Chinese. New York: Square Fish ; First Second.
B. PLOT SUMMARY
American Born Chinese contains three different stories that eventually merge into one. The reader is first introduced to the Monkey King, who seeks to be considered a deity equal to the most powerful in all of existence. He receives word that there is a banquet taking place, and he leaves his kingdom to attend. Upon arrival, he is dismissed as a deity due to the fact that he is a monkey and is not wearing shoes. He gets upset and beats up several of the other deities before leaving. After he arrives back to his kingdom, he is ashamed of the fact that he is a monkey, and he spends a long time trying to get his followers to stop doing many of the things that makes them monkeys. Eventually he is approached by Tze-Yo-Tzuh, He who is, the most powerful deity in existence. After trying to defeat and then run away from Tze-Yo-Tzuh, the Monkey King is eventually punished and place under several rocks, keeping him in place for 500 years. It is only after a man comes claiming that the Monkey King is to be his new discipline that he begins to understand his true form.
Our second character we meet is Jin Wang, a young boy who has moved to a new town from San Francisco. Jin Wang struggles to find his identity at this new school, which consists of mostly white children. Eventually, another boy, Wei-Chen, moves to his school from Taiwan. After an initial hostility towards Wei-Chen, Jin Wang decides to become his friend. The two form a bond, and remain friends throughout middle school. Jin Wang helps Wei-Chen acclimate to America, teaching him how to speak English and fit in with others. Wei-Chen eventually helps Jin Wang talk to a girl he has a crush on, and the two of them go out on a date. After he is asked to not date the girl again by a white student, Jin Wang is feeling defeated. He starts talking to Wei-Chen's girlfriend, and in a moment of weakness, he kisses her. Wei-Chen is devastated, and he and Jin Wang get into an argument, which causes them not to talk for several years.
The final character we meet is a white boy named Danny. Once a year, Danny's cousin Chin-kee comes to visit him and attends his school. Chin-kee embodies every Asian stereotype imaginable, and his antics embarrass Danny each time he arrives. Danny mentions to a friend that he's had to move schools at the end of each year because everyone only remembers him as Chin-kee's cousin after he is gone.
Eventually, Danny and Chin-kee get into a fight, resulting in Danny punching him in the face and revealing that Chin-kee is in fact the Monkey King in disguise. The Monkey King, after revealing his true self, tells Danny to do the same. This is where we learn that Danny is actually Jin Wang. After his argument with Wei-Chen, Jin Wang wished to be someone else. His wish is granted and he wakes up as Danny. The Monkey King tells him that he comes once a year to be his reminder of his true self, and to also let Jin Wang know that Wei-Chen is actually his son. He wanted to become an emissary like his father, so he was transformed into Wei-Chen and sent to earth. After Jin Wang kissed his girlfriend, he decided that he no longer wanted to be an emissary, and he was going to stay on Earth to live his life the way he wanted. The Monkey King leaves Jin Wang with an address to a restaurant, where he goes everyday hoping to run into Wei-Chen. Eventually the two reconnect, and Jin Wang apologizes for what he did.
C. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
This was such an impactful book, and I am really thankful I was able to read it considering all that is going on in this country regarding that attacks and discrimination towards Asian Americans. The book focuses on coming to terms with and accepting who you are. Both the Monkey King and Jin Wang discover that being embarrassed of who they were born to be will never make them happy. It is after they both accept their roles - the Monkey King accepting the fact that he is a monkey and Jin Wang accepting the fact that he is Asian - that they are able to free themselves from everything that has held them back.
The characters in this story, Jin Wang in particular, face discrimination from many of the people around them. Jin Wang, Wei-Chin, and Suzy Nakamura have insults hurled at them from the white kids at their school, being called "chinks" and having other negative terms thrown their way. They are accused of eating cats and dogs, another hurtful stereotype often aimed at Asian Americans. We learn what it is like to come to America from another country and struggle to remain true to oneself. As often seen in America, immigrants and those from different cultures are often expected to stick together, isolated from others in the process. Yang does a terrific job of showing his readers what it feels like to be entirely alone in a new place with very few people reaching out to make you feel more at home.
We see countless examples of cultural markers in this book - both positive and negative stereotypes included. Cousin Chin-kee, whose name itself is a racial slur, embodies just about every negative stereotype often associated with Asian Americans. His appearance in the book seems to represent the negative portrayal of Chinese and other Asian Americans in the media. Even the positive qualities he does possess - he is constantly correctly answering questions in class - are another form of an Asian American stereotype. Yang includes this to show that even stereotypes that we assume to be positive, like Chinese and Asian American students possess above average intellect, can still be harmful.
D. REVIEW EXCERPTS
“Yang's crisp line drawings, linear panel arrangement, and muted colors provide a strong visual complement to the textual narrative. Like Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye and Laurence Yep's Dragonwings, this novel explores the impact of the American dream on those outside the dominant culture in a finely wrought story that is an effective combination of humor and drama.”
--School Library Journal
“A National Book Award finalist and ALA's Printz Award winner, this fable stars the mythological Monkey King, realistic youngster Jin Wang of Taiwanese parentage, and TV sitcom teen Danny… Finally, the three stories suddenly merge, to center on Jin coming to terms with his minority experience and moving beyond his own fear and hostility. Coalescence comes almost too quickly, but the trivision approach and treatment are unique and moving.”
--Library Journal
“Compositions are tidy and the palette is softly muted, so that even the strongest colors in the action scenes never reach the intensity of a visual assault. Kids fighting an uphill battle to convince parents and teachers of the literary merit of graphic novels will do well to share this title.”
--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
E. CONNECTIONS
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