“American Born Chinese” by Jene Luen Yang Review

The form of comics, or a graphic novel, allows combining text with images, making the narrative more alive and engaging. The use of pictures also helps to express the details of the meaning that could not be done so vividly by text alone. In this essay, one of the episodes of the graphic novel “American Born Chinese” by Jene Luen Yang will be analyzed, with the demonstration of the tools that help the readers to understand the meaning of the story.

In the episode of the arrival to the new school of the protagonist, a Chinese boy Jin Wang, the topic is the position of a child that belongs to a racial minority among white people (Yang 37-48). The author demonstrates his adaptation to the new community and the attitude of the teachers and other children toward him. In the first picture, Jin’s teacher spells his name wrong and emphasizes his Chinese origin, although he was born in San-Francisco (Yang 37). Afterward, one of his mates immediately asks whether he eats dogs (Yang 38). These are the stereotypes about Chinese people, and they are represented by the text. However, the expressions of people’s faces and even their clothes, such as the face of Jin’s teacher with flashing star-like earrings and red lipstick, make an additional impression on the readers. Later, the story of the boy’s loneliness and difficulties at making friends is narrated through the pictures. The visual details continue to add the meaning that could not be perceived only through the text.

Thus, the purpose of this comic is to demonstrate public stereotypes about Chinese people and the challenges of the young Chinese in white American society. The assumed readers of this story are the youth, so the choice of the genre is wise, as the vivid form of a comic would have more impact on them than the simple text. In the context of a racially mixed audience, the message of the story could be clear, although not insulting anyone. This aim is successfully achieved by means of the depiction of people’s facial expressions, clothes, and postures.

Work Cited

Yang, Gene Luen. “American Born Chinese.” Fliphtml5.com. Web.

Cite this paper

Select style

Reference

StudyCorgi. (2022, January 24). “American Born Chinese” by Jene Luen Yang Review. https://studycorgi.com/american-born-chinese-by-jene-luen-yang-review/

Work Cited

"“American Born Chinese” by Jene Luen Yang Review." StudyCorgi, 24 Jan. 2022, studycorgi.com/american-born-chinese-by-jene-luen-yang-review/.

* Hyperlink the URL after pasting it to your document

References

StudyCorgi. (2022) '“American Born Chinese” by Jene Luen Yang Review'. 24 January.

1. StudyCorgi. "“American Born Chinese” by Jene Luen Yang Review." January 24, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/american-born-chinese-by-jene-luen-yang-review/.


Bibliography


StudyCorgi. "“American Born Chinese” by Jene Luen Yang Review." January 24, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/american-born-chinese-by-jene-luen-yang-review/.

References

StudyCorgi. 2022. "“American Born Chinese” by Jene Luen Yang Review." January 24, 2022. https://studycorgi.com/american-born-chinese-by-jene-luen-yang-review/.

This paper, ““American Born Chinese” by Jene Luen Yang Review”, was written and voluntary submitted to our free essay database by a straight-A student. Please ensure you properly reference the paper if you're using it to write your assignment.

Before publication, the StudyCorgi editorial team proofread and checked the paper to make sure it meets the highest standards in terms of grammar, punctuation, style, fact accuracy, copyright issues, and inclusive language. Last updated: .

If you are the author of this paper and no longer wish to have it published on StudyCorgi, request the removal. Please use the “Donate your paper” form to submit an essay.