Post 6: American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang & “Graphic Memoirs Come of Age” by William Bradley

I really enjoyed the graphic novel picked. I felt that it was trying to give a message of not letting power get to your head. No matter how much power you think you may have, there will always be someone with a bit more power.  I think it also gives a message of do not forget who you are and your roots, because what made you can easily destroy you as well.  I think it is important to remember what made you and who helped you be who you are. You never want to forget who your loved ones are because then you will be alone. Yes, power can be nice for a given amount of time, but once you take advantage of power, that same power can bite you back. I think if the monkey had realized this, he would not have fought and would have just went home peacefully and maybe start a party in the tree.

The other article was also interesting. I did not see how both articles related with each other except for the fact that they are both about graphic novels. However, I agree with Bradley in that calling these stories graphic novels rather downgrades them. Some are more like essays or non-fiction stories that has happened to their respective authors. They should be treated as more real works in the sense that it should not be “Oh, look! It has speech bubbles and pictures. Yay!” Instead, it should be taken as a more interesting version of telling one’s life through dialogue and pictures. If not, graphic novels may not be taken as a serious literature form, although many graphic novels can tell interesting stories. Just by Bradley mentioning a quick part of the novel Fun Home, it already got me interesting to find out more of this story, and how it affected the author’s life.