Character Analysis Of Jin Wang In 'American Born Chinese'

Jin Wang is embarrassed to even be apart of his family by the way he acts and how he represents their culture. He now can see how hard it is to fit in.

Through the personal stories of his hair, love life, and behavior, Liu is able to show the effects of his assimilation. The second section deals with Liu’s struggles to conform to white stereotypes as an Asian American. With his personal anecdotes, he establishes himself as a more credible source to speak on the subject of assimilation. The second section uses narration to provide evidence about Liu’s definition of assimilation.

Liu, like any other kid wanted to be cool. He shares that one major part of being cool, was to have the cool hairstyle. For most of his childhood, Liu sported a bowl cut. The new style in his school however was hair parted down the middle and tapered on the ends. With Liu’s Asian genes it was nearly impossible to accomplish this style. After a couple years of trying various different hair styles that did not suffice as cool, he finally became content with having a crew-cut. Liu also thought that because he was Asian, he had less of a chance to get girls. Liu insists that it was the “sole obstacle” to his “advancement” (Liu 20). His response to this was to do more school activities such as write for the school newspaper and join the school newspaper. Although he wanted to disconcert stereotypes, Liu states that this made him seem like a typical “Asian overachiever” (Liu 21). Another concern Liu had from his Chinese heritage was that he had never been taught American manners. When he went to a friend’s house to sleep over, he never said “thank you” for it. When he had dinner at a friend’s house he ate differently than the others. As he began to change the way he acted and talked at friend’s houses he began to realize that he was getting further and further away from his Asian heritage.

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.

In the beginning of the novel, the development of the Monkey King and Jin is similar because they both experienced the prejudice. The Monkey King went to the heaven’s dinner but he got rejected for not wearing shoes and being a monkey. The guard said “Look. You may be a King - you may even be a deity - but you are still a monkey.” (15) Also, Jin attended new school and had a bad welcoming because he is Chinese. One of his classmates said “My momma says Chinese people eat dogs.” (31) This

While reading through different non-fiction essays, one that left a great impact on my thoughts was “I’m a Banana and Proud of It” by Wayson Choy. Choy gives his story as a North American citizen with a Chinese background. Families pushed for their children to belong in North America, causing children to be labelled as “Bananas” for being “yellow on the outside and white on the inside” (Choy); a term to describe people in Choy’s generation who assimilated very well into the American culture. Many teenagers like him were attracted to the American culture and strayed from their Chinese culture. Although at the same time, they didn’t feel like they belonged as an American due to looking Chinese. People had difficulties placing themselves in one

Gene Luen Yang, the author who wrote American Born Chinese, hopes to create a sense of belonging for those who have been marginalized in American society by telling his story. During his lecture, he makes a point that “Comics [can] handle sophisticated material in sophisticated ways” which is why he chose to write American Born Chinese in a graphic novel format. American Born Chinese is about a character named Jin Wang and his experience growing up in

A world once filled with Asian friends and neighbors crashes harshly as Jin is left stranded in a white dominated school. Stereotypes and teasing are quickly placed on him from his racial background. Still new to the area, Jin presumes, “The only other Asian in my class was Suzy Nakamura. When the class finally figured out that we weren’t related, rumors began to circulate that Suzy and I were arranged to be married on her thirteenth birthday. We avoided each other as much as possible” (Yang 31). Embarrassment clouds Jin as he realizes that he’s not like the other kids in his class. With distinct features and his native tongue, Jin felt like a reject surrounded by his Caucasian classmates. He was entirely alone amongst his peers, and he didn’t like that one single bit. In this way, it’s clear how both Junior and Jin felt like outcasts in these two oceans of white students and teachers.

In the comic, American Born Chinese, the character Jin explores the identity of being an American

Wong feels that she needs to fit into the dominant culture from an early age. The reason for this is because society stresses the dominate culture, promotes the dominate culture and pressures immigrant children to fit in. Wong uses herself as an example of the tremendous pressure children of immigrants are under to fit in, which is a burden placed on them by society. The pressure is so great that many are embarrassed by their roots and their heritage. Wong experiences this burden, and this is what drives her to want to become the stereotypical All-American girl. She learns to hate her culture so much that she does not want anything to do with it and she wants a divorce from her ethnic roots, “Wong’s adolescent embarrassment of her ethnic

Wang remains level-headed and alert in all scenes but other characters subscribe to ideals too strongly and pay the price, all stemming from the horrors of the Cultural Revolution. Liu highlights the dangers of subscribing and holding on to an idea too tightly, resulting in a lapse of judgment and definitive consequences.

As the text continues, Wu Sung’s interaction with the innkeeper confirms the abusive thoughts Wu Sung carries within him. When the innkeeper convinces Wu Sung to stop drinking, Wu Sung responds, “Do not provoke me to anger or I shall smash the whole room into atoms, and turn your inn upside down” (305). If any other characters make such statement, the reader might take it as an empty threat. However, after learning about Wu Sung’s background and extraordinary strength, the reader understands that Wu Sung would carry out such actions if his desires are not satisfied. This interaction is also thought-provoking because it happens one day after Wu Sung left Sung Chiang. Thus, the author seems to convey the message that Wu Sung would always be a wild man because the positive impacts others have on him would always gradually leave him. Therefore, despite how Wu Sung later courageously kills the tiger and generously gives his rewards to others, there is a part of him that resembles the tiger he kills, the brutality that makes him different from everyone else.

The conflict of Chinese versus American culture is first seen when Jade Snow begins to rebel against the family roles that she has been raised to conform to.

The girl have a beautiful dog ,she very love him and he very love the girl too

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be an immigrant? Or what it's like to be called something you really don't want to be? There are people who are called things they refuse to be. There are even people who know the ways of a new world but are still discriminated against, just because they look different. In this graphic novel, a boy named Jin Wang who was born in the US is discriminated against due to his appearance. This behavior caused him to want to change his identity. Similarly, this novel includes a monkey who refuses to be called a monkey because he wants to be accepted as a god. Therefore, he goes to extreme measures to prove this. Along those lines, even a White boy named Danny wants to get rid of his Chinese roots because he feels embarrassed. He feels embarrassed by his own Chinese cousin Chin-Kee. Why should people have to change their identities for society? Has it really come to this? In American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang uses diction, graphics, and dialogue to portray an allegorical meaning. Yang uses diction to portray an allegorical meaning. While giving advice, the herbalist says, “It’s easy to become what you wish so as long as you are willing to forfeit your soul”.(29) This evidence demonstrates the use of diction. In the smooth speech bubble, the herbalist used forfeit specifically meaning to give up instead of a normal word because forfeiting gives it a deeper meaning than just being done or finished. This connects later when Jin tries