It’s interesting to break down how these feelings of social inferiority work through three different angles. Mortification is the vehicle for prejudice: the monkey king gets ridiculed at the dinner party, Jin is embarrassed by his introduction the ignorant teacher presents to the class, and Danny is ashamed to an almost excruciating extent of his cousin Chin-kee, who embodies all the Asian stereotypes out there. All three of these characters abandon their values in order achieve respectable status in their various social outlets: Jin and Danny want to be seen as an equal among classmates, and the monkey king wants to be recognized in heaven. In an attempt to mimic the rules of heaven the monkey king forces his subjects to wear shoes, then leaves them behind unprotected to seek heavenly approval. Jin chastises Wei-Chen when he speaks to Jin in Mandarine, and Danny does his best to push away his cousin Chinkee. In trying to adjust their station in life, these changes manifest literally: Jin gets a perm, the monkey king’s humanoid body, and Danny…(find out later!) of course, his metamorphosis is much more abstract. It’s important to note how all of these characters progressively degrade throughout American Born Chinese. It seems as if they trade in their decency, their humanity – their soul – for a “new identity,” when they are who they are the whole time.

After finishing reading “American Born Chinese”, I found myself wondering if I actually liked it. The art and the writing was clever and often powerful.  But except for the Monkey King (who actually grew as a character throughout the book), I personally did not like anyone in the book–not Jin who is filled with utter self-loathing and inability to stand up for himself, not Greg who simply hides his prejudices than Timmy, definitely not the walking stereotype of Chin-Kee. I understand that these are all for the most part kids but the close-mindedness of the non-mythical Asians and everyone else to be extremely bothersome. I didn’t like them. I didn’t root for them. And as characters, there was very little growth shown by any of them–quite often they grew backwards.

And maybe that’s real. I don’t know.

But I went a high school that was recognized by National Geographic as the most diverse in the country. I’m not saying that racism didn’t exist there, but if it showed itself it was met head on. But we see so many examples of racist and prejudicial behavior that aren’t confronted by Jin, Suzy or Wei Chen (even though he was really a monkey). Timmy calls Suzy a chink and instead of her fighting back at his idiocy, we only see her crying over it. When Greg asks Jin to stop dating the woman of his dreams, the only time we see him resist is in his mind.  The passiveness in the book in the face of racism was exasperating. And in the end of the book, Jin finally grows a bit as a character after changing his entire outward appearance but only in witness of a monkey disguised as a boy–about as unreal and inconsequential as you can get.

To the Respondents: did you actually like Jin as a character?

So I know I’m early – searchers is due Oct 29th, but I found this and thought I’d just get it done with

I really like this clip because it has a real interview w the creator of American Born Chinese.

I think an important definition to note is that Gene Wang says the novel is about “Creating an Identity for Yourself in America”. This can be a struggle b.c it’s natural for people to want to belong – but also to keep their own specific cultural history special at the same time. Meshing the two together can create a complex.

Gene Wang also says that American can be seen as a community of individuals, and as a comic book creator, he has found a parallel in his profession “comics is a very individualistic pursuit…expresses who you are” He continues by discussing which components of a person can be changed, and which components are vital to your individual self.

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As a side note, I would also like to say I enjoyed this clip b/c it represents a cinematic appearance like we were talking about with Jimmy Corrigan. Deftly, there are subtle movements (monkey king’s arm, etc), but also the panning of certain characters in a panel show which one is important at the moment.

-laura kelly

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).

What I’ve found most interesting thus far about Jimmy Corrigan, The Smartest on Earth is how the novel is as much Jimmy’s grandpa’s story as it is Jimmy’s. I actually find myself much more compelled and moved by Jimmy’s grandpa, James’ story. It might possibly be one of the most depressing things I’ve read but I could not stop reading into it. I am still looking for ways in which the two stories parallel each other. They parallel each other in the sense that both James and Jimmy are social outcasts, emotionally detached characters. Their situations differ however in that James’ scenario has a more serious undertone to it.  His story displays a boy who is emotionally scarred and longs for his mother, to which his father blames him for his mother’s death. You could read into Jimmy’s story as having a very serious undertone to it as well, as he grew up without a father figure and is emotionally burdened because of it. The whole book may very well be a commentary on the family life, and the effects a broken home may have on a child. The two stories contrast each other though, as Jimmy’s story displays a jarring sense of humor and awkwardness. We might find it harder sympathize with Jimmy because of his painfully awkward mannerisms and his sporadic sexual fantasies, making his world seem strange and uncomfortable. With James’ story, there are definitely those moments of awkwardness, but not emphasized as much. James is a boy that has just been dealt a bad hand of cards. His father is an asshole, his mother died when he was born, and the kids at school joke about killing him. I personally found it easier to sympathize with James as he is a kid that has just been bullied his whole life and is looking for a sense of peace. As far as I am in the story, I’m not sure what Jimmy wants yet, and sometimes his awkwardness is just painful. I suppose the disorganized panels sort of add to the jarring effect of the two stories, as both convey a sense of twisted emotion on their own levels. But seriously, when reading about Jimmy’s grandfather, I thought it was the saddest thing in the world.

