American Born Chinese And Lo's Last Dancer Analysis

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang and Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin both share in common the storyline where the main protagonist experiences and is plunged into a new environment, however in different ways, a graphic novel, and a novel. In Jin Wang’s case, he moved into a new town and school in which there were no longer Chinese-American kids for him to easily socialise with, and Jin needed to adapt to the American way of living to fit in. Or did he? While in Mao’s last Dancer, Li Cunxin, the author himself, was suddenly and to his own surprise elected to be part of an elite dance group. He had to move from his comfortable life in his hometown, and live in Beijing. Soon enough, he was settling into his new way of life, until an opportunity
He transformed from this insignificant peasant boy, into one of the best ballet dancers in the world. However, did this transformation require him to ‘forget his soul’? I would say yes, he would have had to ‘make a deal with the devil’ at some point, but justifiable ones. The first of which would be leaving his family for Beijing; he left his parents, who probably worried about him every second he was away. However, at the same time, Li must have been terrified to be so far away from his family, and live in a whole different environment. Both Li and his family, suffered, but Li knew if he took this opportunity it would be a way he could help his family in the future, and his family knew that leaving for Madame Mao’s Dance Academy was a chance of a lifetime to get their beloved Li Cunxin a better life. The point is, in Mao’s Last Dancer, there was no such thing as a free lunch. To transform into something better, sacrifices have to be made. To stay in America, Li had to betray his friend Ben Stevenson’s trust, but Ben himself came to realise, that sacrificing his relations with China temporarily, for an opportunity for an exceptional talent to grow was worth it, and he supported Li’s decision. And then to live in America, Li had to leave his family in the dark as to his situation. The sacrifices made in Mao’s Last Dancer, ultimately bore fruit, when Li could finally invite his parents to watch him perform in America. Things have
When we first read the book, we might have thought the exposition was just a necessary part of the story to write: to get the readers to care for the characters, and to familiarise the readers to the context. But after finishing the book, it seems that it might have foreshadowed some really important themes in the book. The most memorable of which, was when Red Guard girls were pestering Li’s Niang about her reading progress of the Red Book (a book of Chairman Mao’s communist ideas), to which she angrily replied that she could, “learn Chairman Mao’s sayings every day, all day long, until I die, but who is going to do my cleaning, washing and cooking? Who will bathe my sons, sew their clothes, provide my entire family with three meals a day, every day of the year?” This scene particularly struck me because I could see my own mother saying the same thing had she been in the same circumstance. That extremely powerful statement foreshadowed the fact that really, Communism and politics is not the be all end all. Nothing is more important than to be free to pursue your dreams and free to live your life. To Li’s Niang, nothing makes her happier than tending to her children with the hopes that by doing so, she could pave the way for her sons to have a better future. Li, on the other hand, having already experienced the freedom he could express through