American Born Chinese: Chapter 3 Summary & Analysis

The frame reads, “Everyone Ruvs Chin-Kee” alongside an illustration of a laughing Chinese person with buckteeth and a traditional queue hairstyle. A laugh track indicating clapping runs along the bottom of the frame. In a suburban California home, two white teenagers named Melanie and Danny study chemistry. Danny drools, and the laugh track plays when Melanie calls him out. Melanie tries to draw Danny’s attention back to what they’re studying, but Danny starts to ask Melanie out. Danny’s mom interrupts from the kitchen, however, and says that cousin Chin-Kee is coming to visit. Danny drops his book and looks horrified, prompting the laugh track. Danny’s mom says that Chin-Kee is coming from the airport now. Melanie asks who cousin Chin-Kee is.

Chin-Kee bursts through the front door, larger than life, as the laugh track plays. He has yellow skin, a long queue, buckteeth, and wears traditional Chinese garb. Chin-Kee bows to “Cousin Da-nee” and says he’s as happy as “ginger root pranted in nutritious manure of well-bred ox” to see him. Then, Chin-Kee notices Melanie. He spits and slobbers as he crouches down by Melanie, insisting she’s beautiful, has a “bountiful Amellican bosem,” and needs to have her feet bound so she can have Chin-Kee’s children. When they hear Danny’s mom in the kitchen, Chin-Kee wipes his mouth and announces that Melanie must belong to Danny. He suggests, however, that he could find his own beautiful American girl when he accompanies Danny to school. Danny looks horrified as the laugh track laughs and claps.