Question for respondents: what do you make of those damn peaches?

What appealed to me most about Jimmy Corrigan (and in turn, the other Jimmys) was the essence of the “everyman” that encompassed him. Loneliness, social ineptitude–all of this was made clear in the graphic novel without much actually needing to be said. What I found most interesting was how much faster the read was towards the end when Jimmy’s half-sister Amy is introduced. As one of the first female faces we see, she seems to serve as a strong foil to Jimmy. She is adopted into a loving family, whom she remains close with throughout her life. Her mother has passed away, unlike Jimmy’s, but there still seems to be a strong connection with her despite that. During the car ride after their father has just been in an accident, she talks about how she would never want to meet her “real” mom because it would ruin everything, but she remains hesitant after that. I think it’s interesting how closely linked the two are, especially when the page of her lineage mirrors Jimmy’s earlier on in the novel. Amy serves as the more emotionally stable character, but she sort of ends up in the same scenario as Jimmy in the epilogue. I’m not sure exactly how much time has passed, but it seems like nothing has ever really changed for either of them in the end.

Respondents: What do you think is the significance of Amy ending up in the hospital where both her parents have passed away? Do you think that Amy and Jimmy could have maintained any sort of sibling relationship after the death of their father?

Though it may be a turn in a strange direction in regards to the graphic novel, Jimmy Corrigan uses its unique structure and story to display a awkward tale of and even awkward individual. Some may find its disjointed narrative as confusing and Jimmy’s imagination equally as puzzling, but one thing Jimmy’s disconnect with reality achieves is that it gives us the reader an intimate look into his deepest thoughts. Jimmy is an interesting character, with all sorts of mannerisms and deficiencies and we don’t get very much dialogue from Jimmy, so we must depend mainly on his odd fantasies to get a deeper look into inner thoughts. Take page 30 for example: having never met his father before, he imagines the many possibilities of what he may look like. Not only that, but at the same time he imagines the first awkward words his father would say to him. Leading up to this we are, for the most part, unsure of his feeling towards his father. The only inclination we get are though these strange fantasies. A more eye-opening example comes on page 39 where Jimmy imagines himself walking in on his mother and father having sex. Jimmy’s pent up aggression surfaces when he promptly breaks a glass on his father’s face and proceeds to cut him open with the shards. Again before this, we have no idea he harbors these kinds of feeling towards his father, towards anybody for that matter. These off the wall fantasies provide an in depth look at a complicated and quiet character, and also do wonders for the novel as a whole by making it increasingly odd and entertaining.

I was very overwhelmed while reading the first three fourths(ish) of Jimmy Corrigan. I felt the anxiety and confusion that Jimmy felt by the way the graphic novel was set up. I thought the use of words and dialogue is very interesting in this graphic novel. The diction is very precise and the images are very bold. One example is in the first half of the book, on the bottom right corner in a blue and white panel. It says “A NOOSE      into which Mr. Corigan refuses to stick his tongue” and it shows two hands and a ring being given after a series of pictures of Jimmy’s childhood. Because the graphic novel isn’t filled with text, we are able to see an emphasis on this one frame. While a noose isn’t pictured, the reader can easily sense the alternative meaning behind the image and the word choice.

Another place where language was used in an interesting manor is where it says “ANAYWAY following a taxicab ride during which our hero listens silently to his father…” I thought the choice of hero was interesting since we’re reading a graphic novel that isn’t about a hero, or a superhero. What type of hero is Jimmy? Is he a hero overcoming his childhood?  I also liked how transitional words like thus, later, and and were used as transitions between panels. I tend to have issues reading the dialogue of our graphic novels too quickly which makes me unable to focus on the action. I think it allows the reader to digest the story in our own and not rely so much on what the characters are telling us about it. Since some of the story is in Jimmy’s head, isn’t the lack of dialogue helping us figure out what he’s thinking? Or does it make us more confused? What’s the deal with all of the peaches? I didn’t figure that out. I’m still getting used to this graphic novel thing.

This has been the most complicated annoying and fascinating read I’ve seen in a long time.  While reading it I often reverted back to memories of the newspaper comics on sunday or comics like Tin Tin whose artwork reminded me of Jimmy’s.  I can say for certain that while the story is confusing with its flashbacks and daydreams and often surreal reality, the parts of the book I loved the most were the parts that wanted me to destroy the page and build children’s stories.  Different pages throughout that want you to cut and build and interact with items like quizzes spinners.  Even pages of panels with no words whose opposite side looks like real-estate advertisements.  The book makes me feel like it wants me to create my own childhood neighborhood, even going so far as to cut out and build 3D trees for it.  I especially love that the book recognizes itself as an interactive comic and places an ad on the back cover which is nothing more than the announcement of how much the book costs.

