As we
talked about in class on Monday, graphic novels still have a stigma in America
today. They are often not considered “real”
books or are viewed as having less literary value than traditional books. They
are not often taught in schools and written off as purely entertainment based,
lacking depth and complex themes. American Born Chinese is just one of the
few graphic novels that challenges these traditional views. American
Born Chinese uses both words and
detailed pictures to tell a story that tackles issues of racism, bullying, and
what it means to grow up feeling like an outsider.
The graphics in the novel help to enhance
its message in a way that a traditional novel might not be able to. For example, the sharp contrast between how Chin-Kee
is portrayed relative to the other characters in the story might not be as
apparent without visuals. The amount of
blatant racist characteristics portrayed by Chin-Kee are staggering. When he is
first introduced on page 48, he completely fills the frame, showing off his
yellowed skin, squinted eyes, buck teeth, and traditional hairstyle and dress. His
bags are represented as take-out food containers, and he is shouting, “Harro
Amellica!” The number of racist stereotypes that are packed into one page is
incredible. I remember turning the page
and feeling almost sick to my stomach. I was immediately shocked while taking
in the contains of that first introduction of Chin-Kee, in a way that I do not
think would be possible in a traditional novel. It really did feel like a “slap in the face,”
which is how Gene Luen Yang wanted his readers to feel when reading the
sections devoted to Chin-Kee.
Graphic novels have the unique
ability to combine words and illustrations in a way that traditional novels cannot. The subtle placement of characters or objects
in a panel, how large they are, as well as their appearance or expression can
be an important storytelling tool used by graphic novelists to enhance the message
being expressed through the descriptions and dialog. I think graphic novels allow readers to
explore a new way of reading and absorbing literary themes. It really makes you
combine your comprehension of words and pictures to form a whole story. I hope that educators will start to view graphic
novels in a new, more positive light and start teaching them to their
students. I think exposing people to
different ways of communicating ideas only helps people become more adept at
understanding and communicating ideas in different ways. These skills will help
students succeed in the classroom and beyond.
I completely agree with your belief that graphic novels have a unique way of allowing readers to fully visualize the message the author intends to get across. Without having read the graphic novel, it would be impossible to visualize just how grotesque Chin-Kee truly is. Merely describing someone as having "yellowed skin, squinted eyes, buck teeth, and traditional hairstyle and dress" would not have the same effect as how Yang needed the reader to see Chin-Kee. Ironic actions, such as the buck-toothed white kid mocking Jin, calling him "'Buck-Tooth'", would not be as clearly visualized (33). Furthermore, the emotions of characters don't need to be written, as a good graphic novel will clearly reflect the state of a character with the picture.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I don't believe that graphic novels work in all situations. When used to teach subjects that require a high amount of specificity, such as chemistry, I feel as if the message may get lost somewhere in the image. More broad and symbolic subjects, such as racism and internal insecurities, work because those topics sometimes require visualization for full understanding of what goes on.
On an end note, I do think a good graphic novel should be incorporated more into the education system. They offer a different form of communication, allowing for students to visualize what they read. They are fun and easy to read, while also providing more skills to help students.
I agree with your argument that graphic novels have the unique ability to enhance the themes that an author is trying to get across. Unlike most graphic novels that people read these days, American Born Chinese tries to use pictures and speech bubbles to convey messages about racism and challenging the stereotypes that society places on different groups of people. I really loved what Yang was trying to do with the novel, particularly with Chin-Kee's character, who's exaggerated traits really hit home in regards to stereotypes of Asian Americans in today's society.
ReplyDeleteDespite this, the majority of graphic novels around today fail to depict useful themes and messages in a way that students would be able to learn from. For instance, reading Marvel and DC comic books for class would fail to provide students with the value that traditional novels provide. Perhaps this is the largest reason why they are not taught in the education system today. I very much hope that more graphic novels like American Born Chinese will be written and utilized in schools in the future. They are fun to read and easy to understand, and I truly believe students would be more inclined to pick up books as a result of this.
I agree with you that the images in the novel really do convey messages that words cannot. On page 32, the reader can see how alone Jin feels in his classroom, sitting alone at a lunch table while several other frames show kids playing together. Again on page 35, this sense of loneliness is again portrayed after Jin's only "friend" moves away; Jin is shown sitting at the same table as on 32, but this time it is much larger, showing just how isolated Jin feels after knowing that he has nobody once again. If this were a traditional novel, simply stating "Jin sat alone while other kids played outside" cannot give the situation the true meaning the images of the graphic novel give. For this, the graphic novel is hugely beneficial, as they have both the combined elements of descriptive images and supporting text when necessary.
ReplyDeleteHowever, graphic novels have a downside that they must be read slowly and carefully. The first time I read the novel I finished it within an hour; there is simply not a lot of words to read in the book. While I understood the themes and the main message Yang is getting at, subtleties in the images can be easily missed if you don't spend time really looking at them and trying to understand them. Chin-Kee's luggage is one such example; Yang further creates the stereotype many Americans hold about Asians by making Chin-Kee's luggage take-out boxes from a restaurant rather than bags or suitcases. By only reading the text, one misses out on this subtle, but important, detail that further shows just how ridiculous and deep stereotypical racist ideas are.
I agree that graphic novels have this unique ability to combine words and illustrations to represent a story to the reader. Both have a large contribution to the storyline. Without the words or the illustrations, the reader would be lost with the storyline and miss out on important details that the author was trying to portray. As some members in class mentioned, they would read the entire novel in a matter of an hour, however they were not able to grasp much of an understanding of what the novel was about because they only read the words rather than absorbing the illustrations. After reading through the piece again but paying more attention to the illustrations, they were able to gain a better perspective of the storyline of American Born Chinese. In my case, I am more of a visual learner. Because of this, when I read I paid more attention to the illustrations and left out much of the wording. I was able to see emotion and be able to picture the physical characteristic of the characters in the book but I lost track of the plotline that was presented in the descriptions.
ReplyDeleteOn page 46 one of the illustrations shows Danny dropping his book when Chin-Kee was at the door. These illustrations also show Danny’s facial expression of surprise and worry with his wide circular eyes and frown. With only reading the description and words, a reader would only get the plotline of the story and not the emotions of the characters. It is important to take the time as you would with a regular novel and to pay attention to all details, including the illustrations.