Point of View

As a graphic novel the point of view is spread across three different protagonists: Jin, Danny, and the Monkey King. Always offered in the first person point of view, each depicts different situations and scenarios all illustrating the same themes of identity, transformation, friendship, betrayal, and prejudice.

Since it is a graphic novel, there are also non-verbal cues given throughout the tale, from the Monkey King fighting to Jin's soul searching, the reader is able to view the inner struggle through the non-verbal point of view of the characters. The reader is often given insight into the motivations of the characters because it is first person, which may have been lost if this story had been told, for example, in third person omniscient.

Language and Meaning

The language used within the graphic novel, American Born Chinese, is alternately modern and ancient, depending on the character...