I can say the wordless panels in this novel often move me more than words could describe.  Its made me appreciate the power of the panel more than many of the other novels who seem to combine the powers of words and art to be equal Jimmy seems one sided towards the art side.  MAsterpiece or no masterpiece I am having fun disassembling the book and building paper objects, taking quizzes, and in general using the placed devices to become more involved with my reading.  is anyone else having fun with it?

Pages 41-47 of Book 2, Chapter 2 have undeniably been my favorite pages of this story thus far.  As noted in my Response blurb last week, and echoed in some of my classmate’s writings, as well as in Maus, the Holocaust is nearly intangible to us, almost like a legend or old wives’ tale to conjure bad dreams and keep us on the straight and narrow.  The simplistic art and the fact that Maus is a memoir, I think, helps to ground the events in a more modern, or maybe relevant, to us, setting, and allow me to relate better to the story, not through Vladek, but through Art (ironic wordplay unintentional and inevitable, but nonetheless salient).

 The frames containing Art being bombarded by reporters and businessmen, etc., capture the ‘surviving’ from Art’s point of view and how different and insignificant that survival may be in comparison.  Here, Art is tackling the realization that whatever he accomplishes immediately means less in comparison to the legacy of those who came before him.  The frame at the bottom of page 41 is extremely potent, and I would use the word ‘favorite’, but that would be far too extremely morbid.  My ‘favorite’ panels aside from that one, however, occur on the next page, where we witness Art’s transformation in to a child, and his subsequent meeting with the shrink.

 Okay, a few more ‘favorites’:  page 45, the last three panels.  Great quote, even greater counterpoint.

Alongside Vladek’s recollections of the horrors of the Holocaust, one of the focal plot points of Maus is the oft-strained relationship Art, and virtually every character in the contemporary scenes, has with Vladek.

There is an important effect that takes place when changing between the two environments of Maus: The scenes in the present day take place from the vantage point of a removed, un-involved observer. However, when the reader is transported into the era of the Holocaust, there is a transition in narrative perspective, as Vladek becomes the sole communicator of the past.

From the removed, more objective perspective (in a literary sense) of the present day scenes, Vladek is characterized as an individual that is difficult to tolerate by those around him, owing to the possession of what is displayed to the reader as an overbearing and occasionally insensitive demeanor, and at times hypocritical nature. However, when the tenses shift and Vladek himself becomes the sole narrator, speaking in the first person, which (again in a literary sense) is a more subjective perspective, none of these aspects of his character show through. He instead appears quite resourceful and compassionate.

Something I wonder about, and the question I post to the Respondents, is this:

Do you think there is any (or strong enough) evidence to suggest that any of Vladek’s recollections may be colored by his own bias and subjective judgment? Or, being that Maus is largely concerned with how people come to cope with devastation and loss of control over their own lives, is it more likely that he has become the way he is at least in part as a result of the traumatic experiences he endured?

For what it’s worth, I think it’s possible that both situations apply.

I agree with Jessica about this second book to Maus.  Art really does open up about his father and his relationship, and the guilt he feels about not having to be part of a tragedy such as the Holocaust, and that he almost regrets it in a way.  I have felt the same way sometimes, that a simple re-telling of events and stories is not anywhere near doing justice to that part of history, or any other; the only real way to experience it all is to be there yourself.  But at the same time, maybe something like this shouldn’t have to have justice done to it.  I don’t really know if thats the wording i’m looking for; an abysmal streak in human history should be honored, looked at for and example of what not to do and then moved on from.  Moved on from, not forgotten.  This book was just his way of trying to come to terms with it all.

And as far as the real life photos, i think that their placement in the course of the story is well chosen.  Art waited until the end to finally show Vladek, so we went through the story as if it were fiction, picturing whatever face we choose in our minds, and then at the end, we all get to see the real Vladek.  Anna, on the other hand, is shown much sooner, i think to show a face that Art knew and that we could see Vladek missing during his time in Auschwitz.

Pages 41-47 of Book 2, Chapter 2 have undeniably been my favorite pages of this story thus far. As noted in my Response blurb last week, and echoed in some of my classmate’s writings, as well as in Maus, the Holocaust is nearly intangible to us, almost like a legend or old wives’ tale to conjure bad dreams and keep us on the straight and narrow. The simplistic art and the fact that Maus is a memoir, I think, helps to ground the events in a more modern, or maybe relevant, to us, setting, and allow me to relate better to the story, not through Vladek, but through Art (ironic wordplay unintentional and inevitable, but nonetheless salient).

The frames containing Art being bombarded by reporters and businessmen, etc., capture the ‘surviving’ from Art’s point of view and how different and insignificant that survival may be in comparison. Here, Art is tackling the realization that whatever he accomplishes immediately means less in comparison to the legacy of those who came before him. The frame at the bottom of page 41 is extremely potent, and I would use the word ‘favorite’, but that would be far too extremely morbid. My ‘favorite’ panels aside from that one, however, occur on the next page, where we witness Art’s transformation in to a child, and his subsequent meeting with the shrink.

Okay, a few more ‘favorites’: page 45, the last three panels. Great quote, even greater counterpoint.