American Born Chinese, By Gene Luen Yang

When we are young, it can be difficult to make friends and to try and fit in. We develop insecurities about ourselves, including our identities and appearances. Changes are made, but aren’t always the best decision. The best decision is to learn to become more mature and accept who you are by embracing your identity. In his graphic novel American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang shows through his character Jin that maturity is learning to accept our true selves. At the start of the graphic novel, Jin is perceived as immature with him rejecting his own identity. This is first shown on page 37 when Wei-Chen approaches Jin speaking another language. Jin responds by saying “You’re in America”. Speak English” (37). This demonstrates the level of immaturity Jin is currently at, with him discriminating against Wei-Chen for doing something that Jin does not

Another moment in the graphic novel where Jin is rejecting his own identity starts on page 32 where Jin is seen eating dumplings for lunch, and as he is eating a couple of classmates come over and make negative remarks about him. After that incident, Jin decides to change his lunch and decides to eat a sandwich which is seen as a more “American” type of lunch (34). Over time, Jin begins to make changes to try and fit in. His changes to his physical appearance first begin on pages 97 and 98, where Jin first thinks about making a change to his hair and then actually decides to do it. He decides to go through with the change after he compares himself to one of his popular classmates who can be seen as the type with an “American appeal”. Another change that Jin makes that is more major happens later on page 194 when he completely changes his whole identity. At this point, not only has he changed his physical appearance but his whole personality. On page 198, Jin states, “A new face deserves a new