American Born Chinese By Gene Luen Yang

The font of the text on the front cover, and throughout the book for that matter, is in an untidy scrawl that is both important - in that it is in a bold font and is a demanding colour (either black or white) - and is informal, imperfect, personal and human - in that it is handwritten. These aspects combine to show the picture-book

Gene Luen Yang’s writing style in his graphic novel, American Born Chinese, demonstrate great technique of suspense and foreshadowing. Yang grew up with two parents who were an electrical engineer from Taiwan and a programmer who grew up in Hong Kong and Taiwan, both of whom emigrated to the United States. His experiences follow this book’s plot and his writing style follows exactly how he may have felt during that part of his life. His parents helped give him a strong work ethic and reinforced their Asian culture to make sure he was never ashamed of where he came from.

Jin Wang was born in America but is also Chinese. He faces some difficulties with racism and stereotypes as he grows up. He just moved to a new school from San Francisco. The teacher introduces him to the class and says,” Class, I'd like us all to give a warm Mayflower Elementary welcome to your new friend and Classmate Jin Wang...He and his family recently moved to our neighborhood all the way from China!”(30). Jin has this look on his face of annoyance. Like, did she actually say this. She is too ignorant to ask so she just assumed that since he is Chinese, that he must be from China. He was born in America. This just shows how ignorant people are about other cultures. It makes it even harder to fit in if people don't even care where you're from and just make assumptions. Jin now experiences this first hand. He tries so hard to fit in and be normal. He goes as far as changing his hair to match the guys hair that Amelia likes. When he isn't noticed as much he wants to become someone else, someone who will fit in. He wakes up in the morning a new person, as he has transformed into someone he is not, he thinks to himself,”A new face deserved a new name. I decided to call myself...Danny”(198). He changed his race he didn't like his heritage and cultures so much

Acceptance within American Born Chinese by Gene Yang is scattered everywhere within the book. It’s in each story within many situations. One of them telling about a challenging and treacherous journey across hundreds of miles of terrain. All of the main characters reveal so much power of acceptance while I was reading through each chapter of the book. To clarify the many events within the novel I will analyze and relate my experiences as a soldier to the journeys of the Monkey Key, Jin, and finally the monk.

Intertwined within the novel is the presence of many different genres including letters, articles and magazine clippings, and pictures. At first sight there is the

Furthermore, the illustrations paint a beautiful picture that I like to think is an insight into a child’s mind, which I is a key element in this book and what makes it so great. Since the book is narrated by a child the intentional simplicity of the words and the controlled chaos that is the illustrations breathes unadulterated life into a rather normal children’s book.

The tale “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luch Wang depicts the story of three characters, Monkey, Jin, and Danny. They all have the problem of fitting into their new environments. Jin Wang has to deal with Asian stereotypes. Danny has to deal with embarrassment of his cousin. Lastly, Monkey has to deal with the fact that there is no position for him in the heavenly ranks. However, over time, these characters have to come together to fit in. Yet the question remains: what exactly about fitting in is the problem? Although Jin Wang takes the form of Danny to reject his Chinese roots, the embarrassment of Chin-Knee shows he cannot hide behind a false American identity, thereby delineating that race is the source of his problem.

Fae Myenne Ng is a contemporary Chinese-American author who is known for her first written novel, Bone. Her debut novel was published in 1993 and the story is told through the eyes of the main character, Leila Leong. Leila tells the story of her family’s history and the events that unfold following the suicide of her sister. As Leila’s story progresses, themes of identity and family life are revealed. Leila and her two sisters border the line between American and Chinese, two distinct cultures that belong to very different worlds. The sisters deal with the struggles of assimilation as they grow up in the seclusive community of Chinatown only to live in an American world. The family life of the Leong

The representation of diverse people and experiences in comics is important to expand the thoughts and minds of readers. Yang and Wilson, the minds behind American Born Chinese and Ms. Marvel, use the medium of comic books and graphic novels to help bring a new sense of belonging and acceptance to marginalized people. They do this by applying a “millennial mindset” to their respective stories. What this means is that the characters they have created, whether they are based off real people or are fiction, address the problems of race, religion, or sexuality that we are facing today. These characters also act to threaten the current atmosphere of the comic book industry. Typical comic book characters and superheroes, before now, were mostly white and from a typical American background. Heroes that were women were generally over-sexualized and unrealistic. These two authors hope to challenge the current status quo of the comic book industry by creating characters whose background is much different than previous superheroes.

Although books full of words are more efficient in delivering and describing what the author feels, sometimes pictures can give a deep meaning depending on how they are organized. The Veil by Marjane Satrapi’s is a graphic novel that’s organized in a particular way, to deliver a certain message through the pictures. Marjane includes different sizes and frames that serve what she is thinking and feeling. Choosing certain sizes, frames and colours isn’t arbitrary. As each box increases in size, it means that she wants to emphasize the message behind that box, or show her relation to that particular text. Contrast is also one of the main elements that Marjane uses in her graphic novel. For example, on page five, there is a big picture of

A typical novel, flooded with the complexities of the author’s creative mind, conveys the plot amidst vivid descriptions of the setting and

Distinctively visual texts aim to manipulate the we perceive images critically affecting our interpretation of events and people we meet in our lives. Distinctively visual techniques are utilised in the ‘Run Lola Run’ directed by Tom Tykwer and the picture book ‘Red Tree’ written by Sean Tan. The way the distinctively visual is shown throughout these texts is through the use of motifs, different angle shots, colours, lighting and reading paths. These techniques aim to show the important themes in both texts such as time, hope and love.

Beautiful imagery laced amidst a wondrous storyline, accompanied by memorable and lovable characters are all elements pertaining to enjoyable works of fiction. Tales that keep one up late into the night forever reading just “one more page” forever propelling the intrinsic imagination for a novel enthusiast. Yet, at times there are deeper meanings hidden between the lines. Symbols, analogies, and latent parallels all connecting to real life events and situations being portrayed by the author. Using literary theory can bring a more profound understanding of the reading material at hand, as well as unique insight as to what the author was feeling or intending to portray at the time of writing.

In most novels and stories, the author often writes literature with the literary structure that consists of style and tone suited to the plot. This style and tone enable the author to include archetypal symbols and allusions as well. This is mainly how authors teach us about life-lessons and comparisons with real-life.

Eric Liu has written two books with Nick Hanauer on politics and civic life, The Garden of Democracy (2011) and the True Patriot (2007) and has written a memoir, The Accidental Asian. His commentary on “branding” appears to be the main issue in the op-ed of the public space in the USA. Eric Liu displays his disagreement on their Bronx homestead’s being named into some brand called “Yankees”. The Yankees showing off their name into the homestead has angered the writes in many ways. The writer thinks it has insulted the great legends born in the stadium. He isn’t happy about this change as he thinks it as a national treasure. Now Yankees will also be a part of a deeper, acceleration trend in our society, the relentless branding of public spacing.