Monkey Myth

How does ABC use the tale of the Monkey King to 'anchor' the story? What story, myth, legend, or tale would you use if you were writing a graphic novel and why?

Epic Ingredients

Discuss what you think is necessary to create an "epic tale" like American Born Chinese. What kinds of characters, struggles, settings, etc? Which of these elements in ABC do you find especially effective?

Identity?

Consider the picture at the top of this page that describes different sources of identity. Which one is the biggest influence on your identity? Also, you can add any comments on our conversation about "lumping" together different nationalities by race.

Why read a book when you can look at pictures?

During this course, we will read a graphic novel. What is a graphic novel? What's the point? Is it really a novel? How do images and words work together to create something that is more than a graphic, and even more than a novel?