Response to American Born Chinese

I read this book before Persepolis, and I have to admit that going into this genre I did not think I would like it very much. I liked comic books growing up, but was never super into them, and this genre just didn’t seem like it was up my alley. I was wrong. I really enjoyed most of this book, and would absolutely recommend it to a student. The characters were interesting, the storylines compelling for the most part, and the visual aspect added a ton to the book.

I’ll start with the visual aspect, since that is what creates this genre. My favorite part was probably the face of the Monkey King, especially on the bottom of page 145. I laughed out loud at his loss for words, and there is no way that would have come across as well without the visual. The other one I liked was the “hmph” on page 149. I thought that was really funny, too. I also like the pictures because they add different layers to the text that would be hard, if not impossible, to do with just traditional text narrative. During the scenes with Chin-Kee, the constant “HA HA HA HA” underscoring the story is a really cool addition that would not have been possible any other way. Also, the “lighting bolts” that show Jin’s confidence just add that extra something that is so much more interesting than saying, “Jin felt a jolt of confidence.”

One of the big reasons I think this book works so well as it does is that the author uses the characters’ facial expressions beautifully. I already mentioned the Monkey King, but another perfect example is on the bottom of page 179 when Jin is asked not to see Amelia again. That picture of his dumbfounded face surrounded by nothing says more than any bit of text ever could. That was a beautifully portrayed emotion. Also, (okay, I’m rambling a bit, but I’ll move on soon) on page 72 the Monkey King breaks out of the box on the page, and I thought that was a really funny use of the conventions of the genre.

Okay, the character of the Chin-kee is, as the book says, “the ultimate negative Chinese stereotype” (inside flap). I thought it was hysterical, but I almost felt bad laughing at this character and his antics because of how absurdly inappropriate the character, jokes, and portrayal are. Of course, the author seems to be trying to make a point about stereotypes, judgementalism, and how people are treated, but I’m not sure the point comes across as well as it could. With how Chin-kee acts (making a ruckus by singing in school, peeing in a guy’s Coke, making inappropriate remarks to girls, etc.) is Danny expected to just let him do things like that without getting angry or embarrassed? I’m just not sure I completely understand how Chin-kee was supposed to serve as Danny’s conscious with how extreme Chin-kee’s actions were. I’m not sure anyone would be able to react much better than Danny did.

Speaking of Danny, I did not completely understand why or how the switch was made. I know it brought it back to the old herbalist lady and how she said, “It’s easy to become anything you wish…so long as you’re willing to forfeit your soul” (29). So did Jin forfeit his soul or scruples or whatever in exchange for becoming Danny and being popular? Did the old lady do something to change him or did he just believe or want it so much that it actually happened? When that change happened, I’ll admit, I rolled my eyes. I just found it really unbelievable, and to that point I was loving the book. The last 30 pages had me wrinkling my brow and wondering why it had to go that way.