What were the important themes in the book American Born Chinese? This essay will explain the importance of expressing your feelings and accepting others. These two themes were very evident throughout the story. In American Born Chinese, the author Gene Yang wrote a story about a high schooler trying to find out how he can get better in school and deal with his cousin. There was also the story of an immigrant family from China who moved to San Francisco. The boy had a hard time trying to become used to life in America. In Gene Yang's acclaimed novel, the American-Born Chinese, the theme of accepting others and expressing feelings creates a storyline of how the protagonist, Danny, deals with his high school life and Jin's new life in America. …show more content…
In the first section of the book, there was a story of the mythical monkey king and its kingdom. The monkey wanted his land of people to learn the highest and most responsible traits to be successful. The money said, “To find your true identity within the will of Tze Yo Tzuh...that is the highest of all freedoms”(Yang 68). This goes to show how important it is to find your true identity. The monkey king calls it the highest of all freedoms. What does it mean to find your true identity? For many people, this involves figuring out who you are and what makes you unique. It’s about identifying your passions and talents and then using them to create a life that feels authentic to you. Then during the story, one of the monkeys in the kingdom commented on feelings that related to the theme. He said, “Appa has feelings, too!”(Yang 89). This was when the monkeys were having an altercation with each other. It is also very important that you express your feelings. Holding in your emotions is not always the best thing. Often times people bottle up their emotions and have big outbursts. If you need help expressing your emotions just talk to someone. These were very important themes throughout the many …show more content…
In the second story, the theme of family and working hard were very relevant. Danny was having a tuff time trying to fit in with his classmates. Danny also was struggling with schoolwork and bad grades. He also had a Chinese cousin who was always insisting to come to school with him. This made Danny uncomfortable and annoyed by his cousin. But, Danny's close family was always there for him during this time. One of the best athletes in the school had a talk with Danny in the gym about how he can become better and more understanding. One of the things he said was, “sometimes, a fight you cannot win is still worth fighting”(Yang 104). This was very relatable to Danny on how he just had to keep fighting no matter what the circumstances were. Times were tuff for Danny but he had to learn how to adapt to the situation. During the first story, there was a quote that related to Danny. “It's easy to become anything you wish . . . so long as you're willing to forfeit your soul.”(Yang 112). This quote was a very fitting quote to the situation that Danny was in. To become something you have to work towards
However, it still exists in our community and we see it everywhere. American Born Chinese by Luen Yang is a graphic novel that has a large idea behind the book which Transformation and understanding identity. American Born Chinese consists of three different storylines and each storyline has a different character that tries to fit into society and also be able to transfer back to his culture. The three main characters are ashamed of who they are. According
"The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" by Jamie Ford is a captivating coming-of-age story that follows the life of Henry Lee, a Chinese-American boy growing up in Seattle during World War II. Throughout the novel, Henry experiences profound personal growth and self-discovery as he navigates the complexities of racial tensions, family expectations, and first love. This essay will explore how four quotes from the book exemplify the transformative journey of Henry's coming of age. Paragraph 1: In the early stages of the novel, a young Henry grapples with his dual identity as an American-born Chinese.
Everyone struggles at some point with how they want to be seen in the world. In the novel American Born Chinese written by Gene Leun Yang develops a fictional story with Jin Wang as the main Character. Jin struggles with his identity after moving from Chinatown to the suburbs. As a result of the American and Chinese cultures colliding, Jin Wang undergoes both physical and internal changes because he wants to fit in with everyone else. One type of change Jin Wang made after colliding with American culture is internal changes.
Faced with stereotypes in America, Lee is also tormented in China for his American nationality and lack of modern cultural awareness. Both communities view Lee and Chinese-Americans as “others”, refusing to fully accept them culturally or socially. Lee is foreign everywhere, since he is not a white American or a Chinese citizen. Only able to find solidarity in the community of “othered” Chinese-Americans, Lee feels more accepted in America than in China. However, those that only see Lee for his ethnicity and not for his inner person are racist against him because he does not fit the mold of what a “perfect” American is supposed to look and sound like.
