Recently I have read from many different authors, all with different perspectives on what it means to be American. Many of them talked about the struggles of being a minority in America, and not fitting in. Here are two authors that had similar opinions that I agreed with.
Americus excepts by Shaun Tan
The excerpt from
Americus that I read had to do with a boy named Niel being bullied by other boys because they thought he was gay. The word "gay" has a very different meaning when used by bullies, and instead of having to do with sexuality it has more to do with being "less of a man". The bullies stole something from Niel and threw it in a dumpster. After Niel fished his belongings out of the dumpster, a teacher, who had no idea about anything that just happened, told Niel that he should cherish highschool because his highschool years will be some of the best in his life. After the teacher leaves Niel stays behind and has a look of hopelessness on his face, and the excerpt ends. Hopelessness seems like a common feeling among people who don't fit in in America. You feel like you'll never fit in, and that there's nothing you can do about it.
American Born Chinese excerpts by Gene Luen Yang
In the excerpt of
American Born Chinese that I read, a boy from a family of Chinese immigrants in California feels out of place in America because of the way he looks. In one scene, the boy shows and old woman his Transformer toy, and says that he wishes he could be a Transformer when he grows up because he would be able to transform into whatever he wants. This is symbolic, because later on in the story the boy wishes he could change himself to fit into American society better. People who don't fit in often want to change themselves to what society says they should be. This is slightly different from the feeling of hopelessness from
Americus, because instead of feeling like you can do nothing about not fitting in, you feel like you need to do everything in your power to change yourself to fit in.
