American Born Chinese written by Gene Luen Yang, is a graphic novel engineered from three different plot lines. Each story is told differently, The Monkey King is a Chinese Folk hero who desires to be respected and revered as a god. Danny and Chin-Kee’s story is told as a sitcom and deals with an all American boy Danny, who is ashamed and embarrassed by his Chinese cousin Chin-Kee’s visit. Chin-Kee is the ultimate Chinese stereotype. Finally, the story of Jin Wang highlights the difficulties a boy born to Chinese parts living in the United States faces while trying to fit in with his white classmates. The book intertwines the three stories at the climax and confronts the issues of race, identity, and self-acceptance in a unique way that leaves all characters in the story content and accepting of who they are.
Interview with Gene Yang: Inside American Born Chinese
About the Author:Gene Yang began making comic strips in the 5th grade. It was not until 1996 however that he published his first comic under the name Humble Comics. His book, American Born Chinese, was published in 2006 and became the first graphic novel to be nominated for a National Book Award. It was also the first graphic novel to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award. In addition to cartooning, he teaches computer science at a Catholic high school in Oakland, California. Currently, Yang lives in Fremont California with his wife and children. Yang also writes a blog to keep everyone updated about his work and other work that interests him.
Other published work by Yang:
- American Born Chinese
- The Eternal Smile: Three Stories
- Gordon Yamamoto And The King Of The Geeks
- Loyola Chin and the San Peligran Order
- Rosary Comic Book: Includes the Luminous Mysteries
Prime Baby- Graphic Novels in the Classroom
- Duncan's Kingdom
1. Gene Yang entitled his book American Born Chinese, what do you believe the significance of the title is? Why do you believe he did not entitle the book Chinese American? What does it tell us about the duality of identity?
2. Why do you believe graphic novels appeal to teen readers? Or do they? What are some of the difficulties you encountered while reading the book? What did you enjoy about reading American Born Chinese?
3. Jin's parents forbid him to date before he had a master's degree. What, if any, role does this play in education as we consider cultural differences and parental rights?
4. Gene Yang admits to drawing upon personal experiences and feelings when he wrote American Born Chinese. How does Yang bring his culture and religion into the story?
5.What text sets would you build around this book? Why?
Thank you for the links to resources for teaching graphic novels. We taught Persepolis in a 9th Co-teach class last year; the interplay and union of text and graphics added depth to the story. I found this in American Born Chinese also, but I find that it's easy to read quickly for the gist...the way you would in a traditional comic strip...and miss a lot of the nuance built into the genre. I found this novel more challenging than Persepolis or Maus because of the three sections...I'm looking forward to the class discussion! Really helpful website!
ReplyDeleteYou have really great resources on here about teaching graphic novels in school! I think any of these articles would be useful in justifying to parents the use of graphic novels in the classroom. Your post has furthered my interest in reading this graphic novel because it appears as though its presentation is different and I think it would be useful to wide array of students. Thank you for including the link to his blog - very neat resource!
ReplyDeleteYou provided a great overview of the story. By not having read this particular text, I wonder if juggling the three separate plots would be confusing to the reader. The issues that this text brings up, race, identity, and self-acceptance, are so important for adolescent readers to explore. Gene Luen Yang's blog seems like it would be a helpful resource for teachers and students while reading this book in class. Like Mike, I am now more interested to read American Born Chinese from reading this post. Thanks!
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ReplyDeleteI've never had too much interest in reading graphic novels. I always thought this was because I am used to and like to read in a more linear way. This was definitely confirmed when I read the novel. I was confused as to which word bubble I should have read first. Whether or not to pay attention to the pictures at the same time or before or after. I think if I was actually taught how to read this novels then I would be inclined to read more. I do like the idea of using this text as a base for a text set. It could be used for any type of history, social studies or other cultures.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Stephanie's post - the three different stories, although they eventually became one, did make this text a little difficult to keep track of. Some supplemental materials for this book could be some of the actual monkey king folk tales, as that might make that story a little more clear for the average reader...
ReplyDeleteI really wasn't sure what to expect when I began reading this graphic novel. I had truly not even picked one up before. I can see where some may feel these are not realy texts and students won't get the same meaning out of a graphic novel. On the other hand, I can see the benefit of a graphic novel for a student who may be overwhelmed by paragraphs on a page. Students who have a difficult time reading may take more chances when they have less to work through. The resources you provided were great.
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