B+Block+Themes

Welcome to the B Block theme page!

Below, write your first name and initial of your last name. Then, paste in your thoughts regarding the theme that was most poignant to you in American Born Chinese. Be sure to explain what the theme is, how it was shown, and why it is or is not a good message to portray to society. Of course be sure to edit for punctuation, spelling, and paragraph structure. (Bonus points for students who add a visual representation of the theme of their choice; it is a graphic novel!)

Matt F. The theme that I think is shown the most in the book is the theme of being yourself. This is shown throughout the book in the Monkey King's story and Jin's story. Both of them try becoming someone they are not and pay the price for it. This is a good message because being confident with yourself and how you are will lead to having a better life. Many teens try acting different to be popular, and this book shows that that is not the right thing to do.

Max M. I think that a major theme in ABC is racism. Racism is shown a lot in the book, especially when both Jin and Wei-chen were introduced to the classes. Another time when racism is shown in ABC is, when Chin-Kee come in to the book Chin Kee's voice, luggage, food, and even his name has hints of stereotypes. I think that racism could be shown in a bad way but in this book it is portrayed in a way that makes you think that it's stupid and the people who are racist are incredibly dumb; so, all in all I think that the theme of racism in ABC is shown in a way that society should hear.

Lexie K. The theme that was most poignant in ABC was the portrayal of racism and stereotypes that are common in society today regarding asians. It was shown when Chin-Kee talked in a very strong accent and ate things and did things that seemed typical for an asian to do. Also, when Jin and Wei-Chan were being introduced to the class, the teacher assumed they were straight from China and was being very stereotypical with them. I think this was a good message to society because it shows others in a blunt way what is going on with the racism.

Mike Lmnop. I agree with Lexie. I feel that the theme, best represented in __American Born Chinese__ racism and racist stereotypes. This novel expresses so many stereotypes of asians, it's hard to keep count. The character that expresses these stereotypes the most is of course Chin-Kee. One of the stereotypes represented by him was the excessive use of the letters "r" and "l" in daily speech. This was also the expressed stereotype by him. Another one is the fact that he is smart at every subject. He also has buck teeth and "very squinty eyes." This is a major physical stereotype. I like the fact that this novel lets you know what is going on in the real world. Stereotypes play a big role in todays society (unfortunately, not a good one.) They can be offensive to many people. This book is a wake up call to everyone who didn't notice the use of stereotypes in todays society.

Will: I believe that a major theme in ABC is innocence and simplicity. The stories are told in a cartoonish fashion and are completely straight forward with their execution, the vibe it gives off is a sterile calm more reminiscent of a newspaper comic rather then its graphic novel counterparts. Two of the three main characters in the three stories are minors trying to function in society with opposing challenges they don't quite understand, and all three characters stories use a plain humor that requires no further observation to understand. At the books ending several preposterous events occur that followed up with little explanation, but because of its innocence you are not expected to need or want further reason for the events in American Born Chinese.

Eli H. I think a major theme in ABC is racism because of the assumptions that characters in the book made about Asians. When Jin wanted to date an American girl, her friend backed him away from it because he didn't want "his kind" dating her. This shows the prejudice that he has towards Asian Americans, just because of their skin color. Also, Chin-Kee is used in the book as a model for Asian racism, as everything about him is a stereotype. The message that Chin-Kee is trying to send is the fact that no one in the world acts like he does, and so stereotypes shouldn't be believed.