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Lorelei Hyodo

Orta

English 123

11 May 2020

Final Essay

In Adrian Tomine’s graphic novel, ​Shortcomings​, we follow two Asian Americans and

their complicated relationship. The dynamic character, Miko is embracing living in the Bay

Area. She’s surrounded by new opportunities and open minded people. Ben, the boyfriend, is

having trouble adjusting to Miko’s newfound independence. The relationship continues to

struggle as we read more into their characters, Ben becoming more hypocritical and insecure

while Miko seems to be enjoying her new life journey. However, looking at the novel for a

bigger picture, there are subtle messages regarding gender stereotypes throughout the book. Ben

is depicted as a very traditional and narrow minded person, not open to change or to better

himself. We see through quite a few scenes the use of dramatic irony which often shows Ben’s

inner flaws and mindset. Feminist litereary criticism, by Linda Napikoski states, “Feminist

literary criticism examines how works of literature embody patriarchal attitudes or undercut

them,” which applies to how Ben is often depicted with narrow views of women’s roles. His

moments like these definitely bring out the stereotypes and preconceptions that past novels could

project about women in literature. Yet Tomine ties these cliche notions into a way where the

reader questions these views rather than accept it as just a character flaw. He reminds us that we

must challenge stereotypes in order to grow as an individual.

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In Napikoski’s article, she sets out the criteria for critically analyzing any literature

through a feminist theory or feminist viewpoint. One of the key methods to do this is to be able

to identify with the female characters. Depending on how the woman is portrayed, especially if it

is from a male centered view can greatly affect the way the writing is interpreted. In

Shortcomings ​we see things through Ben’s point of view which follows his reactions throughout

the novel. We see his surprise when he learns Miko has a new boyfriend and we can sympathize

more when he decides to explore a new relationship. Moreover, the femnist literary critique

looks at literature for its psychology, language, history and social analysis. A broad spectrum,

but key points to really hone in on any piece of work. Knowing that the author of ​Shortcomings

is male, using those main points becomes critical when evaluating any literature. Amongst the

many other tools feminist litereary critique uses Napikoski includes intersectionality. It looks at

how factors of race, sexuality and physical ability might affect a novel. ​Shortcomings d​ eals with

the issues of being an Asian American for example: Ben’s insecurities as a Japanese American

and becoming physical with white women, specifically Sasha. His relationship with Miko and

Sasha can be a good way to start analyzing from a feminist viewpoint. The way Ben talks to

Miko is applicable to Napikosi’feminsit tool, “Describing relationships between the literary text

and ideas about power sexualiy and gender” in that he’s quick to become defensive and

dominant in their conversations. Sasha and Ben’s relationship can be critiqued by the way their

roles, or power relations exist. Sasha is depicted as this young exciting white woman who is

interested in Ben physically. As the book progresses we see Ben act more interested in her

physically than emotionally. Through the feminsit literary critique we are able to look deeper

into the subtle stereotypes Tomine depicts in this modern graphic novel.
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Throughout the book, the central characters develop and we see more into each

individual's personality. The way dialogue is used can allude to each character’s composition.

Alice speaks in a casual and sarcastic tone, Miko in a soft and passive tone and Ben in a more

stubborn and defensive tone. When Meridith is confronting Ben’s views by asking, “Is your

attraction to white women a sublimated form of assimilation?” Ben responds with, “You don’t

have to turn this into a personal attack on ​Me​!” (92) which brings out his defensive dialogue.

This element of fiction really brought out characterization through the graphic novel. Especially

in that scene, Ben shares some of his personal beliefs about relationships and exposes

insecurities he has. In a sense, Ben also exemplifies dramatic irony in the way that what he

believes can contrast what the reader feels. When he continues to discuss how he feels about

Miko dating a white man having “connotations” it brings out Ben’s morals and beliefs. This

dialogue opens his character and the controversy his words have. On the other hand, dialogue

can be used to show character growth. Miko in the end addresses Ben about her new relationship

and defends herself for her choices. In this rare moment Miko stands up against Ben, apologizes

for not being honest but makes it clear she’s moving on. Her character, being dynamic, showed

the most growth and development, this scene showing how she stood up for herself against Ben.

Their whole relationship had changed since the novel began, and the dialogue shows just how

much characterization developed through this novel.

The theme from ​Shortcomings​ emphasized the importance of challenging stereotypes to

grow as an individual. Miko was the female, dynamic character who proved to be able to

overcome the challenges of being an Asian American Woman. Despite the perspective of the

story being through Ben’s eyes, we can see how Miko grows by the end of the graphic novel.
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She started as a quiet, passive character who had ambitions to do more yet held back by the

relationship with Ben. In the first scene of the graphic novel we see Miko and Ben in their car

where he spills his negative feedback about the film festival Miko worked on. She was

constantly around his judgment and critique which makes it hard to express oneself fully.

Napikoski pointed out in her feminist litereary critique how women in text use reflexive

language while men use driect. In the car scene Miko is the one who ends the conversation with

“Ok, let’s just... drop it” (13), which could be seen as a passive way to end their argument and

move on. Yet through the book Miko moves to New York and the point of view follows Ben but

as the two confront each other, it is clear Miko has grown as an individual. Instead of Ben

leading the conversation Miko takes a more direct lead, excusing him when he interrupts her and

telling him to leave her apartment. The use of dialogue can really show how much Miko had

transitioned to a happier person and able to embrace herself without Ben. Using the feminist

litereary critique tools we can also understand where stereotypes are depicted a well as

challenged.

Being a graphic novel, this book already has a different style than traditional literature.

The use of comics and art to further the story adds a lot more than a regular book would have.

Another reason why this use of media contributes more to interpreting the plot is how some

panels have no words. Scenes in the book occasionally had no words but just a montage of

panels, often showing the look on Ben’s face or an empty room. These scenes could not normally

be in a traditional book, thus the lack of words can add more to a reader’s interpretation. Aside

from panels, the use of onomatopoeias can give off different effects. The opening of a bottle, the

scratch of someone’s hair, the door slamming are all examples of ways the author can accentuate
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a scene that a book otherwise could not in the same effect. Another positive is having imagery be

a main part of the story. With the black and white panels, you can easily follow the dialogue and

the action while being able to look at the characters interacting. Another benefit to graphic

novels is that it sets the setting without having to describe everything in great detail. A lot of the

places in ​Shortcomings​ are local to the Bay Area, specifically Berkley and Oakland. For readers

who have never been to the coffee shop or know where the theatre that Ben works at is, they can

still have a good idea of what it looks like. Overall, this unique form of literary genre helps

convey the story better than most other options of traditional writing would have.

Essentially, to grow as a person there must be challenges to overcome. Miko started as

the passive character who wanted to branch out. However her relationship with Ben held her

back from fully discovering her potential. Ben judged Miko for her aspirations and turned his

insecurities to her, making her character be more reflexive. However, the development of the

story led Ben and Miko on separate paths, and Miko came out on top. She pushed the stereotypes

away, never once being ashamed of her identity as an Asian American Woman and embraced her

career.
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Works Cited

Napikoski, Linda. “What Is Feminist Literary Criticism?” Thoughtco., Dotdash, 30 Jan.

2019, ​www.thoughtco.com/feminist-literary-criticism-3528960​.

Tomine, Adrian. Shortcomings. Drawn & Quarterly, 2007.