What a difference from our last read! The novel and its message are pretty simplistic (especially after Jimmy Corrigan) and explores feelings of cultural identity, alienation, and eventual self-acceptance. In American Born Chinese, Gene Yang weaves together the stories of three characters as they work to overcome feelings of shame in their search for identity – the Monkey King, Jin Wang, and Danny. As half-Asian myself, I found this a very interesting read. I spent my early years in 1970s Kansas (not exactly a wellspring of tolerance then) and can certainly relate to the inner turmoil that can arise when you look different.
The most difficult (and, well…funny) chapters to read featured Chin-Kee and some over-the-top racial stereotyping, which applies not just to Asians, but also to Danny and other Americans. Chin-Kee’s squinty eyes, manner of dress and speech (those transposed Ls and Rs just made me wince), and buckteeth are all familiar stereotypes. To really round it out, Chin-Kee’s luggage looks like Chinese take-out cartons (48) and for lunch he eats “clispy flied cat gizzards wiff noodle” (114). Of course, Jin Wang is afraid that these ideas will be applied to him, making him reject not only his culture and best friend, but also his very being. The stereotyping doesn’t end there, however. Blond, blue-eyed Danny is the epitome of American youth, along with Steve, the strong, but simple jock (although I thought he was kinder than most stereotypes of dumb jocks). Also, some of the teachers were portrayed as ignorant and culturally insensitive, a big American stereotype, which hopefully is not as true today as it was in the past. This can be seen as they introduce Jin Wang and Wei-Chen to their classes (pages 30 and 36, respectively).
I think Gene Yang uses all of this stereotyping to make a point about people’s perceptions of others and of themselves. When you are part of a group that is often mocked for their culture and appearance, it’s hard not to internalize it and start believing it yourself. Yang experienced this growing up and had to learn how to be comfortable in his own body. As the Monkey-King says to Jin, “Now that I’ve revealed my true form, perhaps it is time to reveal yours” (213).
I know, these stereotypes are painful, and Yang is obviously criticizing them by being so over-the-top with them. I had a professor once, though, who swore that any use of stereotypes, even you’re using them ironically or to critique them, ends up reinforcing them. I wonder what Yang might say to that criticism?
Excellent point! I found an interview with Gene Yang in which he addresses that very question (link below). He feels that we aren’t sensitive enough to these stereotypes, that we see them too often as only humorous rather than insulting: “Cousin Chin-Kee isn’t meant to be funny. He’s meant to come off the page and slap you in the face. If you’re laughing at him, I want you to do so with a knot in your stomach and a dry throat”. And this is exactly how I feel. I laugh, but still have to overcome those familiar pangs that creep in whenever I see images like Chin-Kee (despite being now proud of my heritage).
“The fact of the matter is, sometimes you have to exaggerate to get your point across. Sometimes a stereotype needs to be dressed up in bright yellow skin and a queue in order for folks to recognize its severity” (Yang).
Link to full article: http://firstsecondbooks.typepad.com/mainblog/2007/05/gene_yang_on_st.html
So I was kind of quiet in class
but
I have so much to say!
I’ve been chewing over this issue of stereotypes and the main thought that keeps coming to mind is the idea that most stereotypes(mind you by no means to I mean all) but a lot of stereotypes are based in some type of truth.
Stereotyping at its best can be seen as an awareness of the cultural tendencies/behaviors of various groups of people.
At its worst it is people’s way of oversimplifying people and their culture and placing them into boxes making it easier for us to “understand” and discriminate against them.
In most cases stereotyping is done in this negative connotation.
Someone brought up in class the decapitation of Chin-Kee(pg 212) –Professor Sample suggested this was Yang’s way of taking the head off(destroying) all of the stereotypes that Chin-Kee embodied…someone then made a connection to the panel where the Monkey King gets his head decapitated( pg 62) and it grows right back. the question was raised if that meant the stereotypes always come back.
I then mentally made two observations there were only two examples of genuinely happy people in the novel: the monkeys and Chin-Kee. The monkeys of Flower Fruit Mountain were very traditional (stereotypical) banana loving monkeys. Chin-Kee was very traditionally (stereotypically?) Chinese. Granted his character traits were grossly exaggerated to the point of oppressiveness but the point is that he was happy.
I think that perhaps Chin-Kee represents the exaggeration/misuse of stereotypes and this is why his head gets knocked off. Whereas the Monkey King represents the reality of significant cultural differences that makes Chinese culture Chinese culture, American culture American culture etc.
I further noticed that on the last two pages of the book there is first a cola(coca cola) can in the bottom right corner and on the very last two cups of bubble tea in the same location. This further enforced my thought that perhaps the point (or one of them) is that in American culture we have our coca cola the same way Chinese culture has their bubble tea. Maybe some of the things about us are what they are (it is what it is) and maybe growth comes in accepting those things about us and being understanding of these things in others.
Of course this whole idea is problematic because as I discussed earlier serotypes come in positives and negatives and many can be untrue(or misconstrued so they are no longer the truth) But in order to have any understanding about these things we need to exercise balance so maybe that’s the point…balance….I don’t know
soo much to say…sorry