Comic Books and First-year Writing: Moving Beyond Literary Analysis

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Comic Books and First-year Writing Moving
Beyond Literary Analysis

• Michael Pemberton
• Georgia Southern University
• Student Success in First Year Composition
• Statesboro, GA 2/6/09

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Gene Luen Yang
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Analyzing the Structure of American Born Chinese
What textual and graphic features signal a shift
in chapters and/or narratives?
1.) White pages with graphic icons
2.) Distinct breaks in narrative structure new
topics, characters, and conventions
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3.) Chinese characters at the top of each page
that signal which protagonist is the focus
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Dear Professor Pemberton, Thank you so much for
your support of my work. I'm honored that you
are teaching American Born Chinese in your
classes. The three characters at the top of the
pages signify the three different storylines.
They're written in an old form of Chinese. Most
modern Chinese folks wouldn't be able to read
them. I actually had them done by a chop carver
I found in San Francisco Chinatown. The first is
a single character pronounced "Sun." It's the
Monkey King's surname. The second is a character
pronounced "Jin, " the name of the second
storyline's main character and my Chinese name.
The third is two characters that are a rough
transliteration of "Chin-Kee." They mean
"Worship of the West." My mom helped me with
that one. Gene
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What signals a shift of focus or tone within
chapters?
1.) Double frames (pp. 23-24)
A childrens fable
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2.) A change in color scheme (pp. 68-71, 82-83,
230-32)
In the presence of Tze-Yo-Tzuh
In the 490 Bakery Cafe
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3.) Ragged color fill in panels (pp. 104-05)
An unreal, emotionally stunning experience
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4.) Panel corners (pp. 193-94, 215-220)
A dream
A story about the past
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5.) Laughter and clapping on the borders
(Chin-kee chapters)
Watching a sitcom laughing at the discomfort of
others
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6.) Skewed panel shapes (pp. 155-56)
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Repeated scenes and images (framing)
Transformers (26-27, 39, 217)
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Chinese herbalist (27-29, 193-94)
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Cloud as steed/permed hair (11, 98 ff.)
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Monkey King rejected for being different. Jin
rejected at school for being different. Danny
embarrassed by Chin-Kees behavior
Monkey King makes himself look different to fit
in. Jin gets a perm to fit in. Chin-Kee
interferes with Dannys fitting in.
Monkey King accepts who he is. Jin resists
accepting who he is. Danny attacks Chin-Kee
Chin-kee transforms into the Monkey King Danny
transforms into Jin
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Some connections between the structure of
American Born Chinese and academic writing
A central point (thesis) thats developed by
exploring several subtopics
One possible thesis in ABC Accepting and being
comfortable with who you are Told through the
experiences of the Monkey King, Jin, Wei- Chen,
Danny, and Chin-Kee
A clear, logical structure and organization
In ABC Three distinct sections told in three
chapters each
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Signals (such as subheadings) that announce a
shift in topic
ABC uses several such signals Icons between
sections, Chinese characters on each page,
panel borders
Repetition of key words and images that make
connections to other parts of the text (coherence)
ABC does this primarily through characters and
images Transformers, the Chinese herbalist,
cloud/lightning images
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An introduction that sets the stage a conclusion
that ties together the points made and suggests
future possibilities
Section One introduces characters and major
themes Conclusion All major characters appear
in final chapter thematic conflicts resolved
Jin and Wei-Chen reestablish their friendship.