The themes I noticed the most through the teenage parts are the theme of wanting to be accepted and (in turn) loneliness. I think that all students reading this, regardless of their age, can relate to that. I still want to be accepted and I'm 22 years old. I think that's what makes this so appealing. I think it is handled beautifully with Chin-Kee. (I hope I am spelling that right.) He is the catalyst for these uncertain feelings. Poor Danny; I know if it was me I would have killed Chin-Kee a long time ago.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
American Born Chinese
The first thing that struck me about this graphic novel was how the multiple story lines were strung together. I was supposed to write about the second part, the teenage years, but I don't know if I can stick to that. I don't feel that the story has different parts because they are all they same story. I will do my best.
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2 comments:
Yeah I completely agree with you. I hated Chin-Kee because he kept hurting Danny. He is just so embarassing to be around! It all tied up so nicely in the end and I really liked how the character we hate ends up the character we should admire most. It's a bit of a twist. Also, even though Chin-Kee specifically denied it, I think in a way Danny was being indirectly punished all of thses years for stabbing his best friend in the back. His best friend might have been weak because he based his opinions on so few people, but Danny was the catalyst to his decidion to ruin his life. Thus, Chin-Kee/Monkey King gave Danny what he deserved in the end. Danny was embarrassed that his best friend was even more different than he was and so his "cousin" became his worst nightmare come true!
Although I agree Chin-Kee was an interesting character (and I love the twist at the end, with him coming up with all those hysterical moves), I don't know if I can agree with him "punishing" Danny because of Wei-Chen's failure.
To me, it really seemed as though Chin-Kee was the loudest wake-up call EVER for Danny. If he had been subtler, I don't think the message would've come across as solidly.
After Wei-Chen left his duties, I took it as though the Monkey King realized that, although his son may have strayed, Jin could be saved. Determined to save him, the Monkey King became his conscience, forcing him to confront his "shame" and come to terms that, no matter how American he becomes, a part of him is still Chinese.
But yeah, I would've killed him a lot sooner as well. Conscience or not, how embarrassing!
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