In L&L, the unit that we are working on is about relationships. The class was separated into four groups. Each group was reading a different graphic novel. All of the graphic novel portrays different kinds of relationships. The graphic novel my group read was “American Born Chinese” by Gene Luen Yang. In “American Born Chinese” it talked about how Jin, the main character, wanted to fit in.
For the summative, I had to either make an original graphic novel or a draw my life video for Jin, to write one TIEA for “American Born Chinese”, to write another TIEA for one of the illustrations in “American Born Chinese” and discuss about the graphic novel.
This is my Draw My Life Video:
My TIEA for the graphic novel:
In the graphic novel “American Born Chinese”, Gene Luen Yang presents a powerful relationship that allowed one to become true and honest with oneself. The main character, Jin Wang, wanted to fit in throughout his life as a Chinese-American in the United States. So much, that he hid his true identity and became someone he wasn’t and never would be. The monkey king, disguised as Jin’s cousin, disclosed his true self to Jin and told Jin, “…perhaps it is time to reveal yours (213).” Towards the end of their conversation, the monkey king said, “You know, Jin, I would have saved myself from five hundred years’ imprisonment beneath a mountain of rock had I only realized how good it is to be a monkey (223).” Yang emphasizes how the healthy relationship built from Jin and the monkey king’s conversation transformed into a realization. When Jin was told to reveal his true self and identity, he realized that lying to himself did not improve anything nor did it solve any of his problems. When the monkey king told Jin how he realized that being himself and what he is freed him, that was when the relationship became really strong. The monkey king’s “five hundred years’ imprisonment” was like Jin’s fake identity trapping Jin in his own lies to himself. The fake identity deceived Jin and actually made him believe that the fake identity is who he really is and would be. He didn’t realize that the fake identity was really the one thing that was holding him back. When the monkey king told Jin about how he realized its good to be himself, it showed how the monkey king actually understood the feeling and know the struggle of wanting to be someone else to fit in. The message showed that even though the monkey king had the congruent feeling as Jin before, the monkey king still realized the truth and that showed how Jin could too.
MLA Citation
1) Yang, Gene. American Born Chinese. New York: Square Fish, 2006. Print.
My TIEA for one of the illustrations inside the graphic novel:
In the graphic novel “American Born Chinese”, Gene Luen Yang represented the change in the character’s identity using the illustration. The main character, Jin Wang, wanted to fit in desperately because he felt that being Asian was why his life wasn’t good. Eventually, he became another person, a person that his community wants him to be. Jin named his new identity as “Danny”. In the illustration, it can be seen that there was a transformation from Jin being “Danny” to being his true self again (214). Yang illustrated the change in identity that showed who “Danny” really was and how Jin felt about being another person. Jin felt that everything was bad because of being Asian and therefore, he started to morph into someone that is more like the community. However, the “someone that is more like the community”, also known as “Danny”, was somebody that was totally opposite from who he really was. From the illustration, it can be seen that when he returns to his true self, he wasn’t happy. He was worried. This showed how long he has been lying to himself and how he really feels behind the mask he was wearing. The worried expression also indicated that he didn’t like being another person, even if he lied to himself about how being “Danny” would solve everything. Contrary, the image of being “Danny” did not erase or solve any problems that he had and made them even worse. This illustration brings out the point that changing into another person or changing the identity of oneself just to fit in wouldn’t help or improve the problem or situation. This is because one would be lying to him or herself and not being honest. The illustration proves that being oneself and accepting who one really is is the way to fitting in.
MLA Citation
1) Yang, Gene. American Born Chinese. New York: Square Fish, 2006. Print.
These are my discussion documents:
Discussion 1
Discussion 2
Discussion 3