In the novel “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luen Yang (2006), it talks about three different people’s stories. The author starts off with telling a story about a monkey called the Monkey King, who lives in the jungle, seeking for higher power to become considered a god in the book. The author also tells a story about an American born Chinese boy named Jin Wang, who moves from San Francisco and struggles with fitting in at a new school. The last story the author tells is about a boy named Danny who has his cousin Chin-Kee from China visit every year. Danny ends up struggling to keep his reputation in adequate shape at school after his cousin visits causing him to switch schools often.
American Born Chinese Informative Writing Essay Insecurity is something that most people struggle with at some point in their life, often feeling not good enough for others, or not good enough for themselves. In American Born Chinese, various heroic archetypes interact with Jin Wang on his personal journey, teaching him that wishing you were someone else will not change who are. Wishing you were someone else will not change who you are.
American Born Chinese is a graphic novel written by Gene Luen Yang. The book is used to represent what life is like for Chinese people that are born in America. It uses three main storylines to show what life is like for them, the Monkey King, Jin Wang, and Danny. The Monkey King is a Chinese deity who goes to great lengths to make himself more human as he doesn't like being a monkey. Jin is a Chinese American junior high school student subjected to many accounts of racism, living in a primarily white community.
In American Born Chinese, Jin Wang changes immensely from the beginning to the end of the story. At the beginning of the story, Jin Wang wants to fit in and break apart from his Chinese Heritage. By the end of the story, because of various external and internal conflicts, Jin has learned to accept his Chinese heritage. He has also experienced anger, happiness, regret, and guilt that all got him to the point where he learned to accept his heritage.
To me the best theme in the story is friendship. I believe that every person needs to show friendship to
Cooper Maschmeyer Mrs. Mercado English 1-11 12/21/22 American Born Chinese Essay No change or transformation is made on its own, it is influenced by somebody, somewhere, or something. People can be influenced in many different ways; this idea is conveyed through two characters that Gene Luen Yang creates. Wei Chen is constantly influenced by Jin, which leads to negative transformations for Wei Chen. In the graphic novel, “American Born Chinese”, Gene Luen Yang communicates the theme, people’s actions often influence change in identity and mindset, by using Wei Chen’s moral principles, identity, and attitude in the moral world.
“Silly monkey. You were never out of my reach. You only fooled yourself.”. These wise words from Tze-Yo-Tzuh set the stage for The Monkey King’s nadir. In particular, on pages 76 and 77, the author portrays The Monkey King's loss of power.
American Born Chinese is a story about Jin, an American with Chinese roots, who struggles with his identity - self-conscious about how he looks, sounds, and acts. Jin divides into three different identities; Jin his overall identity, Danny his typical American side, and Chin-Kee his racist stereotype Chinese side. This book is split into three different stories that represent the three different identities, The Monkey King’s story, Jin’s story, and Danny and Chin-Kee’s story. In the graphic novel, American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang uses symbolism and literary elements to illustrate struggling with your identity can lead to a better understanding of who you are and where you came from. Jin is faced with racial discrimination, not fitting
In conclusion, American Born Chinese successfully uses plot elements to have multiple effects on readers. All three stories use parallel plots because they are different perspectives and stories put together to create a bigger story. Jin-Wang’s story uses foreshadowing by having details that relate to the Monkey King. Lastly, the Monkey King’s story uses conflict and keeps the readers wanting to know how the conflict is dealt with. All three plot elements were successfully used to create emotions within the
In the text it says, “I went out into the hall to the phone and called my father.” The narrator made quick good decisions. By calling their parents, he knew he was saving Danny’s life. So overall, Danny realized people did care for him which was family.
Throughout the entire novel, the mothers and daughters face inner struggles, family conflict, and societal collision. The divergence of cultures produces tension and miscommunication, which effectively causes the collision of American morals, beliefs, and priorities with Chinese culture which