American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang Analysis Example

Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel American Born Chinese presents major and significant problems within children and teens in a comedic way. For readers, this book may seem upfront, but there are many details that are not met naturally by the eye when it comes to the messages and themes that this book has to offer. Yang’s use of satire and microaggressions throughout American Born Chinese demonstrates the struggles of internalized racism within Asian American youth, showing that growing up in an unaccepting society can ultimately lead someone to not accept themself. 

To begin, Wei-Chen has just been introduced to his class after moving from Taiwan (Yang 36). This causes Jin to be angry, and it can be explained by what we see in the panels above. The teacher, someone who is supposed to keep a safe and non-discriminative environment, has made racist comments about Wei-Chen’s name and ethnicity. When Yang added this element here, it wasn’t just for comedic relief. It helps the reader understand that the teacher has abused their power and made Wei-Chen and Jin feel uncomfortable and become a bigger target due to their race for their classmates. When an elder says something, children are often prone to repeating it. Racism is a learned behavior. The comments that Jin has received by his classmates has made him hate his identity, causing him to despise anything or anyone that has to relate to his culture (Yang 30-32). 

On page 37, we see Wei-Chen attempting to approach Jin at lunch during his first day at school (Yang 37). Wei-Chen goes up to Jin confidently because he wants to be with someone who might understand him, making him speak Mandarin when he walks up to him. Jin’s rude response is caused by him having to let go of himself in order to fit in with the people around him. Although many of us may have a low amount of self-confidence, projecting your insecurities onto others is when it becomes a problem. This is where Jin crosses a line by being racist to people of his own race because he isn’t happy with himself. After this situation, you can see Wei-Chen’s confidence slowly deteriorating as he continues speaking with Jin. The color palette of this page is also something to note as well. Looking at the page, the theme of the colors is very bland, but the two things that stick out are Jin and Wei-Chen (McCloud 190). 

Jin’s overall reaction towards Wei-Chen’s introduction and moving to the United States is caused by the new mindset that Jin had to adapt to in order to not feel different from his peers. For readers, Yang’s exhibition of the self-doubt that minorities have in a majority-white area can be very informative to those who have never experienced it before.