American
Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang is all about accepting oneself especially in
the context of Jin Wang learning to accept his Chinese heritage. As someone who
is in the first generation of my family growing up in America (instead of Greece),
I understand to some extent the cultural struggle Yang presents but I think he
takes it a little far with his character Chin-Kee.
Yang presents a lot of the
struggles and ignorance immigrants and children of immigrants deal with. From
the teachers mispronouncing and stereotyping names (30), to the other children
asking ignorant and offensive questions (31) to Jin Wang generally being
ostracized and defined by his stereotype, Yang presents very real and relatable
situations. Children in school are often cruel especially to anyone with such
noticeable differences such as race and I think Yang represents this extremely
well. He introduces a highly satirical stereotyped character Chin-Kee, as the
cousin of the character Danny, who is definietly supposed to be the antithesis
of everything politically correct.
Chin-Kee is first introduced as he
enters the household of his cousin Danny. I’ll describe the panel of the
graphic novel. Chin-Kee is shown wearing a purple straight collared shirt and
matching purple slacks which are in a stereotypical Chinese design. He has long
white socks with slip-on shoes, a purple headband, and a long black braid. Chin-Kee
has squinty eyes and a buck-toothed mouth from which he utters the greeting, “Harro
Amellica!”(48). He is supposed to be the ultimate satirical representation, generally
causes a ruckus with his socially unacceptable behavior, and later turns out to
be the Monkey King in disguise. His character is supposed to be utterly ridiculous,
but I can’t help but question though how far can one go with the satire that it
moves from funny to offensive. I understand the role Chin-Kee is supposed to
play in the book as he makes Danny embarrassed and I am not a Chinese American,
but I think that if a Greek artist came out with a similarly stereotypical
comic I would be to some degree offended.
Thus, I think Yang displays
realistic and somewhat humorous representations of Chinese American immigrants
struggles, but I think his character Chin-Kee starts to beg the question of
where one draws the line with humour.
I agree with your statement that knowing where to draw the line with humor can be difficult, but for as a person who has not experienced much of the discrimination described in the book it is hard for me to comment. I do think that due to the fact that Yang drew influence for Chin-Kee on old American propaganda, Chin-Kee's purpose is more important than that of a comedic break. He confronts racism through a caricature that unfortunately is not unfamiliar to Americans. This is a powerful statement that forces readers who may have not otherwise understood the impact that stereotypes have on an individual, to confront what they believe. Chin-Kee also provides essential plot development through the revelation of his and Danny's true natures (212-214). The interaction between the two connects all three stories together in a way that is essential to proving one of Yang's main points; you can learn to balance all aspects of your life. Through the conversation that Danny and the Monkey King have starting on page 213, Danny realizes that he has forgotten one whole part of his identity just for the sake of trying to fit in. In the conversation Danny realizes that he does not have to pretend to be something he isn't and can learn to combine both his Chinese and American identities. I think that even though Chin-Kee may be considered offensive by some, he plays an essential part in the story.
ReplyDeleteI also think Chin-Kee is an essential part of the story. While his part is very stereotypical and makes some people uncomfortable, he not only plays an important role in the story, but also plays an important role in how we perceive the story. When we first meet him, it is definitely a large shock to us, but his role is to teach Danny/Jin the values that he himself has learned. The shift of the Monkey King’s mindset from pages 143-160 is very similar to the change of Danny/Jin’s mindset 201-224. The Monkey King helps Jin see the wrongs in his ways which allows him to reconcile his relationship with Wei-Chen. The strong emphasis on the typical Chinese stereotypes is used on Chin-Kee because it basically describes who Jin does not want to be; he is ashamed of his heritage, to the point of transforming into Danny on page 194. Chin-Kee sets off the strong emotional response from Danny because that is the polar opposite of what he wants to be; he is not comfortable in his own skin and even exaggerates how he appears in his own eyes. To us, we can relate as most of us growing up struggled to find out our own identity. Some people go through countless experiments to find out who we really are, and we can relate to the struggles Jin faces throughout the story.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that Chin-Kee may be designed to provide an extreme example of how "fresh off the boat" immigrants may be seen. However, his character is clearly satirical and this is evidenced by how extreme the characterization is. Obviously, most Chinese immigrants do not come to America dressed like Chin-kee is with Chinese Take-Out boxes for luggage (48). Furthermore, Chin-kee is incredibly obnoxious when he speaks about the feet binding (51), but many Chinese immigrants will never try to push their culture on Americans. This characterization is clearly exaggerated for the purpose of humor. However, I do agree that his character is meant to depict some of the prejudices that may been seen around those coming to America from China.
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